The popular poker-based deckbuilding game Balatro has won two Golden Joystick Awards, thanks to both the public vote and critics’ choice; a result which speaks to the great reception the game has received from gamers as well as the high esteem in which it is held by industry experts.
The Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People’s Gaming Awards, have been running annually since 1983, honoring the best videogames of the year in multiple categories. Most awards are decided via online votes, while winners in some categories are chosen by a panel of critics.
Balatro’s wins came in the publicly-voted Best Indie Game category, and the critics’ Breakthrough Award selection. It was also nominated for prizes in the Best Audio Design, PC Game of the Year and Ultimate Game of the Year categories.
While not a traditional poker game - it’s single-player and does not involve betting - Balatro is a fun game that rewards poker skills and knowledge, and has been a hit with many in the poker community. One well-known name who has been singing the game’s praises is WPT, EPT and WSOP winner David Williams.
Balatro was released in February of this year on PC and console. Its mobile release in September brought it to the attention of a wider audience, prompting us to wonder if Balatro might be the game to convert your ‘non-poker’ friends?
A notable breakthrough for a one-man production team
Determined by critics, Balatro’s success in the Breakthrough Award category is a testament to the work of the game’s developer and artist, a Canadian known only as LocalThunk.
The Breakthrough Award category was first introduced in 2016, when the farm-sim RPG Stardew Valley took the prize. Notable winners since then have included the smash hit Among Us (2020) and the influential roguelike shoot-em-up Vampire Survivors (2022).
The roguelike format - involving turn-based play, where each relatively short playthrough is unique due to RNG-based procedural generation - is one that Balatro also broadly follows. The result, in combination with a focus on making poker hands and building a unique deck of cards, is a game that rewards skill, features a healthy measure of luck, and can be fun to play in both short bursts or longer sessions. It’s no wonder it’s become popular with so many poker players, while also educating a wider public to many of the foundational elements of poker.
If PokerOrg had a ‘Breakthrough Award’ of our own to give out, we’d probably send it LocalThunk’s way too.
The people's choice
The Best Indie Game prize has been awarded annually since 2013, with previous winners including hits such as Firewatch, Hades, Dead Cells and Outer Wilds.
Balatro’s victory in the category saw voters place it ahead of more 2024 success stories including Animal Well, The Plucky Squire and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. That Balatro has succeeded with such a small team behind it appears to be down to the addictive and impressive nature of the game, which continues to collect plaudits from everyday users on social media.
The next opportunity for Balatro to pick up some more hardware will come at The Game Awards at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on December 12.
These publicly-voted awards have Balatro as a nominee in the prestigious Game of the Year category, alongside major releases from huge studios such as Sony, Sega, FromSoftware and Square Enix. It’s also been nominated in the Best Game Direction, Best Independent Game, Best Debut Indie Game and Best Mobile Game categories.
Should he win in LA next month, Balatro’s creator LocalThunk is expected to accept the award in disguise, to preserve his anonymity.
The runaway success of this poker-based game was just one of the reasons we predicted the 2024 WSOP was going to be the biggest ever, and along with the rest of the poker community we hope it continues to inspire new players to get involved in the game we really love.
Balatro has the potential to pick up another five awards in LA next month.Featured image courtesy of Future
