Balatro and Horror Game Fans Should Keep an Eye on Occlude

Balatro stands as one of the most successful indie games in recent memory, contending in the saturated world of roguelikes by combining the genre's usual gameplay formula with deckbuilding themes. By centering this deckbuilding premise around poker, Balatro presents itself as deceptively simple at first glance, with its wide range of modifiers and builds creating a deeply complex gameplay loop that has given way to huge amounts of success.

It only seemed a matter of time before other games tried their hand at similar approaches to Balatro, and the upcoming Occlude appears to be doing just that. Occlude is set to blend horror and strategy elements alongside a twisted version of solitaire. What little is currently known about the game suggests that it is trying to feature the same addictive replayability, player freedom, and hidden mechanics as Balatro. So far, there isn't much public information about Occlude, yet the title is already shaping up to be a fascinating take on the same kind of approach that has made Balatro so popular.

Balatro: Trophy And Achievement Guide

Players will need to become experts in Balatro's twist on poker to unlock every trophy/achievement in the entire game.

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By Jamie Latour

Occlude Could Replicate a Lot of What Makes Balatro So Intriguing

Occlude is an upcoming game from Tributary Games, a studio that previously found success with 2023's King of the Castle, which itself was based around strategy and a deep story. King of the Castle currently possesses very positive overall user reviews on Steam, placing the upcoming Occlude in a position to reap the benefits of the many lessons that Tributary Games has learned from the development of its previous project.

At its core, Occlude is billed as an "occult game of solitaire," putting an ominous twist to the historic card game by combining its premise with branching rituals and supernatural elements. There are seven distinct rituals confirmed so far in Occlude, with players having to unlock these modifiers that bring increasingly complex puzzles and hidden rule-sets to the game. While it has not been confirmed in detail how rituals will exactly work, they appear to offer the same replayability and varied gameplay opportunities as Balatro's challenge runs as one of the major game-changing unlocks that players will work towards.

Discovery and experimentation are at the heart of Occlude; players earn coins as they progress through the game's core solitaire mechanics, which then guide players through different narrative paths and potential secrets. Unlike Balatro, Occlude places a lot of importance on a narrative which intends to be just as thorough and engaging as the game itself, reportedly being centered around "Lynchian horror about the nature of regret and reality."

Balatro has sold over 5 million units and won Game of the Year in 2024, opening up the floodgates for other indie titles to explore similar ambitious premises.

Entities and Rituals Define the Horror That Exists Throughout Occlude

Another major gameplay element of Occlude is its mysterious entities, which have vaguely been described as otherworldly beings that stalk the player throughout their game. Like the seven rituals, there are seven entities that can be found throughout Occlude. Players must consult gathered evidence and an Investigation Board to physically manifest these entities to further the indie game's story and gameplay possibilities.

Like King of the Castle, Occlude is set to release on Steam, though no solid release window has been revealed yet. Balatro showcased the massive potential of adding addictive twists to pre-existing games like poker, and the ties that Occlude shares with its own portrayal of solitaire are clear to see. While not explicitly billed as a roguelike, addictive replayability is still at the heart of what Occlude has to offer, with there seemingly being numerous pathways of evidence gathering, entity hunting, and ritual enacting that players can explore. While Occlude might ultimately place more focus on storytelling than complex core mechanics, the project appears to possess a fascinating blend of strategy and narrative exploration, with its unsettling horror themes adding an extra layer of flair.