Okay! We’ve named our system-specific winners for PlayStation, Switch, Xbox and PC, but it’s all been leading to this: our overall winner. What is the Siliconera Game of the Year 2024? Read on!

These awards represent the consensus of the Siliconera staff. For more of the year’s award selections, check out our Game of the Year 2024 archive.

Balatro 4t2j3h

Balatro is one of those games that hooks you in an instant. The moment you encounter your first Jokers, the appeal of the game and its potential is abundantly clear, and continued play shows that solo developer LocalThunk knew exactly how to see those ideas through. Writers love to bandy about the idea of “setting a new standard for the genre,” but never has that been truer than with Balatro and roguelike deckbuilders: from now on, every new game has to be worth playing instead of another round of Balatro, and that’s a high bar to clear.

Mouthwashing 3o6lq

Mouthwashing is a relatively short experience, clocking in at just a couple of hours. Still, it packs so much psychological horror and body horror into that time to rival its ive-media equivalents. We won’t talk about the game’s twists to avoid spoilers, but you’ll certainly want to! And that’s the hallmark of a successful narrative. (For more on the game, check out Stephanie's review.)

Winner: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth 5a6c4m

Well, we called it. Rebirth revitalized our faith in Final Fantasy with a game that’s fantastic on its own and only enhanced by knowledge of the older releases. And though some titles took a serious run at it, nothing managed to topple Square Enix’s gem off the top of the Siliconera podium. Congratulations to our 2024 Game of the Year!

What is your overall Game of the Year 2024? Let us know in the comments!

The post Siliconera’s Overall Game of the Year 2024 appeared first on Siliconera.

In a world in which most big titles make it to lots of platforms, the PC has become a haven for indie projects to shine before they get the resources to spread further. That shows in this year’s PC Game of the Year finalists!

These awards represent the consensus of the Siliconera staff. Multiplatform games are considered on the platform for which they received the most staff . For more of the year’s award selections, check out our Game of the Year 2024 archive.

1000xResist 631c40

If your game is so exclusively narrative-focused that there’s not much else, that puts a heck of a lot of pressure on that narrative. But hey, pressure makes diamonds! It’s hard to put 1000xResist down, as it captures your attention and won’t let go until its story is fully told. (See Jenni's full review of the game for more on what makes the game so special.)

Crow Country 354t6d

Snipperclips developer SFB Games’ love letter to PS1-era survival horror, Crow Country shows both a profound knowledge and appreciation of those games and a desire to tell its own sort of story within those confines. It nails the look and feel, but it doesn’t feel like a cheap imitation. Many recent indie homages have shown just how difficult it can be to thread that needle. (Check out Daniel's review.)

Winner: Balatro 3d5e3x

There are some who scoff at the accolades Balatro has been earning. We’re guessing most of those people just haven’t played it! The game has ed the rarefied air once occupied by Tetris alone, games that you encounter and immediately realize you’ll be playing for the rest of your life. Congratulations, Balatro! You’re the 2024 Siliconera PC Game of the Year!

What is your PC Game of the Year 2024? Let us know in the comments!

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Since Balatro launched, we’ve seen a number of free updates that allow us to change the appearance of the cards to resemble other indie games, and the new Friends of Jimbo 3 trailer reveals both more crossovers and Ben Starr as “Jimbo the Joker.”  It is immediately available on all platforms.

How it works is you the update. Once you next play, you can change the skins for the cards you use in the game. As a result, they’ll have designs and in some cases characters based on the indie games taking part in the crossover. 

These are all the games represented in the Balatro Friends of Jimbo 3 update:

• 1000xResist
• Cult of the Lamb
• Divinity: Original Sin 2
• Don’t Starve
• Enter the Gungeon
• Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator
• Shovel Knight
• Warcraft

Here’s the Ben Starr Balatro trailer showing all of the new Friends of Jimbo 3 update additions.

In addition to playing Clive Rosfield in Final Fantasy XVI, he’s also Prometheus in Hades 2, Khazan in The First Berserker: Khazan, and Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. 

In case you missed them, here are games that appeared in the past two Friends of Jimbo updates:

• Among Us
• The Binding of Isaac
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Dave the Diver
• Slay the Spire
• Stardew Valley
• Vampire Survivors
• The Witcher 3

As for the mascot Jimbo, it is possible to get merchandise of him. A Makeship plush promotion is running until December 14, 2024. For $29.99, you can get a stuffed animal of the character. It will not sound like Ben Starr.

Balatro is immediately available on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC, and mobile devices, as well as Apple Arcade.

The post Ben Starr Plays Jimbo in Balatro Friends of Jimbo 3 Update Trailer appeared first on Siliconera.

LocalThunk and PlayStack announced that when the Android and iOS mobile Balatro ports arrive on September 26, 2024, they will also be accompanied by an Apple Arcade release of the game. Apple Arcade is $6.99 per month, while the standalone version of the game will cost $9.99 on the App Store and Google Play.

As a reminder, Balatro is a roguelike deckbuilder based on Poker. You pick up playing cards for your deck, acquire Jokers that have different scoring and game-influencing effects, and get things like planetary and tarot cards to increase the values of certain hands or affect your game. Your goal is to continually beat more challenging tasks, some with restrictions, by meeting the scoring goals. Campaign and challenge modes are available, and post-launch updates added things like new cosmetics inspired by games like The Witcher. 

