At this point, I’m comfortable calling Balatro one of the best roguelikes ever. LocalThunk’s deckbuilder earned a well-deserved spot among the best game nominations at The Game Awards. It’s become such a household name that it joins elites such as Slay the Spire and Hearthstone as some of the best known in its genre. But if you’ve been playing as much as I have, you might be wondering how you’d stack up against your friends. Now a Balatro mod allows you to do just that, because the best card games get even better in multiplayer.
Whether you’re a Balatro veteran who’s been racking up gold-stake stickers or are relatively new to one of the best roguelikes on PC, this transformative rule set from modder ‘Virtualized’ is a worthy addition to the best Balatro mods. It includes new custom cards designed for multiplayer, the ability to tweak win options, and even a dedicated server paid for by the community that allows you to join other players easily with a room code (although you can set up a privately hosted match if you prefer).
In every match, you’ll be on the same seed as your opponent, so you don’t have to worry about random chance ruining your run while handing the best jokers to your foe. There are currently two modes available. Attrition turns every boss blind into a competition between the two players – come out with the lower score and you’ll lose a life. In Showdown, each player goes through three rounds of normal antes, and then both of you come together for an ante where the higher score each round wins.
Two more modes are in development. Vanilla Plus has you both play a normal game of Balatro on the same seed with no direct competition – the first player to fail a round loses, it’s as simple as that. Also planned is a Battle Royale mode, which works like attrition but with up to eight players and you have just one life. Virtualized notes that, while there’s no co-op option yet, one is planned for the future.
The Balatro multiplayer mod is out now. If you want to give it a try, head to the official Discord for instructions on how to download and install it. Note that you’ll need to set up Steamodded first, and Virtualized recommends using the Balatro Mod Manager to keep things simple. You’ll find all the details on Discord, along with plenty of players to team up with if your friends aren’t interested.
Deal yourself another winning hand with the best card games on PC, or prove your skills in the best multiplayer games in 2025.
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