In an exciting turn of events, Balatro has emerged as a phenomenal hit for its creator, LocalThunk, with sales continuing to soar. The developer recently shared a timeline on his blog that captures his reflections on the surprisingly high review scores the game has received since its launch. Initially, he anticipated that the game would receive average ratings between 6/10 and 7/10. To his astonishment, he admitted that even he would have rated Balatro no higher than an 8/10.
“February 19th rolls around. The 19th is the review embargo day, and [publisher] Playstack did a truly exceptional job getting this game in the hands of traditional media to write their reviews before launch.”
“I didn’t know what to expect. This was a pretty weird game after all. Average ratings of 6 or 7?”
“I am shocked. That rating doesn’t make any sense,” LocalThunk recalls. “I don’t think I would have rated Balatro higher than an 8, and I made the damn thing.”