To say Im shocked is an understatement. I started Balatro with the expectation that I would finish a run and put it away. It then turned into me trying to finish a deck on gold stake, to finishing every deck on gold stake, to getting all the challenges and achievements. And now, Im here a changed man.
The only other roguelike I completed to 100% is Binding of Isaac up to Afterbirth, and I think that speaks to how compelling Balatro's design is. However, I wouldn't call it perfect. And in this review, Im going to address my thoughts I made previously, give some new thoughts, and talk about other random observations I noticed during my completionist journey.
The Section Where I Mock My Past Self After Gettin' Gud
When I wrote my post-100 hour critique, I had only completed a chunk of the decks on gold stakes. I wasn't a noob, but I wasn't as advanced as I was now. And unfortunately, gettin' gud at the game gave me a sense of clarity about some of my frustrations I had for some of the mechanics.
One of the things I neglected to mention when talking about Balatro in this blog is just how good the learning curve is. I mean you should get that sense from the second paragraph of this blog. The reason I had that expectation that I wasn't going to play much was because I didn't think I would get very far. There was this reoccurring self-doubt where I didn't believe I had it in me to even finish a run on gold stake let alone doing it enough times with every Joker in the game. Part of it is that Balatro is a tough love kind of game. There are no loading screen hints or even a hint of mercy. It makes gold stakes a very hostile difficulty setting at first glance or even at several subsequent glances. But then, over time you start picking up on little optimizations. You learn not to spend money on planet packs. You learn how to utilize retrigger jokers better. Boss blinds turn from being random show stoppers you hoped and prayed you have a counter for to something you always have a counter for. And before you know it, you are clearing gold stakes almost back to back.
One of the things I neglected to mention when talking about Balatro in this blog is just how good the learning curve is. I mean you should get that sense from the second paragraph of this blog. The reason I had that expectation that I wasn't going to play much was because I didn't think I would get very far. There was this reoccurring self-doubt where I didn't believe I had it in me to even finish a run on gold stake let alone doing it enough times with every Joker in the game. Part of it is that Balatro is a tough love kind of game. There are no loading screen hints or even a hint of mercy. It makes gold stakes a very hostile difficulty setting at first glance or even at several subsequent glances. But then, over time you start picking up on little optimizations. You learn not to spend money on planet packs. You learn how to utilize retrigger jokers better. Boss blinds turn from being random show stoppers you hoped and prayed you have a counter for to something you always have a counter for. And before you know it, you are clearing gold stakes almost back to back.
It's honestly an emotional experience being able to see how much I grown with this game. As someone who struggles with Imposter Syndrome, to see my self doubt slowly crumble as I got better at the game made me realized that I am a capable individual when I put my mind to it, and I don't think it would have been as satisfying if Balatro had some the flexibility I suggested in my previous review. My suggestion to make rerolls cheaper would only railroad players to using the same good jokers. Bonus modifiers for rewards on boss blinds would undermine late game since you can exploit that mechanic with the easier boss blinds in the early game. Rental jokers costing money immediately means economy jokers become more important, and you lose out on the meta of buying the joker for cheap, using it, and selling it before it accrues a cost. So yeah rental jokers certainly makes some jokers worse. But like the eternal and perishables, it makes some other jokers much better.
That being said, some of my suggestions I still stand by. I do think gold stakes makes a lot of jokers unviable. Localthunk seems to agree as they're retooling the discard modifier in the next update. I believe changing the discard count back to three is a nice compromise to make the game more flexible without undermining the difficulty.
I also still stand by having better skip rewards. In concept, it should be a great idea. Skip a blind to a more difficult one and lose out on extra money or scaling in exchange for a reward. It's a risk reward mechanic that's the lifeblood of any good roguelike.
However, that's not how they are in execution. it's good practice to ignore almost all of these. First, most of them are not worth it. I already mentioned how a free uncommon or rare isn't great because the joker can still be debuffed by a modifier, assuming if it's a joker you actually want. But what I didn't mention is how most of the other ones are simply not worth getting. Skip rewards that give you a foil isn't worth it because of how exponentially fast the score requirements are. Most money skips are only useful for niche builds which you will rarely have in a typical gold stake run. I feel anytime Im at the point where I have to rely on a skip reward to save my run, that's usually an omen the run is dead as skip rewards is such a crap shoot on whether it will actually help your run. Sure, use the negative tag and get a joker that's completely worthless to your build. Sure, add an extra voucher, an enhancement that's both expensive and barely tips the scales in your favor.
Compare this to Binding of Isaac. The Devil deals are carefully designed to give an interesting decision dilemma for the player. I won't recount why. You can just read my review on it. But in Balatro, skip rewards are less risk reward and more "you are already winning supplement" vs. "completely ill advised fuck-you sauce."
