Summary
Balatrois a bonafide Game of the Year contender. The poker-inspired roguelike is so addictive that every layer of detail seems meticulously thought out, and that ismostlythe case.
However, developer LocalThunk has shared a little insight into the creation process, saying that 30 Jokers only made the game because of a misunderstanding between himself and his publisher, Playstack.
Playstack Is To Thank For 30 Of Balatro’s Jokers
Postingon Twitter, LocalThunk said, “I once told Playstack (my publisher) that the full version of Balatro would have 120 Jokers. In a meeting later that week they mentioned something about ‘150 Jokers’ and instead of correcting them, I just made 30 more Jokers.”
In a meeting later that week they mentioned something about ‘150 Jokers’ and instead of correcting them, I just made 30 more Jokers.
The Jokers that got added to the game thanks to this minor piece of miscommunication are some fan favorites, with LocalThunk sharing that the majority of the following wouldn’t have made the game if he corrected the publisher:
Many of these cards are synonymous with strong runs, especially in the early game. I know cards like Popcorn and Smiley Face got me through my fair share of tricky situations.
This tweet, while insightful, is also somewhat of a confessional for creator LocalThunk, who also shared that the publishing team will “learn about this when they wake up tomorrow.”
Balatro has become a viral phenomenon, and is easily one ofthe best indie games of the last few years, if not ever. It’s caused our team toclaim to have seen god,crossed over with The Witcher and Among Us, andcaused many, many regrets.
Balatro
WHERE TO PLAY
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.
