An Indie Backlog curated overview. We round up the best indie roguelikes and how professional critics and players received each one — the scores below are theirs, linked to the source.
Poker, but a roguelike — the 2024 phenomenon that hijacked millions of evenings with the simplest “just one more hand” loop ever made.
At a Glance
| Developer | LocalThunk |
| Release year | 2024 |
| Platforms | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, Mobile |
| Subgenre | Roguelike deckbuilder |
| Length | ~30 hours (to beat) |
| Metacritic | 90 / 100 |
| Steam rating | Overwhelmingly Positive (~98%, 190,000+ reviews) |
| Steam Deck | Verified |
| Languages | 12 |
About the Game
Balatro, from anonymous solo developer “LocalThunk,” disguises one of the most addictive roguelikes ever made as a humble game of poker. You play poker hands, but the goal isn’t to beat an opponent — it’s to score enough chips to clear escalating “blinds,” and the magic is in the Jokers: a deck of 150 wild modifier cards that warp the rules into absurd, build-defining combos.
A run is a tightening spiral of decisions. You buy Jokers, upgrade hand types, add and delete cards, and chase synergies that can multiply your score into the millions. The tension between playing it safe and building toward a game-breaking engine is exquisite — and every loss just makes you want to draft a better deck.
It released in February 2024 and became an instant phenomenon, sweeping Game of the Year shortlists and devouring free time across PC, console, and mobile. You don’t need to know poker to fall in: Balatro is the purest distillation of roguelike “one more run” compulsion in years.
Screenshots
Screenshots: official Steam media for Balatro.
Why It Made the List
Balatro tops a lot of these conversations for a reason — it’s the most compulsively replayable roguelike of its era, built by one person, that turns card-game maths into pure dopamine. If you play one game on this list, expect to lose a week to it.
What the Critics Say
Balatro holds a Metacritic score of 90 and a shelf of Game of the Year awards. Critics were near-unanimous about its addictive depth and elegance; the only “criticism” is the running joke that it’s too addictive.
What Players Say
On Steam it’s rated Overwhelmingly Positive across more than 190,000 reviews — about 98% positive, one of the highest on this list. The most common review is some version of “send help.”
Praise & Criticism
Praise
- Impossibly addictive “one more hand” loop
- Brilliant, build-defining Joker system
- No poker knowledge required
- Astonishing work from a solo dev
Criticism
- Genuinely hard to put down
- Minimalist presentation
- Pure systems — no narrative
Games Like This
- Slay the Spire — the other great roguelike deckbuilder
- Inscryption — cards with a sinister twist
- Vampire Survivors — equally compulsive numbers-go-up design
Where to Buy
Plain store links for now — swap in your affiliate-tagged URLs once you’ve joined Amazon Associates and the eBay Partner Network. (Steam has no affiliate program; that link is for convenience.)
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