2024-12-13 17:30:50| Engadget
2024 is unquestionably the year of Balatro. It came out of nowhere to fill our heads with dreams of flush fives and legendary Jimbos. But I think what put it really over the top was when it launched on iOS and Android earlier this fall. Thats because even though I dont have the numbers to prove it, Charlie Brooker as he so often does in his show Black Mirror made a particularly prescient prediction during an interview with Deadline when he said that after Balatro comes out on phones, humankinds activity is going to drop about 25 percent. That said, I dont think people were prepared for the mobile version of Balatro to be an almost flawless example of how to properly translate a game from desktop to small screens and foldables.
To start, on both the Apple App Store and Google Play, the mobile version of Balatro costs $10, which is actually $5 less than the desktop edition on Steam or the console ports on Switch, Xbox and PlayStation. But whats even better is that in a world where seemingly every phone game is crammed full of microtransactions, there are zero intrusive ads or other extra purchases to take away from the game. This includes all the crossover cardbacks (like the ones featuring characters from The Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077 and more) and the big forthcoming update due out at the beginning of next year.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
On top of that, theres essentially no difference in features between the mobile and desktop/console versions. Granted, thats due in large part to the game being a relatively simple title (at least in terms of graphics). But even so, youd be surprised how easy that is to mess up. The game boots up nearly instantly and even when youre smashing antes while pushing your score deep into scientific notation, the game doesnt get bogged down.
It gets even better though because developer LocalThunk paid attention to nearly all the little details. Balatro mobile features cloud saves, multiple profiles and tons of languages. The game also supports achievements while making it easy to unlock everything with a single option in case the phone version is more of a secondary platform for you. And I can't forget to shout out the High Contrast Cards option, which is not only a great accessibility feature but a generally useful tool for making it faster and easier to tell hearts and diamonds or spades and clubs apart.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
I also appreciate how Playstack tweaked the games UI and interface to make it easy to drag and drop objects wherever you want. I cant speak for everyone, but theres just something inherently satisfying about using touch controls to move cards around like in Hearthstone and Marvel Snap compared to relying on a keyboard and mouse or a controller, to the point where I prefer the mobile version over the original desktop release.
But perhaps the thing I like the most about Balatro mobile is how well it plays on pretty much any device, but foldable phones most of all. Id argue that handsets like the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 are the perfect joker-hunting devices. Their large screens feel like a perfect match for the titles UI without ever feeling cramped, which happens sometimes on older gadgets with less roomy displays. Text is generally easy to read (though sometimes less so on tiny devices) and theres plenty of open space to push things around without getting in your own way.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
That said, if I had to nitpick, my complaints boil down to two (maybe three) things. The first is that on foldables, Balatro doesnt take full advantage of the extra vertical screen space. But since theres already plenty of room, its not a huge deal. I also wish the Skip button when opening packs was in a different place, because Ive accidentally fat-fingered it more times than Id like to admit, resulting in not picking a joker or Spectral card that I really needed. But perhaps the biggest issue (or not) is that when Im playing the game outside, when people who arent Balatro fans see my screen, they probably think Im a true dirtbag that just cant wait till I get home to make a bet. And in many respects theyre right, but since Im not actually gambling, its still the wrong impression.
Regardless, the mobile version of Balatro has basically everything I could want in a phone port. And in a world where more and more portable titles feel like low-effort cash grabs than projects meant to delight and entertain, Balatro is something Im going to get more than my moneys worth out of for years to come.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/balatro-is-an-almost-perfect-mobile-port-163050971.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
Latest from this category |
|
|
