Balatro is dangerously perfect for the Steam Deck (and the Nintendo Switch, speaking of handhelds). Many a lunch break and sleepless night has been spent staring into its card decks, chasing its big numbers, and deceptively whispering "just one more game" half a dozen times, but it almost wasn't optimized for the platform.
Don't just take my word for it. Valve's Steam Deck Top Played official charts place the poker-themed roguelike as the platform's third most-played game this past week, behind only perennial favorites Elden Ring and Stardew Valley - the former getting a boost thanks to its Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, and the latter just, you know, also being painfully perfect for on-the-go play. That means Balatro is more popular on the handheld than some absolute juggernauts like last year's best RPG Baldur's Gate 3, GTA 5, Fallout 4, and the recently ported Kingdom Hearts collection.
