Hey there, card player. I see that you’re here for the latest Balatro news, and boy do we have a nice little update for you on this wet Monday eve.
That’s because Kieran and I just braved the latest ID@Xbox event so you didn’t have to, and in watching said hour-long advert for IGN, we found a few interesting little news nuggets. I got to write about Balatro because, frankly, I’m still very much obsessed.
The Friends of Jimbo Pack 4
Let’s start off with the headline news, and that’s the release of yet another free set of face cards in the form of the Friends of Jimbo DLC Pack 4. This time, however, LocalThunk and his friends at Playstack have gone further than before, with even more big name collaborations.
The newest update includes cards based on Assassin’s Creed, Critical Role, Dead by Daylight (or was it Friday the 13th?), Fallout, Civ VII, as well as indies Bugsnax, Rust, and Slay the Princess. Now that’s a whole bunch of new custom cards for your to add to your deck, should you so wish.
Balatro on Xbox Game Pass
The headline for Game Pass owners is the news that Balatro is now available on Xbox’s subscription service. I’m not entirely sure at what tier the game is available on, so for now we’ll have to assume it’s the full sub and not the entry-level Core package.
This means that Balatro joins some truly exceptional rogues on Game Pass, including Slay the Spire, Dead Cells, and Vampire Survivors. If you’d like to know more, you can bet your procedurally-generated bum that this article about the best Game Pass roguelikes will have you covered.
Is Balatro on PC Games Pass?
Thanks to a friend over on Rogueliker’s Discord channel, it was pointed out that at the time of this original announcement, Balatro was only available on Xbox Game Pass but not on Windows PC. That has since changed and the game is now available on PC, too.
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Still with us? Of course you are! If you want to keep reading about great hand-picked rogues, the following articles represent a huge collection of the best roguelike games ever made.
Next, there are genre-specific lists that delve into the best roguelike games of all types. I’ve pulled out the best examples from each category, alongside the links to more in-depth articles!
The best turn-based roguelikes: Caves of Qud | There are some seriously incredible turn-based roguelikes out there. Of all the modern games, these are the closest to the original Rogue.
Awesome first-person rogues: Gunfire Reborn | We almost went with Blue Prince for this spot, but most people checking out first-person rogues probably want to wield a gun, you know?!
Cool roguelike deckbuilders: Balatro | Sorry, Slay the Spire fans, but this poker-solitaire deckbuilder has stolen Mike’s heart and won’t give it back.
Exciting roguelike platformers: Spelunky | Now, don’t get us wrong, Dead Cells is an incredible game, especially with all the DLC switched on. But when it comes to impact, you just can’t beat Spelunky.
Amazing action-roguelites: Hades 2 | And finally, let’s wrap things up with our favourite of them all. There’s no beating the original Hades, although Hades 2 comes pretty close!
