A solo developer has achieved huge success on Steam with “Balatro” in 2024. Now his game is to be awarded, but he says you should vote for another title.
Which developer is it? In February 2024, a card game called Balatro launched on Steam, which is a mix of poker and roguelike. The title quickly became a surprise hit and received positive reviews.
- Today, Balatro has over 43,000 ratings on Steam, 97% of which are positive – that is really extremely good.
- The poker roguelike measures up in percentage ratings with games like Stardew Valley, Portal, and Hades.
However, the Steam hit does not come from a large AAA studio, but was created by the solo developer “localthunk,” about whom not much else is known. Now Balatro is to be awarded, but the developer likely does not want the prize.
Here you see a trailer:
Developer wants you to choose another game
What kind of award is that? Balatro has been nominated in three categories at the “Golden Joystick Awards”:
- Best Audio Design
- PC Game of the Year
- Best Indie Game
The Golden Joystick Awards is a ceremony organized by various international gaming media such as GamesRadar. They then provide a selection of games for various categories, among which the winner is determined by voting.
In addition to the three categories for which Balatro is nominated, there are categories such as best multiplayer game, best game expansion, or best visual design.
What did the Balatro developer say about the nomination? The developer of Balatro did not say many words about the nominations at the awards on X.com. He briefly stated that Balatro is nominated in the categories and that voting has begun.
He then asked his followers to vote for another game and not for Balatro: “The public voting is open, but I urge you to try / vote for the incredible Arco, which has also been nominated today. A truly deserved gem!”
Which game should you choose instead of Balatro? The developer of the poker roguelike wants you to vote for “Arco,” released on August 15th, in the “best indie game” category.
Arco is a pixel-art role-playing game that focuses on turn-based combat. The indie title offers a campaign where you embody different characters, all of whom have different abilities. Throughout the game, you can also unlock further talents and recruit allies.
Arco has around 640 reviews (as of October 5th) with 97% positive ratings and costs €14.39 on Steam until October 12th. There, you can also try it out with a free demo.
If you haven’t tried Balatro yet and want to get an impression of the game: MyMMO editor Niko is a big fan of the card game, even though he is not interested in poker. Here you can read more about it: The new indie hit is like poker, but much better – Only costs €14
