Since its release in 2024, Balatro has become a standout title in the roguelike genre, earning three awards from five nominations at The Game Awards and reaching 5 million copies sold by January 2025. For players looking to try the game, it is currently included in the Xbox Game Pass library.
How Balatro Gameplay Works
At its core, Balatro uses traditional poker hands, but the objective is to beat increasing score requirements across eight levels, known as antes. Success relies on modifying your deck between rounds at the in-game shop. Players can acquire tarot cards to boost specific point multipliers or planet cards to upgrade the scoring potential of individual poker hands.
The game's primary complexity—and its draw—comes from the 150 unique joker cards. Players start with five joker slots and can organize them strategically to trigger massive point multipliers. While early rounds allow for experimentation, later stages require players to chain specific joker effects to achieve the high scores necessary to survive.
Quick Facts
- Developer: LocalThunk
- Genre: Roguelike deck-builder
- Core Mechanic: Poker-based score manipulation using custom jokers
- Availability: Xbox Game Pass (Xbox consoles and PC)
Is It Worth Playing?
Balatro is designed to reward experimentation and system mastery. While the initial learning curve involves trial and error, the game is built to scale in difficulty, eventually allowing players to reach "infinite play" modes. If you are a subscriber to Xbox Game Pass, downloading the game is the most straightforward way to test if its loop of number-crunching and deck building suits your playstyle.
As a note of caution, the game's addictive nature has earned it a reputation for being difficult to put down, so players should be mindful of their time investment when starting a run.