Is Balatro REALLY the Best Game of 2024?

[@Ikelogic]

This is a safe space for disappointed Balatro fans. Feel free to vent here 😔✊

[@gideonplays814]

It was never gonna win goty, but it very deservingly won 3 other categories. One singular developer won 3 of the industries biggest awards on a game he just made for fun

[@stegosandrosos1291]

Yes, end of the quetion

[@HeatSeeker19]

Helldivers 2 should've been up there imo, I'm completely addicted to Balatro and see it's merit, but for me Helldivers 2 (and Arrowhead but NOT Sony) hit all of the boxes in exactly the right way and had it's cultural moment, the game feels amazing to play now and it's unique in a lot of the ways it approaches game mechanics, but most importantly, it all works so damn well together

[@puregigachad1110]

and sony couldn't keep their grubby little hands off of helldivers, Balatro isn't just the 150 jokers, i'm assuming you've played enough Balatro to know that everything fluidly works with each other, you can make combos with almost EVERYTHING, the possibilities are near endless and you can get scores for numbers you didn't know existed, plus the possibilities of adding even more Jokers, Tarot cards and such is mindblowing, way better and way more potential than whatever sony turned helldivers into.

[@Dras7]

Helldivers was a super fun twist on a third person shooter, for games that innovate and grabbed me I would put it up there with balatro. However being a bigger game it's also much more janky in many aspects, progression and mission variety first of all, while I find balatro super refined in all its aspects, I didn't really find any flaw with the game personally.

[@puregigachad1110]

@@Dras7 another big difference is that the solo developer not only makes the game, he plays it himself. He said he's not dedicated to doing what the people want, but a game he wants. If he finds something unbalanced or not so fun, he will change it according to himself.

[@karmicbacklash]

Valheim was, and still is, an Early Access title. Irrespective of what you think of its quality or content that year, having EA titles considered as GotY candidates isn't a good precedent to set, especially as most are far from feature complete, polished products. I'd have no problem with Balatro wining even if I wouldn't nominate it myself. Its been a perfect mobile game for me.

[@martinduebner]

@@karmicbacklash Many released games are just as unpolished as Early Access games. I mean Star Wars Outlaws is on there too.

[@karmicbacklash]

@ you made a correct statement without addressing my point. An early access game is explicitly work in progress therefore it should not be assessed against game released as final products (i.e. Valheim is considered but doesn’t win and people say “well it’s not finished yet, this isn’t fair”). Once they hit 1.0 and exit EA they should absolutely be considered in the year of their full release.

[@brofessorscales1593]

Although I agree that Early Access titles shouldn't be nominated. one already was nominated for GOTY before, PUBG. It wasn't 1.0 yet when nominated in 2017, it released shortly after. The Precedent was already set.

[@sameerhussain444]

Helldivers 2 should've been nominated and awarded. Fantastically immersive world building with unique mechanics like stratagems and use of music/visuals. All coming together to create a fresh community discourse like never seen before.

[@ProdLucio]

chess for game of the year

[@thewholehog3955]

IT IS THE BEST WE LOVE GAMBLING BALATRO SWEEEEEEEPPPPPP 🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏

[@CeyCen_]

This is a really good video, especially for 60 subs! I looked at your other videos and I think your problem is the thumbnails/titles and also that the genre you're doing is oversaturated af so if you're not doing something special or already have a fanbase it takes a lot to gain traction.

[@adityastreams]

whatever happens, im excited to see which game gets game of the year

[@emeneensj445]

astro bot disrespect is crazy. a love letter to gaming, technically very impressive, with great optimization, beautiful visuals, and interactive water simulation. astro bot and balatro are the only wins i’d be happy with. wukong is a sad unreal engine smearfest, which had such little care put into it that it has to use unresponsive frame generation just to reach 60fps on ps5, shameful when we have beautiful games like god of war ragnarok on ps5, with so much care put into it edit: finished the video and my disrespect to astro bot statement doesn’t apply but everything else does

[@puregigachad1110]

sadly its either the dlc or wukong, i really really want it to be Balatro tho

[@I.Am.Terrible.At.Usernames]

Balatro definitely ddserves it, but so does Astrobot. Black Myth isnt a bad pick either. But the other 3 dont even deserve nominations. Generic Atlus game, a 2nd part of a remake that didn’t need to be split up they just wanted more money, and a DLC that whilst cool is still just a DLC and should only be judged as such

[@ProdLucio]

Generic Atlus game

[@loopingmoon1444]

Sounds like you really dove into that Atlus game, not at all judging it in the same way people are disregarding Balatro!

[@Quickfix-n3s]

i am addicted to this game

[@YashimaTameyoshi]

No not by a single a shot Black Myth Wukong deserves it

[@toshtao1]

That game has terrible level design and invisible walls.

