Grab your coffee, or whatever it is you need to survive this slightly chaotic ramble about Balatro. Look, I’m not a card game aficionado. My poker skills are the equivalent of a toddler trying to drive a car — a disaster waiting to happen. Yet somehow, I found myself neck-deep in Balatro, and well, let’s just say it became an obsession. Why? Blame the hype from The Game Awards in 2024. That got me curious. It’s like you see enough people lining up for something, you figure you gotta check it out, right?
Balatro’s not your typical card game; it’s more like if poker and a rogue AI had a love child, wrapped up in the madness of a solo dev, LocalThunk. This guy took the world by storm. The game dropped in Feb 2024, and boom, exploded. Everyone was talking about it — “just one more run” and all that. First, it was consoles and Windows, then bam, mobile takeover by September that year. It’s like they knew people needed distraction everywhere they went — phones in hand, minds somewhere else.
Now, I’ve got this thing where I burn through free trials like they don’t mean a thing, so Apple Arcade got used up all on Balatro+. Yikes, but worth it… kinda. The addiction was real. Because once you’re in, you’re in. Quick rounds turn into lost afternoons, and suddenly buying it everywhere made sense. I should’ve just snagged it on Steam from the get-go. Oh well, hindsight.
Three months in, yeah, I forgot about that free trial ending. Surprise, I’m paying now. Springing for the app store version felt inevitable. And, just saying — relief, my progress transferred! But then I shifted to PS Plus and didn’t even care. New platform? New game. Ground zero.
Oh, and in comes a shiny MacBook Air — I’m thinking, “Let’s try some Balatro on this baby!” Yeah, no. Gotta have Apple Arcade, or it’s Steam all over again. The struggle of multi-platform gaming… why is adulting so expensive?
Now unlocking things has turned into this grindfest with the red and blue Anaglyph deck. Rage-quits? Oh, they’re happening. Yet the game’s got this pull — even the dev couldn’t resist. Dude hit 100% after a meltdown during crunch time. Inspirational or what?
I guess I’m a sucker, because wherever Balatro ends up next, you better believe I’ll be tagging right along.
