Games by PlayStack
The Case of the Golden Idol Switch eShop
- 25th May 2023 (UK/EU)
- 25th May 2023 (NA)
Rise of the Golden Idol Switch eShop
- 14th Nov 2024 (UK/EU)
- 14th Nov 2024 (NA)
Super Dodgeball Beats Switch eShop
- 22nd Aug 2019 (UK/EU)
- 22nd Aug 2019 (NA)
Reviews of PlayStack 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...
Review The Last Faith (Switch) - A Moody, If Stuttery, Blasphemous-Style Soulslike
Cutting open some Cold Ones with the boys
While the world continues to wait in vain for Konami to release another 2D Castlevania, plenty of indie game developers have stepped up to try filling the gap with their own take on the famed formula. Some of these games have almost copied the gameplay beat for beat, such as in Timespinner or Chasm, while...
Review Rise Of The Slime (Switch) - Slay The Spire Lite, With Tiddly Text
It's time to slime
Forget the Age of Aquarius (what do you mean, you already did?) — this is the age of the roguelike deckbuilder. If you're into cards, procedural generation, dungeon crawling and turn-based combat, then buddy, you've come to the right review, because Rise of the Slime is all of those things. Yes, if you've enjoyed the likes of...
Latest PlayStack News
Thursday27th Mar 2025
Random Chances Are You've Been Pronouncing 'Balatro' Wrong
It's Balatro, not Balatro
Ever since its release and subsequent success in 2024, indie hit Balatro has garnered attention for a somewhat surprising and amusing reason. That being how you're actually supposed to pronounce the title correctly. Is it 'Bah-LAH-trow'? 'BAH-luh-trow'? 'Bay-LAH-troo'? Yeah okay, no one's saying that last one... Well, we...
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...
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
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...
Friday25th Oct 2024
News Balatro's New Free Update Features Crossovers With Stardew Valley, Slay The Spire And More
How many friends does this Jimbo have?
Hot off the back of Balatro's 'Friends of Jimbo' update, which added the likes of The Witcher III, Dave The Diver and more to the poker roguelike back in August, developer LocalThunk has now added another crossover pack and, once again, it's
Tuesday27th Aug 2024
News Balatro Scores Crossover With The Witcher, Vampire Survivors And More In New Free Update
Available later today
Kicking off the Nintendo Indie World showcase with a bang, the super-addictive poker roguelike Balatro is scoring a crossover with The Witcher III, Vampire Survivors, Dave The Diver and Among Us (yes, really) in a new free update available later today. Expect to see wonderful crossover card art aplenty as these four behemoths...
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...
Monday29th Jul 2024
Random Can Balatro Run DOOM? Yep, It Seems It Can
"Literally nobody asked for it, but here it is"
The age-old question of "Can it run DOOM?" now extends to poker roguelikes, it seems. And if you have ever wondered "Can Balatro run DOOM?" (and why wouldn't you have wondered that?) the answer is yes. Yes, it can (thanks, Eurogamer). Reddit user UwUDev took to the official Balatro forum to share...
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...
Friday3rd May 2024
News Spread The Balatro Love With This New Range Of Official Merchandise
We're all in
There was a time earlier this year where we had two states: playing Balatro, or thinking about playing Balatro. Our daily hours played may have begun to drop in the months since, but there's no denying that it has permanently set up shop in our minds. And guess what, it can now do the same in our wardrobes! Yes, Balatro publisher...
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...
Wednesday6th Mar 2024
News Balatro Surpasses 500,000 Sales In First 10 Days
Ante social
We love Balatro. You love Balatro. It's safe to say at this point that everyone loves Balatro. Need proof of the word of mouth on this roguelike deckbuilder? It has surpassed 500,000 units sold in its first 10 days across all platforms. Five. Hundred. Thousand. These are big numbers for any old game, but it's extra impressive for an...
Friday1st Mar 2024
News Balatro Removed From European Nintendo eShops Due To Ratings Switch
"We are especially disappointed in the actions of the ratings board"
LocalThunk's excellent roguelike deckbuilder Balatro has been removed from various Switch eShops "without any advance warning" following an apparent age rating change from 3+ to 18+ by European ratings board PEGI. Publisher Playstack issued a statement via Twitter saying 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...
Wednesday4th Oct 2023
News Gloomy, Glothic Metroidvania 'The Last Faith' Finally Lands A Release Date
Castlevania fans, take note
Kumi Souls Games' stunning pixel art Metroidvania The Last Faith has finally got a solid release date, publisher Playstack can reveal — 15th November 2023 (via Gematsu). Those of you who love the gothic atmosphere of the Castlevania series should keep an eye on this one, which is another take on the action-exploration...
Thursday18th May 2023
News Award-Winning Murder Mystery 'The Case Of The Golden Idol' Is Coming To Switch Next Week
And the new DLC too!
Towards the end of last year, many of us donned our stovepipe hats and set about solving a series of grisly murders in 18th-century England in The Case of the Golden Idol on PC. At the time, we kept our fingers firmly crossed that the game would be making its way over to Switch (it even made our list of Switch ports we'd love to...
Saturday24th Dec 2022
News Mortal Shell: Complete Edition Is Getting A Physical Switch Release
"Includes all released DLC"
It's been a busy week on the Switch front with Nintendo hosting a special indie event featuring a bunch of game announcements. One of the many titles revealed was the action RPG Mortal Shell: Complete Edition. The Switch version will include all of the content updates and DLC in one package. This includes the...
Thursday6th May 2021
News Rise Of The Slime Is Like Slay The Spire, But You're... A Slime
Slime The Spire
Slimes are so hot right now. Between Slime Rancher, Slime-san, and the mascot of Dragon Quest, people just can't get enough of these squishy little beasts. And, if you enjoyed the roguelike-meets-deckbuilder mechanics of Slay The Spire, now you can play that as a slime, too! Rise of the Slime casts yo
