The end of 2024 is slowly coming closer, and with it, talks of which game deserves to be named Game of the Year. Is Final Fantasy VII Rebirth getting a nod, or are Black Myth: Wukong and Stellar Blade more deserving? Perhaps a secret contender is right up your alley: Balatro.
The roguelike that mixes poker and deck-building mechanics became many gaming fans' little obsession when it was released on consoles and PC back in February and has picked up more steam when it came to mobile devices (iOS and Android) this past September 26.
Many gamers have praised Balatro as a great way to pass the time when you want to kill some time at work. Now that it's more widely available, more players are getting hooked on its addictive gameplay, leading to glowing praise.
The reviews are nothing short of perfect; in fact, they are exactly that. On the iOS App Store, Balatro currently has a 5.0 rating, with almost 8,000 user reviews clocked in.
Reddit user tableball35 noted this, sharing a screenshot of the ratings, with most comments agreeing that Balatro deserves the praise for its gameplay, but also because it's a very friendly experience, with no microtransactions to pump out more cash from consumers or battle passes that demand a time-consuming grind.
"Legitimate GOTY contender with 0 microtransactions, I think it’s rated appropriately," user doitup69 commented. Now that we've seen many games-as-a-service games come and go, failing in spectacular fashion, such as Concord, fans are welcoming with open arms that a game with such an addictive gameplay loop is only $10.
Balatro is also part of the Apple Arcade service. Think of it as Apple's version of Game Pass, with players able to download Balatro+, an exclusive version of this service.
Funnily enough, this version of the game sits at a 4.9 rating thanks to a few bad reviews, including one that called it "too annoying" to even make it past the tutorial.
As mentioned, Balatro is available on virtually every console and mobile device on the market, including Xbox One, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, and Android.