I played Balatro for an hour, had a good time, and then uninstalled it. I know a trap when I see one. But maybe you’re made of stronger stuff than me. Maybe you like that monkey on your back. We have prepared a recent, free update for you, which adds a second set of thematic card graphics to the game inspired by Binding Of Isaac, Cyberpunk 2077, Stardew Valley and Slay The Spire.
These are not recent cards, they are just card skins, so they only make a cosmetic difference to the game. You can switch to the recent card look using the recent Customize Deck settings menu in the game. Or probably the “Customize Deck” menu, but I can’t bring myself to spell it that way.
The first free update for Friends Of Jimbo arrived in August and also added card art related to four other games: The Witcher 3, Dave The Diver, Vampire Survivors and Among Us.
Although my time with Balatro was tiny, other treehouse dwellers at RPS were diving deeper into the decks. Katharine rated it Bestest Best in her Balatro review and made a forceful case for it being worth spending time with:
Ultimately, Balatro is a game that delights in the art of increasing numbers – huge, rapid and fiery – by any means necessary. It draws you back in, not to exploit a mental weakness, but to celebrate the inherent joy of learning, improving, and beating a system played around impossible odds, while being a little naughty in the process. Not only does he invite you to sit at the table, but he openly hands you all kinds of scalpels to tear, bleed, and disembowel for all he’s worth – all while smiling and applauding you for it every step of the way. . In this sense, Balatro is very generous, even if the victories are seemingly few and far between. Indeed, the only way I felt cheated by Balatro was when I had to stop playing and not spend any more time playing Balatro.
Sounds great! But I still can’t do it. Sure, Katharine said all this in February, but has anyone heard from her since then?