Gamers worldwide were surprised when two unexpected names were revealed among the 2024 Game Of The Year nominees. The first was Elden Ring Shadow of The Erdtree, causing turmoil because it was a DLC (Downloadable content), while the others were full games. The second name, on the other hand, Balatro, sucker punched the gamers for it being an indie game 100% focused on gameplay.   

Behind the game’s success

Balatro was developed by LocalThunk for about two and a half years to be published by Playstack on February 20th, 2024. The main game loop consists of a deck-building experience about Poker where you have to beat each round’s “Blinds” by playing poker hands, which can be upgraded or straight-up modified thanks to the roguelite elements of the game.

It’s not hard to see why the game achieved 1 million copies sold after only the first month and 5 million after the first year, as its mechanics are easy to understand yet incredibly addicting, challenging, and stimulating, making the gamers unconsciously want more with the grit to either beat the challenge they’re stuck on or try the next one.

On top of that, the game has a big RNG (Random Number Generation) component, meaning that the skill itself is not enough to win. Still, Balatro lets you manipulate said RNG thanks to the ability to customize your deck and strategies during a game, allowing you to overcome even the most demanding bosses, meaning no challenge will be impossible.

Nominations over awards

Contrary to many people’s belief, Balatro’s Game Of The Year nomination isn’t the reason it is now so popular, even if it is undeniable that it contributed to its current popularity.

LocalThunk’s game was already popular, and it achieved three major awards during the ceremony: Best Indie Game, Best Mobile Game, and Best Debut Indie Game. This means it had a positive impact on the jury and the public.

It is most curious that when hearing Balatro, most gamers will think about its nomination for an award he didn’t get instead of the three major awards it got.

Indies and indies

LocalThunk’s creation is far from being the first indie nominee at the GOTY awards, but it’s certainly the first one to win three awards while being a video game without any plot or lore.

Before Balatro, Hades (2021) and Celeste(2018) were nominated for their respective year’s Game of the Year award, and both won the Best Indie Game that year on top of another award. But here’s the catch: both games’ developers skillfully mixed gameplay and lore to achieve a captivating experience. Balatro’s got rid of any plot, making their game a pure gameplay beast.

After the tutorial, you’re on your own until you finish the game, and there are no dialogues to read except the mocking ones from Jimbo the Joker, the game’s mascot, when you lose.

This could be the reason not only for Balatro’s win of three awards instead of two like the previous GOTY indie nominees but also for the fact that its mechanics are so appreciated.

Deck-building and roguelite are a combo of genres much more common than one could expect. Inscryption, Slay the Spire, and the Legend of Bum-bo are only the most famous ones, but they all have a thick and heavy plot surrounding the intriguing mechanics. Balatro instead shines the light on the addicting game loop and the need to win the next match.

Is poker always gambling?

Immense praise didn’t shield Balatro, which was originally published under a PEGI 3 classification, from being removed from digital stores and receiving a PEGI 18 certification from the namesake organization before being distributed again.

The reason is that the game revolves around cards and mechanics that teach the actual rules of Poker, and such knowledge could be harmful to some people. Balatro’s developer was displeased by such a decision, expressing his disappointment toward the severe classification in a statement on X.

In it, they explain how unfair it is for Balatro to be 18+ when games like EA Sports FC are 3+, even if they contain microtransactions that lead to actual gambling and loot boxes, suggesting that they might add these things to their game to lower the rating.

Balatro’s future and legacy

Ever since its publication, Balatro has received outstanding support and managed to land incredible collaborations with really important names in both Indie and AAA categories, such as Fallout, The Witcher 3, The Binding Of Isaac, Stardew Valley, and many more, through the option of customizing the figures of the deck.

This breakthrough game’s unprecedented success might change the market for Indie Games over the next years. It’s likely that many developers who were afraid of publishing a gameplay-heavy game in a lore and plot-loving community will face their fears and publish their creations.