Balatro developer ‘Localthunk’ is celebrating today, having finally overcome their own hardest in-game challenge. The indie deckbuilder exploded in popularity with its launch in 2024, and it’s due to receive a major gameplay update in 2025. Now, after much agony, the roguelike’s creator confirms that they’ve finally 100% completed Balatro, and that the strive to do so has put them in a better position to deliver the much-anticipated 1.1 update.
Balatro was unquestionably last year’s runaway indie darling, earning itself a worthy place as PCGamesN’s GotY and landing among the TGA Game of the Year nominations. Of course, that also gave it a safe spot on our list of the best roguelikes on PC. A simple set of rules combined with the immense potential of its build-defining jokers makes for a game that’s tremendously easy to begin, but with near-endless replayability once it inevitably gets its hooks under your skin.
Following Balatro’s success, we’ve seen all manner of high-profile cosmetic crossovers courtesy of the ‘Friends of Jimbo’ packs. Naturally, however, the promise of a big gameplay upgrade set to arrive for free sometime in 2025 is the most exciting news of all. If you’ve been continuing to plow in hours while you wait, you might have considered grinding towards the hardest Balatro Steam achievement, Completionist++, and you wouldn’t be alone.
A couple of weeks ago, Localthunk revealed that they had 146 of the 150 gold stickers (earned by using each joker in a gold-stake completion) required to secure the achievement, and were “getting a taste of my own medicine.” Now, the game’s creator confirms, “I have 100% completed Balatro. [It] was a ton of fun to hunt for Completionist++. I play a few runs before bed and it’s been a great part of my daily routine.”
All that work has put the enigmatic developer in a perfect spot to consider what’s next. “I think it’s also equipped me to better design the 1.1 update,” they add. “Pumped to do it all over again with the new content when it comes out.” It makes sense; spending so long attempting to secure wins with some of the most niche offerings is a surefire way to expand your horizons about Balatro buildcrafting.
As for what Localthunk’s go-to decks were, they reveal that they were using “Mostly Ghost, some Painted, and Yellow as well. Every now and then I’d throw in a random one too just for fun.” I can certainly understand the appeal of fishing for big spectral card rolls when you’re trying to secure a stable loadout that can support harder-to-use jokers. With that victory attained, I can’t wait to see what weird designs Localthunk is cooking up for Balatro 1.1.
If you’re still learning the ropes, here’s our pick of the best Balatro jokers, along with a winning hand of the best card games on PC right now.
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