Balatro (Steam/PS5/Xbox Series X/Switch)

[hudson]

1 million sold! Impressive.

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[Nu-Eclipse]

Somehow only just found out about Balatro recently.

Downloaded the Switch version last night (why oh WHY is there no demo on the eShop like there is on Steam??).

Holy sh1t... I've not been addicted to a Switch game like this since Tetris 99! Was up until midnight playing this. Nowhere near completing a run though - are cash out amounts for blind wins always so low to begin with?

[hudson]

Welcome! It's the perfect game to play in between games!

[Nu-Eclipse]

Welcome! It's the perfect game to play in between games!

QFT!

I've been stuck in a bit of a gaming rut recently (not knowing what to play/not having too much interest in finding time to game) but this has snapped me right out of it.

Even took my Switch to work this morning to play Balatro during the commute and I wasn't even doing that with Tetris 99!

[Nu-Eclipse]

First run completed a short time ago! Red Deck/White Stake.

Thoroughly enjoyable from start to end, especially once I stacked up on the multipliers and remembered to pay attention to levelling up the hands.

->Open Spoiler<-

21ZXQLRG is the seed if anybody wants to try my run for themselves (not that they're likely to find it tough if they've been playing for a while).

[Dogg Thang]

Was doing great in this until I hit a boss that removed all my discards. Couldn’t possibly do a thing against that unless I got massively lucky on every single card drawn.

Am I right that you start from scratch each time? Nothing is carried over or accesible?

[hudson]

Yeah, nothing is truly carried over. Except knowledge!

There is still a large element of luck involved. Keep an eye out for Boss reroll voucher 'Director's Cut' (there maybe more similar tarot or vouchers that help in that department too but cant remember).

[Nu-Eclipse]

Yeah, nothing is truly carried over. Except knowledge!

There is still a large element of luck involved. Keep an eye out for Boss reroll voucher 'Director's Cut' (there maybe more similar tarot or vouchers that help in that department too but cant remember).

Of course, Poker is Poker and always will have that chance/skill/luck balance that you have to navigate. The genius of Balatro is that it actively encourages you to try and break that balance.

BTW, Feel free to post the seed codes for your runs!

[Dogg Thang]

I’m not good with how random this game can be. My personality might not quite be a fit for this game. It’s fine on normal rounds. But a boss where I can’t see my cards? Then I’m not really making any decisions. Somehow managed two full houses in a row and made it past that but took no pleasure in it. I achieved nothing.

[MartyG]

If you have the expectation of always being able to win with Roguelikes then yeah, you'll have a harder time of it. The game is absolutely RNG and sometimes you'll lose a run in the first round, other times you'll get the right jokers at the right time and rince the 8th ante. The are counters to many bosses through the use of the consumables, but that RNG element will always be there.

If you can put that aside, accept you're probably going to lose and just enjoy the runs, you'll have a better time with the game.

[Dogg Thang]

I have no idea what RNG is but it’s not an expectation to win. It’s an expectation to always have at least some influence on whether I can win.

Edit: actually even just the illusion of influence.

[MartyG]

RNG is the randomness, variability, or luck produced by a random number generator - an ingredient of pretty much all roguelikes. As mentioned, you do have at some influence on whether you can win with the use of the consumables, and other strategies so you can stack the decks in your favour, but there needs to be a bit of RNG in this type of game, otherwise there'd be little to no variance in any run.

[Dogg Thang]

All the draws are random. That’s expected. A boss removing all discards so I have only a single random hand to hit a high number (which I lost) or a boss where I can’t actually see what cards I’ve drawn (which I won but took zero satisfaction from) both remove everything but the random element. Maybe if I had some consumables to counter those, not sure I’ve seen one that could yet. But those were examples where there was literally nothing but the random and that’s just not for me.

Like I say, it’s not that I’m trying to say this is bad game (it’s clearly not). this could be just about whether it’s a fit for my personality. I like to feel I can have some influence.

[MartyG]

You do still have discards tho - you can play fives cards even if they are not all scoring and they'll be replaced - there are strategies for all the boss blinds.

[Dogg Thang]

Marty, when someone says “it’s possible this just isn’t quite my cup of tea”, it’s okay to let that be the case. Not everything needs to be argued. I haven’t given up on the game and I might come around to it.