As a poker fan I'm always on the lookout for a new poker game. I'm especially keen to find games that use poker in interesting new ways—like RPG We Slay Monsters or roguelike Poker Quest, both of which use poker hands as a combat system—and if it's a poker-type game I can play on the Steam Deck, all the better.
Poker-inspired roguelike deckbuilder Balatro ticked those boxes nicely and quickly became my favorite game of 2024—before the year even started. I played the free demo every single day over the holiday break, and now that the full game is out it's completely dominating my evenings. I'm not alone: 72 hours after it launched Balatro had already sold 250,000 copies, and each time I sit down to play a few rounds I see more and more people on my friends list playing it, too.
