A new game has just shaken up the ranking of the best games of the year on Metacritic, the famous review aggregation site. It even managed to do better than some of this year’s more ambitious titles.
The ranking of the best games on Metacritic is no longer dominated by PS5 exclusives. A new game has almost reached the top. Named Balatro, this is a roguelike deck builder poker game that has received rave reviews from critics and players alike. Balatro rose to second place in the rankingssurpassing The Last of Us Part II Remastered, a PS5 exclusive which previously held this spot.
The only game left ahead of Balatro is Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, another PS5 exclusive that boasts a score of 92 on Metacritic, two points higher than Balatro’s 90. However, Balatro’s score is based on the PC version of the game, which has the highest number of reviews among all platforms. If we take into account the scores of other versions of the game, Balatro might actually have a higher average score than Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
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Balatro could surpass Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on Metacritic
Balatro is available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5 and Nintendo Switch. The Xbox Series than the 92 points of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
However, Metacritic gives each game the rating of its most criticized version, here the PC version. Yet, we find a much higher score on Xbox Series, which could possibly make it the highest rated game of the moment.
Balatro is the first game from LocalThunk, a new independent developer that has impressed many with its innovative and addictive gameplay. The game is published by Playstack, a publisher that has made its name with titles such as The Case of the Golden Idol and Mortal Shell. The title combines elements of poker and roguelike in a unique way. The game challenges players to create powerful poker hands using special Joker cards that have different effects and abilities.
The best part is that the title only costs $15. The minimum play time is five hours, but most players will spend much more time there. For completionists, the game can take up to 100 hours to complete.