I think a better way to buff skips is to not have them skip at all. That terrible idea I had where boss blinds should have rewards if you play a harder version. Maybe instead, the skip reward can add a modifier to a small or large blind. I would feel way more compelled to engage with the skip rewards if they function that way. It would also add some challenge for advanced or intermediate players. Early game becomes a joke, so add some spice by having the option to add a boss blind modifier to blinds at your discretion.
So in short, Im quite satisfied with the difficulty with the gold stakes. Just do the change that Localthunk already promised to make and make the skip rewards more viable.
I think a better way to buff skips is to not have them skip at all. That terrible idea I had where boss blinds should have rewards if you play a harder version. Maybe instead, the skip reward can add a modifier to a small or large blind. I would feel way more compelled to engage with the skip rewards if they function that way. It would also add some challenge for advanced or intermediate players. Early game becomes a joke, so add some spice by having the option to add a boss blind modifier to blinds at your discretion.
So in short, Im quite satisfied with the difficulty with the gold stakes. Just do the change that Localthunk already promised to make and make the skip rewards more viable.
"You Are a Bad Joker, but That Doesn't Mean You Are a Bad Jo-ker?"
One of the reasons I wasn't expecting to 100% this game was that it required using the worst jokers in the game. I know something like Binding of Isaac has some stinkers when it comes to power ups. But man, does Balatro have some stinky boys. Really Seance? I have to get a straight flush just to get a spectral card that's not even guaranteed to have a use for me? Sure, superposition, I'll include a niche straight with an ace card for an item that has the sell value of $2. What's that you want to take up an entire joker slot just to make planet cards free, an item that's only viable under niche circumstances?
The thing is somehow, my absolute favorite moments while playing Balatro involved using these stupid cards. I think a good comparison is that romhack Pokemon Garbage Green. At first glance, it seems like a terrible idea. Make a Pokemon game where only the worst Pokemon are available.
But in practice, this fundamentally changes how you play. It makes you more adaptable and creative with how you tackle challenges. And in the case of underdog brilliance, you get to see these awful jokers shine on occasion. I once got the Order which is a joker that triples your score when you play a straight. I hate straight builds. In all of my time playing Balatro, I only managed to do ONE straight build on gold stake. The run where I got the sticker for the Order, I was faced with an tricky ante. I had to both activate my 2s to boost Wee Joker while also scoring efficiently to beat the blind as I was a little behind in my scoring. Well what do you know, the Order came in clutch, and I threw my one 2 to boost my joker and beat the ante. Moments like that are the ones I cherish the most in Balatro. The builds held together by duct tape, and you still manage to score over a million to beat Violet Vessel. The runs where you aren't giving any multiplier joker, so you have to make do with Hanging chad, a few glass cards, and a dream. The runs where you manage to win with two jokers and a few lucky spectral cards.
Sure, the game has some hostile rng. But for every moment the RNG says no, there is an opportunity to say "watch me."
The Fincher-Esque Tension of Golden Needle and Jokerless
Let's talk about the challenges, cause why not.
The challenges themselves are ok. They are not too difficult as the default is set to the lowest difficulty setting.
That is except the infamous Golden Needle and Jokerless challenges.
While gold stakes are hard, they don't quite induce sweat the way these two challenges do. It's the kind of challenges that make you realize "hey maybe gold stake's RNG isn't as hostile as I thought."
I read somewhere that these challenges are like a taking an exam. They really test your know how and the nuances of Balatro. In Golden Needle for example, your ability to understand jokers outside the comfort of scaling jokers is put on notice. Likewise, Jokerless is the ultimate test of knowing the right hand types and tarot cards. Common practice is to just rely on pairs and high cards, so to have to rely on tricker hand types was cool. Again, it fundamentally changes how you play.
But man, are these two challenges ass clenchers. So many things can go wrong, and RNG really can decide that you can just lose. You are on a thin margin the whole time. It's not for the faint of heart. But man, it was a satisfying game experience. I always talk about enjoying game difficulties that feel organic. Difficult that couldn't care less if you win or lose but not to the point where it feels like careless jank. I get that vibe from this. It is not a challenge that the dev designed for you to overcome. It feels like a feat and a fight against all odds.
I wish they add more challenges that incorporates the modifiers from the higher stakes. Granted, this might be a be careful what you wish for type suggestion, and I might be opening myself to getting a Kaizo level challenge. Though, knowing how silky smooth the learning curve is. If any game can push me to my absolute limits, it is this one.
Conclusion
In my Best of Video Games of 2024, I put Balatro at a modest 9th place. At the time, I only dedicated hours within the double digits. Now that Im well passed the triple digit milestone, I would move that up to 3rd, right above the goofy luchador game.
This game is a dream for completionist players. It's a game that not only stays good as you get everything. It gets better. The journey through Balatro is going to be one of my most cherished ones. I feel like the hobbits at the end of Lord of the Rings. You see the world around you and they don't realized how much you changed as a person, and you feel more capable because of that. Maybe I should ask out that lady that works at the bar. Maybe I should write that book about my adventures. Hell, maybe I should go to Detroit.
