Balatro
Developed by LocalThunk
About the game — TGN editorial note
Balatro is a poker-themed roguelike deckbuilder made by Canadian solo developer LocalThunk, with Playstack as publisher, in 2024. Each round asks the player to hit a score target by playing poker hands drawn from a standard 52-card deck, with only a few hands and discards available to spend. Drawing on the card game big two and Luck Be a Landlord, it earned Game of the Year honours from the 25th Game Developers Choice Awards.