[@GodofDumps]

@@toshtao1 also a Chinese program, would not want to install that on my pc

[@buletincuadelin5690]

I like Metaphor.

[@ThaThree]

Why voting disabled? GREAT video. Unlock those votes and get those views my guy 🔥 Subbed

[@suorastas1]

Personally while I’m addicted to Balatro I would still give the GOTY to Astrobot. Balatro is super clever and executed extremely well but at its core it’s just a simple roguelike not that different from say Slay the spire (which I’m lukewarm on while loving Balatro). Astrobot is also reiterating rather than innovating but there is much more there to be awarded for.

[@sushantsharma1476]

Balatro gives hopes for indie developers that they can have the fame while not having a real budget.

[@suorastas1]

@ sure but it doesn’t need the game awards to do that

[@luk4aaaa]

We don’t slag off STS in this house, watch your mouth buddy. Otherwise I do agree, Astrobot deserved it.

[@suorastas1]

@@luk4aaaa I like the idea of STS but it’s a bit too punishing for my taste. A single mistake can easily kill your run. Balatro is very much the same kinda feel while being just a tad more forgiving.

[@jrm371]

Silent Hill 2 should’ve not only been nominated - I think it should’ve won.

[@mpwest929]

Remakes should not be eligible for game of the year.

[@luk4aaaa]

0:36 stellar blade was not that good lol, it has some pretty glaring game design flaws especially compared to the rest of the GOTT lineup.

[@SaturnSnapple]

1:37 your mistake was asking me to think about it and I agreed until I did, and I decided yah actually I do think the best dlc I’ve ever played (Echoes of the Eye) would deserve Goty. You don’t have to touch the main game at all to play it to completion and its mechanics are all unique and exclusive to the DLC. Its story and gameplay were my favorite of anything released in its year and it was just as long. If it had been nominated for goty I would’ve chosen it without hesitation, it was that separate of an experience in every way. To your credit though, that’s the only DLC I think of that way so if i hadn’t played it I would’ve agreed with you.

[@TheXxomasteroxx]

I think your mama should win because I been playing her all year B-). Just kidding I love Balatro but I think Wukong is also a beautiful game (even though it has its problems). While i wouldnt be mad about Balatro winning I dont agree that it "pushed the gaming world forward". I dont think it did anything groundbreaking and I dont think there will be a ton of games coming that are inspired by it. Its not a DarkSouls or Metroid game where people will go to for inspiration for years to come at least i dont see it being that.

[@zzzzzy]

2:03 "I havent played Balaatro but I think it doesnt deserve Game of the Year"

[@abcdoooabcd]

blackmyth wokung should win

[@GodofDumps]

Heyho, you make 2 points in this video 1. It brought its genre forward, fair enough because that genre was barely existant before. But the one i strongly disagree with is it should win goty because its an indie game. I want to see a indie game win as much as you do but this isnt it. Your entire arguement in the 2nd half of the video is just: "its an indie game so it should win" and i think that opinion is objectively wrong. also You have not played everything else except astrobot which is pretty much a big techdemo, and yet you criticize the people who just say balatro is bad even though theyve never played it. Its not even close to be compareable to the likes of baldurs gate and eldenring (even though its kind of overrated nowadays) or even a non goty indie game like a hat in time or blade and sorcery.

[@Ikelogic]

"Opinion" is "objectively" wrong, well okay that's silly. Also, yes, I didn't play any of the other ones. Notice how I never called them bad? In fact, I complimented them? Yeah, I do criticize the people who call Balatro bad for never playing it. How can you call something bad if you've never played it? At least pay attention before trying to call out some hypocrisy.

[@GodofDumps]

@Ikelogic dude you said that part over other peoples opinions in your video yourself. I never said that you hated on them, what i am saying is that you must have a lot of bias towards balastro and havent even given the other contenders a chance. Pay attention next time.

[@GodofDumps]

@Ikelogic also you fail to adress the 2nd point of my arguement.

[@ObservableObserver]

I haven't played Balatro, so I'm not trying to put it down, I'm just trying to understand: is this game really that satisfying to play? Or is it maybe just really addictive? I'm asking this, because Balatro reminds me for some reason of Vampire Survivor. When that game was hyped to the moon and back, I tried playing it briefly and I honestly couldn't understand the gameplay appeal of Vampire Survivor. After playing it I've read or heard somewhere that Vampire Survivor was so popular, because it used psychological tricks commonly used in gambling to hook it's audience. This theory makes a lot of sense to me, because gameplay wise there's almost nothing there in Vampire Survivor. I guess, because Balatro looks like a gambling game with very light gameplay, I made the connection to Vampire Survivor. But maybe I'm wrong. So I would like to get opinions on this gambling theory from people who actually have played Balatro.