Here’s the official trailer for the Balatro mobile ports:

Balatro first appeared on consoles and PCs in February 2024. It’s been consistently updated, and physical versions were announced. It also appeared in other games, with an crossover bringing Balatro into Dave the Diver in October 2024.

The Balatro Android, Apple iOS, and Apple Arcade versions of the game will appear on September 26, 2024. It is immediately available on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.

The post Balatro Mobile Version Will Also Be an Apple Arcade Game appeared first on Siliconera.

In a Reddit AMA, Balatro developer LocalThunk confirmed a Daily Challenge option will eventually appear in Balatro. It, as well as Balatro Android and iOS mobile versions and possible merchandise, came up during the question and answer period. 

LocalThunk brought up a Balatro Daily Challenge feature after a Reddit named Radstronomical brought it up. The developer noted, “I will definitely be adding a Daily Challenge mode, it would be so cool for a lot of reasons. I don't have a timeline on it but know that it's in the cards.”

As for other developments, Playstack Games confirmed that Android and iOS mobile versions of Balatro are being developed. There were no details on when this could appear. PlayStack only said to check social media and Discord for updates. Likewise, the publisher said updates on merchandise will appear on the same sources.

Balatro is a new deck-building roguelike that starts with a standard, 52-card deck of playing cards and involves acquiring Jokers with various traits. Said Jokers influence the course of rounds in which people play Poker hands, which have varying point Chip point values, to scoring requirements and gradually up the ante until you face bosses.

Balatro is available for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. Mobile versions are in development.

The post Balatro Daily Challenge Mode Will Appear in Future Update appeared first on Siliconera.

I slept on Balatro. I had an awareness of the game ahead of launch, but was too preoccupied with some of the heavy hitters debuting around the same time. I have to say, I’m glad I did. Why? Because Balatro is my new obsession and is both giving me a new reason to live (while tanking my productivity).

The concept behind Balatro is relatively simple. You start with a standard deck of 52 playing cards. Playing different Poker hands gets you chips. You have a goal of what your “score” must be to each round. You can only play so many hands and discard groups of cards from your hands so many times, depending on the deck color selected. As the number needed to keep playing constantly goes up, you eventually need an edge to keep meeting those scores.

That edge comes in the form of Jokers, Planet cards, Spectral cards, Tarot cards, Vouchers, and card packs. Jokers apply certain conditions and multipliers for your scores. Planet cards level up different Poker hands, ensuring you’ll earn more points if you manage to play them. Spectral and Tarot cards allow you to customize cards by adding special states to them or choosing if their nature changes. Vouchers can add new conditions to the game to give you an edge. Card packs can let you add more standard playing cards to your deck or get a chance at additional planet and tarot cards. 

If it’s difficult to visualize that, don’t worry. I didn’t really grasp the beauty of it until I went through the tutorial and played my first hand. Here, the launch trailer helps a bit.

Basically, the magic of Balatro is that it is taking something you are likely quite familiar with and adds all these new conditions that make it so satisfying to gain more points and tackle boss blinds. Since you can discard, it’s fairly easy to get higher value hands like a flush, straight, or full house. Getting certain Jokers and teaming them up can mean more points or special combos. Like pairing the Pareidolia that makes all cards face cards and a Business Card that means you have a 50% chance of getting $2 when a face card scores can be an income generator! While a hand like two pair may be lower value, if you build your deck around capitalizing on it, it can help carry you through. 

There’s also needing to balance if you take on a small or big blind when it comes up, or skip it for a Tag that could help you out. You could get free card packs, guaranteed Joker type or state appearances, or other bonuses that could help you out in exchange for not playing. But then, you also have to wonder if you will have the money or means of properly taking advantage of that effect. 

Of course, what also makes Balatro wonderful is how the game will absolutely screw up any plans you start to prepare. This is because the third boss blind will eventually get you. The Hook is one I honestly appreciate, because I’m typically fine with two random cards I didn’t play being discarded. The Manacle isn’t too bad either, since it just means your hand’s size is down by one. However, The Needle is a boss blind that only lets you play one hand, and it can ruin you if you face that one at the wrong time. 

However, because runs are relatively short, Poker is pervasive enough in society to be aware of hands, and it follows the roguelike tradition of unlocking new decks vouchers, and items as you keep playing, Balatro becomes even more captivating. I’d keep thinking about the boss blinds I hadn’t seen, the Jokers I hadn’t uncovered, and how close I’d come to upping the Ante and facing greater challenges. I might be playing for five minutes. I could be playing for 20 or even 30. It didn’t matter. Each moment was valuable, precious, and savored. I loved how it looked. I loved how it felt. I loved how good it made me feel to see the Jokers I’d collected, playing cards I’d found, and special cards I’d played made my deck—for a brief moment—feel unstoppable.

Balatro is a stunning game. It sticks with you. It never gets old. It’s the sort of title that maybe you even pick up on multiple devices, so you can have it on a Switch or Steam Deck when you’re on the go or a PS5 when you’re at home. Everything comes together beautifully and seamlessly in Balatro, and it is now one of my favorite deck-building games ever.

Balatrois available for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.

The post Review: Balatro Will Improve (or Ruin) Your Life  appeared first on Siliconera.