There’s something special about a game being the greatest of all time. It’s a feeling you get after you already know it’s a classic, and let’s be honest – after you’ve sunk dozens or even hundreds of hours into a game. I haven’t played a game that evoked that feeling in years. But Balatero Join this distinguished list.
It’s like the feeling of preparing to embark on a suicide mission in Mass Effect 2; the feeling of watching the last big tournament in Street Fighter 4; the feeling of finally reaching the top of the “endless staircase” in Peach’s Castle; the feeling of completing Grand Theft Auto V’s big end-game choice while playing as Franklin; or the feeling of watching Hick reveal their true identities. They all triggered a gut-punching feeling: This is the end. And then I realized: I don’t want this to end.
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Most of the time, this feeling is associated with story-driven games. I think it usually just occurs on some fuzzy axis of story and gameplay – both held at some seemingly impossible level of formulaic perfection that alters brain chemistry. The end result is that finishing a game and being done with it feels like lossand ultimately express the various strong emotions that come with it.
But to its credit, the card-based, RNG-driven roguelike deck-building game Balatro has inspired that feeling in me. When I finished the last of 20 challenge missions the other night, I should have felt completely victorious, having finally beaten that tricky, difficult “no Joker” test. But instead I felt bittersweet. No matter what I did, Do What will I do with myself when I finish the rest of this game?
To be fair, I still have a ways to go – different decks and different stakes to check out, and even though I’m someone who really doesn’t care about achievements or trophies, I’m determined to get them all in Balatro (another hallmark of me as a person who never gives up). But completing all the challenges feels a lot like seeing the last boss of a “proper” dungeon fall in a Zelda game: it signals the beginning of the end.
God, I don’t want it to end here. Balatro is one of those games where you can just boot up a file and enjoy the challenges at any time, thank goodness. But the structure of the various challenges and cards is something I crave in this type of game, and I know that once I’ve completed every challenge and card, I’ll find it less exciting to play. I feel lost for that. It makes me pray for DLC or free updates, maybe to add new challenges and Jokers.
It’s a special feeling, and even though it kind of sucks, I still love it. Like I said, it’s a rare feeling, and it always means a game is going into my personal pantheon of the greatest games of all time. Balatro has been with me a lot this year, and remains my favorite game on Steam Deck.
As the industry emerged from the pandemic, I experienced the increased international travel required for this job, sleepless nights with young children, and a few temporary hospital stays, culminating in a brief stint. It was also the typical toilet game, you know.
That’s probably too much information. But the right amount is this: I haven’t loved any game this year as much as I love Balatro. It’s the best game of the year, and after 150+ hours of playing, I still haven’t finished it. When I’m done, I feel sad. It’s bad. But it’s also amazing.
