Game news 98% positive reviews for this super daring video game. I loved Balatro!
The JV editorial team was able to try Balatro, a rogue-lite poker game. Available on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch since February 20, the title is full of excellent ideas.
Despite its minimalist graphics, Balatro has a strong concept: mix poker, rogue-lite and deckbuilding (basically, build your card draw intelligently). Available on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch since February 20 in several languages - including French -, the title places you in the hands of Jimbo, a joker card who will teach you the rules of the trade. The principle is very simple: a game takes place in 3 rounds which are made up of a small blind (a bet), a big blind and a boss, “The Head”. To win a round, you have to win enough chips to move on to the next by making classic poker combinations using a hand of 8 cards (Pair, Full, Straight, Three of a Kind, and even Straight Flush Royale if you’re lucky ). After 8 bosses beaten, it’s victory. The bosses confront each other in the same way as the basic rounds, with the difference that they add more or less restrictive penalties, such as the obligation to play only one type of combo, or spade cards do not pay off. point.
The title is intended to be accessible to as many people as possible, and even to those who are not fans of poker.. Throughout the game, a tab allows you to see all the possible combinations as well as the number of tokens and multipliers they grant. The more complicated the hand played, the more chips you win. For example, the Ace – the strongest card – gives you 11. To achieve combos, you can select between 1 and 5 cards, but discarding a card is also a possible option. However, you have to be careful, because the number of discards and hands played is limited each round (even if this limit can be modified via bonuses).
A generous game with a ton of possible combinations
As you can imagine, the more you progress in Balatro, the more complicated and token-intensive the rounds become. But don’t worry, to get by, you’ll build and transform a deck of bonus cards. Indeed, with each victory, you earn money to spend in a store. The store in question gives you access to a ton of modifiers that will completely change the way you play. For example, there are Jokers, which allow you to cheat by creating hands that do not exist. It is thus possible to make Straights (five cards “in order”, such as A,2,3,4,5) by skipping a number. On one of my games, I found myself improving my Straight combo (with the Planet bonuses) using almost only this combination.
All bonus cards are displayed at the top of the screen. Between each round and depending on your money, you can buy one or more and the choices you make as well as the synergy between these assets clearly constitute the nave of the war. Moreover, in addition to Jokers and Planets, which are modifiers which often apply to your entire game, there are Tarot cards, which disappear after use.. They have several effects: instantly double your money, destroy 2 cards from your deck in the hope of drawing better at the end of the round, etc. Other Tarot bonuses will be beneficial in the longer term, because they will modify your game. For example, you can have cards that add a “times 2” to an asset in your hand, but with a 1 in 4 chance that this asset will breaks once played. I can’t even tell you how many times I crossed my fingers that this wouldn’t happen.
You would have understood it, there is an element of randomness here, but you can try to control a minimum. In addition to the choice of bonuses, it is also possible to enlarge your hand to have a larger window of choice on cards to play and discard.
150 jokers that can totally change your approach
Balatro aims to be generous in its content. For example, he has 150 Jokers to discover who will be among your best allies. They are the ones in particular who will push you to have a completely different approach. It is possible to accumulate 5 in total, which you can also sell if they do not interest you. Many conditions will be asked of you to activate these different powers., such as using a certain combination or a specific number of cards. Eventually, Balatro is the perfect title when you don’t feel like spending long sessions. It’s a software that we will come back to often to progress over time and one day manage to finally win a game. It’s available between €13.99 and €14.99 on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch.