Balatro, oh boy, where do I start? So it’s this game, right? Part of Steam’s summer blowout sale. Like, who even cares about the discount? Just grab it. Trust me. It’s one of those no-brainer decisions.
Now, here’s a confession. I’m someone who’d mix up a flush with a full house in a heartbeat. Yet, weirdly enough, I’ve got every Pokémon TCG card detail down pat. Go figure. Anyway, Balatro caught my eye because it just killed it at The Game Awards 2024. It’s this card-based roguelike thing — sort of lets you do your own spin on poker rules. Yeah, this solo dev, LocalThunk, put it all together. Talk about a passion project gone viral! Since its release in February 2024, it’s been blowing up — and it makes sense, with all those rave reviews and those “just one more run” late nights. Started on consoles and Windows, then it hit mobile in September 2024. You can play it everywhere. Like those ubiquitous games. Think Fortnite, Minecraft. You get the idea.
Man, I was so crazy to try this game that I burned through my free Apple Arcade trial just for Balatro. They had this iOS-exclusive version, Balatro+. It was like a magnet, drawing me in. Short bursts, long marathons; I was hooked. And what did I do? Went and bought it on every platform I could find. Wasteful, maybe, but you’ll do anything when you’re obsessed.
Fast forward three months, Apple Arcade charges me because, surprise, my free trial ended. Had to cough up $9.99 on the App Store for the full version — fingers crossed my progress wouldn’t vanish. Booted it up and boom, all my data from Balatro+ was there. Life was good. Except… come PlayStation Plus in May, and I’m starting all over. Again.
A bit later, got myself a MacBook Air. Dream was to play Balatro during breaks from Baldur’s Gate 3. But no, I can’t play the paid version on macOS — it’s back to Balatro+ with Apple Arcade or nothing. So, I’d have to buy it on Steam if I wanted to skip the subscription. Again.
Unlocking everything? Yeah, not yet. Red and blue Anaglyph deck’s got me biting my keyboard in frustration, but it’s like a siren song. Can’t keep away. Even the dev had a rough time finalizing it — ended up a mental health rollercoaster. And yet, he’s right there playing it too, finally hitting that 100% mark not long ago.
But let’s be real. I’m in deep. Wherever Balatro goes next, I’m just gonna follow, aren’t I?