[@Tektosunny]

Yes its satisfying and creative and addictive. But its sooo simple roguelite with mannnnny new cards.

[@tearex3485]

localthunk (the creator of balatro) says that he doesnt really think balatro has any real gambling in it. its more or less a meme because haha chips and poker. balatro is more about decision making and risk vs reward. you can argue that risk vs reward is basically just gambling, but that also means every game has gambling if your making decisions. the game doesnt even "play" like poker either, its inspired yes, but youre not bluffing, betting, folding etc. you only play poker hands to get points, and thats where the gambling imagery ends. i guess that main hook of it is the creativity YOU make about the choices given to you. it rewards the players who think ahead and make bold decisions. it also has a very satisfying sfx throughout, all the dings and whatnot really ties a neat bow on top

[@ObservableObserver]

@@tearex3485 okay, thanks for the detailed explanation. Your explanation makes the gameplay of Balatro sound interesting. I guess, I will have to try it myself and see what all the hype is about.

[@martinduebner]

Well, i'm in the opposing camp. A pixel card game that is low effort to where it only took 1 person to make has to be insanely mind-blowing to become Game of the Year, which it isn't. It's just a good card game. You can't hand awards out of pity. A toddler building his first sandcastle may be the winner of hearts but isn't exactly Neuschwanstein.

[@handsomesquidward7328]

just because you don't like a games art style doesn't mean it isn't good, video games are very subjective after all. Every game on there has some good argument for why it should win, i just prefer balatro, as do many others.

[@martinduebner]

@handsomesquidward7328 Read carefully. I didn't state that i don't like the graphics, nor did i say that the game is not good, quiet the opposite. What i said was that it is low effort, which it objectively is. The other games are grand collaborative projects between hundreds of people. There is no comparison. Let Balatro win best indie, but handing out Game of the Year would be kinda disrespectful, because why even take the risk to make a costly game that are much more demanding if we then let a pixel card game that only took 1 person to create have the win. Fun is something that even poorly made games can provide, like Stumble Guys, but that to me isn't enough to be worthy of an award.

[@jmz2144]

Test

[@handsomesquidward7328]

@@martinduebner mb for misinterpreting your comment, but I feel like your reasoning for why balatro is "objectively" low effort is flawed, as when a game is made by a huge team, sure the end product may be higher quality. But in relation to the work of individual designers, balatro is much closer, albeit still lower quality than the other games when viewed from this perspective.

[@handsomesquidward7328]

@@martinduebner and I feel like the phrase "took only 1 person to create" is weighted against the game, and if structured as "was created entirely by one person" would have a completely different effect. I do enjoy seeing the reasons for opinions I disagree with, as they give me a better perspective overall.

[@MegaDman16]

Its a good game, but i wouldn't call it game of the year. Most people never even heard of it till it somehow ended up on the ballet.

[@loopingmoon1444]

So having a smaller marketing budget makes it a worse game? 😅

[@puregigachad1110]

this is just an excuse to gamble with extra steps (i use the GOTY excuse too)

[@greggdogg]

balatro feels like an early ios game

[@BucketSoup2023]

Nah, it's a card game. There is no way it's better than the other nominees, and I think it only got nominated as a pity pick. I'm going to try it later today, though, since it's so cheap. I was wrong

[@ironrex6979]

Gaming is dead

[@GodofDumps]

@@ironrex6979 hello Nietzsche, unfortunally 2025 is filled to the brim with new games and we already knew in January that this year is gonna be pretty calm. The only thing dead is Ikelogics braincells after inhaling that massive amount of copium.

[@adammarzok9152]

Nah, black myth wukong is by far more "goty material" balatro shouldn't win goty, not when blackmyth wukong is an option at least.

[@Fullsight]

I don't understand the hype for Balatro. It feels like a mobile game to me.

[@iclonethefirst]

It is a premium card game without any ads and any micro transactions. Plus it is a lot of fun

[@p3nglin]

Roguelike, buddy. It’s all in the game design ⚙️

[@jmz2144]

Have you played it?

[@Fullsight]

@@jmz2144 I want to try it but I don't know how to play poker

[@Curratum]

No, it is not the best game of 2024 and you have to be seriously delusional to think it is. There, saved you 7 minutes.

[@erickieft5210]

I haven’t played any of the other titles but my opinion is very important 😅

[@NgVene]

Meh 🫤 i would have gave the nomination to other games over Balatro

[@sameerhussain444]

Helldivers 2 should've been nominated and awarded. Fantastically immersive world building with unique mechanics like stratagems and use of music/visuals. All coming together to create a fresh community discourse like never seen before.