Balatro is a really neat idea. All the clever, thinky fun of a roguelike deckbuilder transformed into a poker-themed puzzle. It's very similar to an earlier game Luck be a Landlord, but with significantly better visual design and polish.
Draw cards from a deck to play poker hands and score points - use the money earned to buy outrageous power ups (jokers) or upgrade individual cards. Come up with a long term strategy to aim for, build your deck and bonuses towards it and watch the mega points roll in.
It's incredible fun for a few hours - after which the novelty had somewhat worn off and the arbitrary chase for points no longer felt fun. Balatro is one of those games that really borders on being "addictive" in a problematic rather than a fun way.
But still - as a clever, polished, exciting new thing and as a game to be "solved" (by whatever your personal defintion would be) rather than played endlessly, Balatro is a gem.
Draw cards from a deck to play poker hands and score points - use the money earned to buy outrageous power ups (jokers) or upgrade individual cards. Come up with a long term strategy to aim for, build your deck and bonuses towards it and watch the mega points roll in.
It's incredible fun for a few hours - after which the novelty had somewhat worn off and the arbitrary chase for points no longer felt fun. Balatro is one of those games that really borders on being "addictive" in a problematic rather than a fun way.
But still - as a clever, polished, exciting new thing and as a game to be "solved" (by whatever your personal defintion would be) rather than played endlessly, Balatro is a gem.