I’ve just uninstalled and removed Balatro after yet a near, very close 8/8 ante finish. I have been failing and failing, I’ve only ever seen and gotten to 8/8 ante twice, this being the second time. Every other run has been just insulting me to where no strategy has ever worked, I feel like a lot of it is RNG and pre-determined outcomes based on seeded runs.
And I hate that way of playing. It always feels like I’m getting smacked down by a troll bully who I can never overcome. They’d kick me down every failed run I’d have, then they give me a false sense of security the further I get. “Awwww, getting tired of being owned? Here, let me help you by giving you a few seemingly lucky breaks. SMACK Oh! OWNED YOU AGAIN! FUCK YOU! LOLLOLOL! I BANGED YOUR MOTHER, GIT GUD, NOOB!1”
I just don’t understand why these kinds of games are around, even when I have a good idea who it is for.


FYI (with slight spoilers):
spoiler
not sure where you got the 5 times, but it’s very incorrect: you play through the first part of the story twice, once with 2B, the second time with 9S with a couple of additional scenes. The second half of the game is made of entierly new events that happen after the first part.
Hey thanks for pointing that out. I was reading the endings page from fandom. I was under the impression that I had to run through the same events 5 times.
I didn’t have it to run through a second time. Maybe I’ll re-visit it down the line.
I too was a bit disappointed when I first played it and reached ending A, thinking that was all there was. I continued months later to try the different mechanics and realised that they are not endings, but more or less just chapters/acts.
It’s honestly a really weird decision to present the game like this, especially since route A is the least interesting one (IMO).