Key Takeaways
- Balatro, an indie game, was nominated for Game of the Year ahead of big titles and has surprised many players.
- Players who initially criticized Balatro quickly changed their minds after trying the game.
- Balatro incorporates poker and roguelike gameplay, receiving high ratings and positive reviews.
Earlier this week, The Game Awards revealed its Game of the Year nominees. Five behemoths made the list in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Black Myth: Wukong, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Astrobot, and Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. Alongside those five, an indie game developed by a single human, Balatro, also got the nod.
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Its nomination raised some eyebrows in the gaming community, mainly by those who had never played the game. However, determined to see why it received its accolades, dozens of players jumped in, with many of them surprised by just how good the game actually is.
“Balatro, I Was Unfamiliar With Your Game”
There’s a reason Balatro was nominated ahead of games like Dragons Dogma 2, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and Stellar Blade— it’s phenomenal, and its detractors are now figuring that out.
Since its nomination, multiple social media posts have appeared, often with the authors’ tails between their legs.
Upon seeing its nomination, Twitter user Mora posted the words “Balatro instead of Silent Hill 2, Persona 3 Reload or Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth” alongside a meme that said, “This S**t is so a**.” Less than 48 hours later, Mora shared a screenshot of themselves clocking five hours on LocalThunk’s poker-themed, deck-building roguelike, with a GIF of Miles Morales saying, “I made a mistake.”
This tweet was part of a common theme.
Andrew Orozco was another player who was quick to admit they were wrong. Initially, Orozco shared on Twitter that they were “scoffing at Balatro being a GOTY nominee,” but they had eventually “sunk 6 hours into it.” Orozco’s tweet was another accompanied by a meme, this time with Shaquille O’Neal saying, “I owe you an apology. I wasn’t really familiar with your game.
While not as much of a hater as the other two, I Finished A Video Game shared their experience, saying, “I decided to check out Balatro as it was the only Game of the Year nominee I’d not played yet. Holy macaroni, this little poker roguelike is more dangerous than drugs. My productivity has been destroyed today.”
The number of players who completed a 180 on the game after trying it out is living proof that you should never judge a book by its cover. And if Balatro scoops the top prize, I don’t think anybody could be disappointed.
Balatro takes the classic card game of poker and adds roguelike gameplay, using Joker cards with various abilities to build your deck and attempt to defeat pesky blinds.