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Indie Hit Balatro Crosses Insane Milestone

By Carley Garcia

Published Oct 9, 2024

Utterly obsessed with gaming, anime, and manga for the past 25 years, Carley attended Florida State University, graduating with a degree in Japanese in 2012. A professional Japanese/English translator for over a decade, she has worked largely in the pop culture sphere. In May 2020, she joined the team at OTAQUEST, specializing in lesser-known aspects of Japanese pop culture, rambling about retro games, forgotten anime series, and Tokyo’s indie musicians in her first official paid gig as a staff writer. She has continued to share her love for gaming by contributing hundreds of articles to sites such as Siliconera, PC Gamer, and VGKAMI.

Carley spends her free time gaming with her husband, scoping out breweries and wineries, playing with her cat Momo, and writing self-indulgent fanfiction. She prefers lore-heavy RPGs and walking sims and has only played Dragon Age: Inquisition 14 times. Her favorite Final Fantasy game is all of them.

Summary

Balatro has been cumulatively played for over 11,000 years across all platforms, according to the game's developer.
The poker-inspired roguelike deck-building game has been one of the most popular titles of 2024.
A free major update is coming in 2025, with the game's creator promising new strategies and ideas.

The poker-inspired roguelike deck-building game Balatro has reportedly been played for over 11,000 years across all platforms. Released in February 2024 to instant acclaim, Balatro quickly became popular among the masses for its satisfying gameplay loop and peaceful synth-heavy soundtrack, with many players calling the title one of the most addictive games to appear in recent memory.

Developed by the solo developer LocalThunk, the indie game earned overwhelmingly positive reviews immediately after appearing on PC and console earlier this year, with Balatro becoming one of the top-rated releases of 2024. The title's fast-paced gameplay tasks players with creating Poker hands to reach a particular point goal, but to keep things endlessly interesting, over 150 unique Jokers can be discovered to throw some special abilities into the mix. For example, some Jokers will multiply a player's score at the end of the round, while others will give monetary bonuses that can be used to purchase more powerful cards.

In a new Twitter post, the game's developer announced that Balatro has been played cumulatively for over 11,000 years across all platforms. Fans were quick to post congratulatory messages, though the news came as little shock to most, with leagues of players noting that the title has likely boosted a lack of productivity around the world due to Balatro's endless replayability. The game's ease of entry has likely been a major factor in its continued success, along with its availability on all major platforms and low cost.

Fans Have Spent Over 11,000 Years Playing Balatro

Several post-launch updates have been released in the months following the title's release, with a May Balatro update adding the Perishable and Rental Joker mechanics. The former made players consider altering their typical strategy by forcing Jokers to be removed after a total of five rounds, while the latter changed the price of Jokers to $1 at the start of the game and increased the price by $3 after each round. LocalThunk has also continued to address bugs and performance issues, along with continued efforts to make the game as accessible as possible.

During the Nintendo Indie World Showcase held in August 2024, Balatro announced a crossover with The Witcher 3. As part of the currently available free "Friends of Jimbo" update, players can customize the face cards in their deck to feature popular Witcher characters like Dandelion, Yennefer of Vengerberg, and Geralt of Rivia. Other games featured in the cosmetic crossover content include Among Us, Vampire Survivors, and Dave the Diver. According to LocalThunk, more crossovers may be added to the game in future updates.

Last month, a major free update for Balatro was announced, promising new strategies and ideas coming to the title sometime in 2025. It's believed that this update will considerably alter Balatro's gameplay, and while no specifics have been revealed, fans are eager to learn more ahead of the new year. The game shows no signs of slowing down, and given its consistent updates and passionate fanbase, the next milestone for Balatro is sure to be another doozy.

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Strategy

Digital Card Game

Roguelike

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Systems

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OpenCritic Reviews: Top Critic Avg: 92 /100 Critics Rec: 100%

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Released: February 20, 2024
ESRB: E10+ For Everyone 10+ // Gambling Themes
Developer(s): LocalThunk
Publisher(s): Playstack
Engine: LÖVE

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Balatro is a poker-inspired roguelike deck builder all about creating powerful synergies and winning big.

The poker roguelike. Balatro is a hypnotically satisfying deckbuilder where you play illegal poker hands, discover game-changing jokers, and trigger adrenaline-pumping, outrageous combos.

Combine valid poker hands with unique Joker cards in order to create varied synergies and builds. Earn enough chips to beat devious blinds, all while uncovering hidden bonus hands and decks as you progress. You’re going to need every edge you can get in order to reach the boss blind, beat the final ante and secure victory

Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Android, iOS
Genre(s): Strategy, Digital Card Game, Roguelike
OpenCritic Rating: Mighty

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