Five years ago a little hidden indie gem you probably never heard of called Slay the Spire came out, masterfully combining roguelike mechanics and deck building, creating the first true videogame drug, however, unlike real crack cocaine, there is a finite amount of Slay the Spire, and eventually, the game ends. I've been dealing with withdrawals ever since, for five years I've searched far and wide for anything that could remotely recreate that feeling, that rush, but to no avail, it all felt like a cheap copy of the real thing, nothing came even close, that is until now.

Balatro is a roguelike deck builder based on Poker, that sentence alone should tell you everything you need to know about why this is so stimulating, for our own health and safety this game should be illegal, but it's here, it cannot be stopped now, so we might as well enjoy it, and damn am I enjoying it, but I'd be lying if I said that I'm not terrified to see what games this thing ends up inspiring, Pandora's box is now open and I am letting every demon in, I want roguelike Blackjack, roguelike Koi-Koi, fuck it, give me roguelike Mahjong, this game is so addicting I'm experiencing a pre-emptive detoxification, I already want more and I'm not even done with it, send help.