Games by LocalThunk
Reviews of LocalThunk Games
Review Balatro (Switch) - Devilishly Compelling Cardplay, And A Clear GOTY Contender
A full house
Editor's note: Following the publication of this review, it has come to light that the game has been removed from European Switch eShops following a ratings change from 3+ to 18+ which, according to publisher Playstack, came "without any advance warning". <related ids="162972"> You can read the publisher's statement in our story...
Latest LocalThunk News
Tuesday4th Nov 2025
Random Balatro's Charity Calendar Is Ludicrous, And An Absolute Must-Buy
Jimbo is a Starr
Remember that Balatro trailer when Ben Starr, the voice of Clive Rosfield in Final Fantasy XVI, Dycedarg Beouvle in Final Fantasy Tactics, and Prometheus in Hades II, dressed up as the game's iconic mascot Jimbo? Need more of that in your life? Well, LocalThunk, PlayStack, and Fangamer have you covered. The video game merchandise
Thursday20th Mar 2025
News The Reason For Balatro Dev's Anonymity Is Pretty Straightforward, Actually
It's no big ruse
With Balatro exploding in popularity over the last year or so, one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the game's development and release is one that has yet to be solved: just who is developer LocalThunk? Well, if you happen to be particularly keen to find out, we'd urge you to keep your expectations in check. According to an...
Friday7th Mar 2025
News "I Felt Totally Overwhelmed" - Balatro Dev Releases Development Timeline
From inception to launch
Balatro developer LocalThunk has released a complete timeline of the game's development, from its inception in 2021 to its eventual launch on 20th February 2024. You can read the whole thing on LocalThunk's website, but the developer states that the intention behind the post was due to "constantly forgetting major moments...
Tuesday25th Feb 2025
News Balatro's New Free Update Features Crossovers With Assassin's Creed, Fallout, Civ And More
How many friends does this guy have?
Prepare yourselves, poker fans, because our beloved roguelike Balatro has just landed another 'Friends of Jimbo' update, adding a whole new batch of crossovers into the mix. Much like the three previous additions, the latest update features new card cosmetics from eight different crossover games. The Assassin's...
Monday24th Feb 2025
News Balatro's Ridiculous 18+ Age Rating Is Finally Lowered
Justice is dealt
PEGI (Pan European Game Information) has announced that it has lowered the age rating for the smash-hit poker roguelike Balatro (thanks, Eurogamer). The game drew plenty of attention when PEGI rated it 18+ in Europe, citing its resemblance to the real-world game of poker as the main catalyst. It reasoned that players may be able to...
Tuesday21st Jan 2025
News Balatro Dev Urges Fans To Buy More Indie Games As Title Hits 5 Million Units Sold
Keep it up!
Balatro has now officially sold 5 million copies since its initial launch on 20th February 2024. This number is a significant increase over the 2 million units previously reported in August 2024. The reason for this will likely be two-fold: since then, the game has been released on mobile devices and also received multiple awards at
Monday6th Jan 2025
Random Balatro Dev Spreads Some Indie Love In His List Of 2024 Highlights
And the LocalThunk Award goes to...
Balatro was one of our games of 2024 and the vast majority of us at Nintendo Life Towers have poured more hours into its poker roguelike gameplay loop than we care to admit. But what were the games that caught the attention of its developer, LocalThunk? With 2025 finally here, the dev took to Twitter to share some...
Friday20th Dec 2024
Random Balatro Fans Start The Ultimate Debate: Is That Jimbo's Clown Ruff Or Tiny Body?
We fold
If a glance at most of our Nintendo Switch Year in Review stats is anything to go by, then more than a few of us have spent a good bit of time with Balatro this year. We've spent so long with it, in fact, that its iconography is pretty much burned into our minds by this point. It sure would be a shame if one joke tweet made us see the whole...
Wednesday18th Dec 2024
News Balatro Developer Calls Out 'PEGI' For Its "Weirdo" 18+ Rating
While games with real-life gambling are 3+
Balatro developer 'LocalThunk' has called out ratings board 'Pan-European Game Information', A.K.A 'PEGI', for its "weirdo" decision to rate the game 18+. The title, which recently won 'Best Independent Game', 'Best Debut Indie Game', and 'Best Mobile Game' at The Game Awards 2024, received the highest...
Thursday12th Dec 2024
News Balatro Gets More Free 'Friends Of Jimbo' With Cult Of The Lamb, 1000xResist, And Shovel Knight
Hello JimBen (Starr)
Do you need yet another reason to go back to the incredibly moreish poker roguelike Balatro? Yes? well how about eight more Friends of Jimbo! Friends of Jimbo 3 is out now for free, and it adds eight new cosmetic flairs that you can apply to your cards. And at last, Shovel Knight has managed to dig his way into the game — it...
Friday23rd Aug 2024
News New Balatro Merch Adds Exclusive Abstract Joker Shirt
We're all in
A new Summer range of Balatro merch has been revealed (which, bizarrely, comes just under a month away from Fall, but never mind) and includes a rather fetching Abstract Joker shirt based on a design by developer LocalThunk. Each shirt is available now for £24.99 (plus shipping), with the full collection consisting of the...
Saturday8th Jun 2024
News Balatro Special Edition Physical Release Announced For Switch
Pre-orders start soon
In some surprise news, the Giant Bomb team has revealed Balatro will be getting a physical "special edition" release across multiple platforms including the Nintendo Switch. There are not many details beyond this just yet, but we do know "pre-orders are starting soon" and there'll be a booster pack of Joker cards and playing...
Tuesday9th Apr 2024
News Balatro Is Getting Its First Major Update
The roguelike deck builder has more on the way
One of the most popular releases of the year so far is the roguelike deck builder hit Balatro. Although it had some teething issues on the Switch (with a temporary removal from the eShop), it's since returned and has gone on to sell more than one million copies across all platforms. Now, it seems the
Friday8th Mar 2024
News Balatro Back On Switch eShop In Europe With New Age Rating
It's now 18+
Good news for deckbuilding fans itching to play the indie smash hit Balatro, as the game has returned to the Switch eShop today in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Just a week ago, the game disappeared from Switch storefronts due to "a reaction to an overnight change to Balatro's age rating". Today, publisher Playstack shared the...
Thursday25th Jan 2024
News Balatro Is A Roguelike Deckbuilder All About Cheating At Poker
Upping the ante
A deckbuilder that uses a real deck of cards? Colour us surprised. But Balatro, from developer LocalThunk, does just that. Launching on Nintendo Switch on 20th February, Balatro throws all other fantasy decks out of the window and has settled on the good ol' deck of 52 for its roguelike deckbuilding shenanigans. Yet, despite the...
