I love this game I’ve been waiting for it to come out on mobile and I’ve logged over 600 hours on steam not to mention the time I’ve played on PS5, but there are some bugs that are really frustrating, 1. I play on multiple devices (2 iPads and my phone) they’re all linked to the same Game Center account but one of my iPads didn’t track any of my progress on the other devices. 2. There’s a bug where I’ll beat a stake on a deck and it won’t track my progress at all. For example I just beat white stake on black deck which should’ve unlocked checkered deck, but when I went to play a new game right after, checkered deck was still locked and red stake on black deck wasn’t unlocked either. I also reached a new high score on that run and it didn’t track that either. That’s just one example but it’s happened many times on all my devices. If they fixed the progress issues between devices I think this would be the perfect game.

SUPER fun game! I’ve been absolutely sucked into it but it’s started not logging some of my progress. I beat a run twice with the magic deck and it still registered that I hadn’t yet. Sometimes a Joker or a Blind will not get added to the collection even though I bought the Joker or beat the Blind. It’s frustrating. I’ve seen people online suggest to uninstall and reinstall the app so I did that, lost all my progress, played the game up to the same point and it started not saving again at the magic deck. Some people recommended switching off allowing Balatro to use cellular data in settings, but that also has not fixed it. I just beat magic deck on base difficulty (again) on my 2nd playthrough and was excited because it was the first time I got up to Ante 12, but it showed me that I unlocked the associated voucher card then it was still locked in my collection and still showing I hadn’t beat magic deck. Imagine really enjoying a game and wanting to play it but the only reason not to is it just won’t save. Incredibly frustrating. Fix that bug and I’ll fix this review to 5 stars.

The sneaky game of the year (imho) that’s insanely addictive, is finally here for Apple! Thank you to the developer, you deserve all the money you WILL earn from this game. For those that have not played Balatro yet…now is your opportunity. I describe it as solitaire poker with benefits and pitfalls. It has a small basic learning curve but loads of strategy to learn. It is supremely addictive once you start playing. The thrill of choosing the best build for a run, or getting the joker/card you have been waiting for, or finishing a run and then challenging your build in endless mode. To the absolute disgust of not getting the card/joker/tarot/planet you need, or crashing out in Ante 8. No run is the same!!! This is the perfect game to play while killing time. If you like card games, poker, or solitaire I would think you would love this game. If you are having strategic issues there is much to be learned watching some you tube players. Enjoy!

Balatro is an incredibly well-made game—it’s fun, addictive, and has that “just one more round” factor that keeps you coming back. The graphics and sound effects are cute, the gameplay mechanics are smooth, and the progression system feels rewarding without being overly grindy. If there’s a grind it’s worth it just because of how fun it is. It’s honestly one of the best mobile games I’ve played in a while if not ever. However, there’s one major flaw that dampens the experience: the lack of proper palm rejection. I don’t know if it’s because I’m fat-fingering the screen or what, but if any part of your hand besides your pointer finger touches the screen, it becomes completely unresponsive. It’s frustrating when the game just won’t register because your palm barely brushed the edge of the screen. Fixing this would make the game perfect.That said, the issue isn’t enough to stop me from playing, but it does detract from the overall experience. If they improve this aspect, Balatro will easily be a 5-star game!