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I don't like poker, but I love Balatro—and I mean, hey, I've at least got that in common with its creator (though I've played considerably more deckbuilders than they have). It's pretty astounding that someone with zero experience in almost anything their game is about could make such a banger, but here we are.
The solo dev behind the indie poker roguelike Balatro is disappointed over how games with "actual gambling mechanics" are given age ratings, after seeing their own game's rating skyrocket due to gambling-related concerns. This came despite the fact that Balatro doesn't actually feature gambling, and the developer is strictly against it.
We're just over three weeks removed from the launch of smash hit roguelike Balatro, and I've already clocked over 45 hours in the game. I'm in deep—just last night I hit a 350 million point hand, and it's still not enough. Others, too, are clearly smitten with the deckbuilder. Scores and strategies are still regularly discussed in PCG's Slack channel, and the game itself sold over 500,000 copies in just its first 10 days on sale.
I've been wondering when a game might finally tear me away from last month's indie Steam hit, poker roguelike Balatro. Turns out it's Backpack Battles, a PvP-ish (I'll explain that in a second) autobattler about playing inventory tetris with a bunch of magic items. It arrived in early access on March 8, and within two days it sold over 100,000 copies, according to its developer, Furcifer.
It's not easy being a non-Balatro player amidst a horde of committed fans. People say things like, «A joker duplicating the joker that gives you x4 for playing the same hand, and one that did x4 for four of a kind,» or, «If you wanna scale that kind of build you basically then need red seals on all your face cards so it all repeats again,» and all you can do is sit there quietly wondering what the hell is going on. It's a lonely feeling sometimes.
Balatro, the hot new roguelike card game of the moment, has been pulled from several digital storefronts after its age rating was changed due to perceived gambling concerns. In response, publisher Playstack Games says the ratings decision is "unfounded" and vows to fight back against Balatro's removal.
Roguelike deckbuilder Balatro has run into a problem related to its poker-inspired gameplay and imagery. Its age rating in some parts of the world has changed since the game's launch in February, and as a result the console version of the game has been removed from some online stores, according to Balatro publisher Playstack, who posted a message on Twitter today:
Balatro, a poker roguelike that has become a surprise hit after being released last month, will get delisted in some regions after a sudden rating change that claimed the game encouraged gambling.