Balatro was one of 2024’s breakout hits. Made by a solo developer, the roguelike spin on poker earned immense praise from fans and critics alike; it was the only indie nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards, and it made GameSpot’s top 10 in 2024. Balatro originally released as a digital-only game in February before getting a physical edition for Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox in October. If you’re a Balatro fan who wants to own a physical copy, you can get a discount on Balatro’s Special Edition at multiple major retailers.
Get Balatro Deal at Amazon:
$25 (was $30)
Along with a copy of the game, the Balatro Special Edition includes 10 collectible Balatro cards. These are physical cards–not in-game cards for your deck–so this is a pretty cool pack-in bonus for Balatro fans.
Balatro’s physical edition normally costs twice the price of the $15 digital edition. The PC version is featured in Steam’s Winter Sale for $13.49. GameSpot sister site Fanatical also has Balatro Steam keys for $13.49 during its Winter Sale. And if you buy another game to get your order total over $15, you’ll get a free Steam game from Fanatical.
Balatro has received several free content updates since launch that have added characters from other game franchises to the decks. Last week ahead of The Game Awards, Friends of Jimbo 3 added cards inspired by Cult of the Lamb, Shovel Knight, Divinity: Original Sin 2, and five more games.
Our Balatro review gave the compelling deckbuilder game a 9/10, thanks to its generous reward system, satisfying gameplay loop, and heaps of ways to customize your play style. Plus, it probably holds the world record for the most clowns. It’s seriously impressive that all of the Jokers have a distinct look considering the game’s pixelated art style.
“Balatro ticks all the boxes for a roguelite that creates a feedback loop that’s difficult to draw yourself away from,” wrote critic Alessandro Barbosa. “Its fundamentals are incredibly easy to understand, even if you’re unfamiliar with poker, but the ways in which it works within the game’s boundaries (and often breaks free from them) injects a level of depth to each hand to play that’s both challenging and rewarding to continually engage with. It’s a game that will melt away time as you hit play on one run after the next, with each defeat never stinging long enough to dissuade the possibility of victory on the next.”