Balatro
Game Title: Balatro
Released: February 20, 2024
Game Length: Unknown
Grade: B+
Prelude
Style: Balatro is a game that was getting way too much attention in 2024. I've seen several famous reviewers who applaud the extent an indie developer was willing to go to revolutionize the game of Poker. There is a catch. The game can be excruciatingly difficult, and not just to new players. Winning or losing can boil down to knowing all the little intricacies of the game and adapting to the cards you are dealt. It is possible to make no mistakes and still lose. Some players gloat that they can win 80% of the time while others can spend 25 hours playing before winning a single game. It really is all about 50% skill and 50% luck.
Skill
Jokers: Learning which jokers stand above the others is one key advantage to knowing how to advance in the game. There are many joker cards that are very situational. They might only give you a perk after you play so many hands, have specific kind of cards, or work counter to what is advantageous in scoring. If you aren't able to obtain interest, then you might want to go broke with a credit card and Vagabond. If you don't have any face cards, you may want to ride the bus or go the opposite direction making them all face value with Pareidolia. Joker cards that are food items will be "eaten" and disappear after their usefulness has run its course. How much a joker sells for does not increase or decrease (other than the Egg and Gift Card). Learning which cards work well with each other is certainly a key element of the game.
Currency: Earning money to spend in the shop is something that all players should be keen aware of while progressing through the game. New players may not realize this but you earn $1 for every $5 you maintain. Vouchers can increase the initial limit from $25 to $50 or $100. Vouchers can also give you discounts. Cards can also be utilized to increase your amount while playing a round. You can use jokers to earn money depending on the circumstances, use a tarot card to turn a card gold that will give you a small amount if not played by the end of the round, or a spectral card to attach a gold enhancement coin for a card that is played.
Tags: There is an option to skip a round, but be cautious since you will not earn any currency or have a chance to access the shop. Most tags that offer you some playing cards or tarot cards you can easily buy in the shop are not worth taking. A few tags that might reroll a really tough boss or offer spectral cards can be worthwhile. Determining when it is wise to add a rare joker or make everything free in the shop will depend on your current situation.
Tricks: The game throws you some curve balls when going up against bosses or challenges. What if you are faced with an encounter where your cards are hidden from view? Take advantage that your cards are always in order. If you have an unknown card between a 6 of hearts and 7 of clubs, then you know that card will probably be a 6 of diamonds (unless you added cards to your deck). Using tarot cards during your hand will also temporarily reveal or transform hidden cards. This works well on debuffed cards too. The cards that don't count can still be used to accumulate points for a played hand. Stone cards will be counted in smaller hands. You may also squeeze in some random cards you wish to discard (that won't count) with smaller hands like two pairs or three-of-a-kind. This works for the boss that requires five cards to be played. An Ace counts as one too in case you want to form a straight with two, three, four, and five. You just can't "wrap around" with both face and number cards.
Points: The biggest thing that new players will not know is how to move cards around. The game does not automatically calculate the highest points possible by using the order of operations. It calculates from left to right. So, make sure you place cards that add to the far left and those that multiply to the far right. For example, 22 x 2 + 8 = 52 while 22 + 8 x 2 = 60. This works for cards in your hand as well. The ballet card that recounts the first card two more times is only useful if the card isn't debuffed and part of the played hand. Make sure to strike a balance between adding multipliers and actual multipliers. For example, 4 + 4 + 8 + 8 = 24 and 4 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 32. Split the difference and you may have something like 4 + 8 x 2 x 2 = 48.
Upgrades: The game offers you a chance to use planet cards to upgrade specific hands. Pay close attention to their level since certain poker hands can be better than others. A straight upgrades better than a flush. Though, there is the possibility of winning with a single hard card if what you have available is built just right. The higher possible hand will always play even if it scores you less points. If you have a level 6 straight but they are all the same suit, then the game will calculate it as that level 1 straight flush. There are also hands that aren't listed such as royal flush, five of a kind, flush house, and flush five.
Challenges: The game allows you to pick your deck and stakes in a standard game, but there are also 20 challenges to choose from that modifies your deck, applies some rules, and may offer specific jokers ahead of time. It functions similarly to a seeded run since you cannot unlock cards during a challenge. Only 5 incomplete challenges are offered at a time. Completing one will unlock the next one in the list.
Luck
Unlocks: Some players will have a desire to fill out that collection board by "discovering" cards, but there is an additional step required that prevents you from accessing 45 joker cards and 16 advanced vouchers. Most of these will require you to play a number of games. Some will require some very exclusive tricks like ending a game with a lot of money, accumulating a number of cards, or not playing certain hands. Some of your best options can come from those that are locked away, all because you didn't know something like discarding a royal flush will net you a copy joker. Pulling a soul spectral card will net you a legendary joker card and buying that Blank Voucher ten times will offer you a chance of unlocking an additional joker slot.
Boss Blinds: A game can sink or swim depending on what boss you have to fight up against at the end of each ante. If you are barely making it by without the right joker cards, then The Wall might spell your doom. Be mindful for ones like The Pillar that will debuff every card played that ante or especially The Needle when you can only play a single hand. There is a voucher, joker, and tag that can all reroll if there is one that would be particularly devastating to your game.
Shops: While balancing your currency is essential to your survival, making sure you have the right joker cards is the key to winning. Unfortunately, getting ahead can be all based on chance. There are two tarot cards that can make life easier: The Hermit doubles your money (up to $20) and Temperance that gives you the sell value of all your jokers (up to $50). Spending $4 to earn $15 kind of makes you feel like you won the lottery. Then there are the enhancements you can sometimes get on jokers that give more than some cards. Whether you want to add a pair joker with +10 multiplier will depend on your current situation. It will count if you have something like a full house or three-of-a-kind.
Options
Statistics: The game doesn't have a way to see how many hours, rounds, or games you played. Instead, they show how long you had jokers going or the number of times you used certain cards. I had around 80% of my collection complete after a few days of playing the game, but you could continue making progress by completing challenges, unlocking joker stickers, and trying out all the different deck stakes. Joker stickers unlock when you win using a specific joker card but retroactively provides you all lower difficulty stakes. The game technically ends after the 8th ante, but there are some things that don't become available until you continue a game beyond that.
Customize: The game offers you a chance to choose what to use as your face cards. There are different game references for each suit. This means you can have up to 4 different types from a total of 24 games without downloading or buying anything extra. There is also a toggle to alter the color with high contrast.
Settings: You can change the speed to 0.5, 1, 2, or 4. The play and discard buttons can be switched. If the screen moving is causing you problems, you can turn the screenshake down (or up if you think it isn't enough). Even that swirling motion can be turned completely off. The CRT lines that imitate old monitors can be completely removed or enhanced further.
Information: You might not always get what you want, but learning what happens when you try to break the game can sometimes be fun. If you draw from a pack that doesn't offer you any good options, you are allowed to skip without pulling any cards. If you are ante 1 and use the voucher to lower it by 1, there is such a thing as ante 0. Every voucher has an advanced option that only becomes available after using the basic one. There are three profile slots and an option to unlock all collection progress if you don't mind forgoing achievements. You can card count by glancing or clicking on your deck to see what cards have yet to be played. You can see what is coming up by browsing Run Info while you are browsing the shop. Consumable cards can be used while opening a card pack.