Review Insights · App Store
Balatro
Playstack Ltd · 100,391 ratings · ★ 5.0
5.0
★★★★★
100,391 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 18 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"game"
14 negative reviews mention this · 78% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Well made game but too many 2 pairs. Especially if you like two pairs. Over and over and over. One off the flush, one of the straight, but you will have 2 pair. 6s and 3s so you will miss by 5. If that sounds like fun this is your game" - Alamo27
2
"save"
6 negative reviews mention this · 33% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Won’t save. So I’m not great at the game so it really challenging for me, but that’s what brings me back to it. I’m giving it one star because it won’t save my progress. It’ll take me days to beat a deck but when I finally beat it, it doesn’t save it. …" - motoman462
3
"progress"
6 negative reviews mention this · 33% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Won’t save. So I’m not great at the game so it really challenging for me, but that’s what brings me back to it. I’m giving it one star because it won’t save my progress. It’ll take me days to beat a deck but when I finally beat it, it doesn’t save it. …" - motoman462
4
"love"
6 negative reviews mention this · 33% of all complaints
★★★★★ "I hate this game 😡, devs respond. First off, I have Balatro on 3 platforms, iPhone, Xbox, and PC. I have been playing since its release. I bought it on different systems thinking I might have different luck on a different device. Nope. They’ll have you think that the game…" - JordyRulez
5
"beat"
4 negative reviews mention this · 22% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Won’t save. So I’m not great at the game so it really challenging for me, but that’s what brings me back to it. I’m giving it one star because it won’t save my progress. It’ll take me days to beat a deck but when I finally beat it, it doesn’t save it. …" - motoman462
6
"doesn"
4 negative reviews mention this · 22% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Won’t save. So I’m not great at the game so it really challenging for me, but that’s what brings me back to it. I’m giving it one star because it won’t save my progress. It’ll take me days to beat a deck but when I finally beat it, it doesn’t save it. …" - motoman462
7
"unlock"
4 negative reviews mention this · 22% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Mobile Save Issues. I put in a TON of time in this game and honestly it’s great. But… I keep beating a green stake and it won’t save properly and acknowledge that I beat it and the new deck won’t unlock. Pretty unfortunate for the amount of money I spent on th…" - Toothfood
8
"broken"
3 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Apple Pencil Support Broken. Apple Pencil is no longer properly supported after iOS 26" - TheOz1337
9
"deck"
3 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Won’t save. So I’m not great at the game so it really challenging for me, but that’s what brings me back to it. I’m giving it one star because it won’t save my progress. It’ll take me days to beat a deck but when I finally beat it, it doesn’t save it. …" - motoman462
10
"doesn save"
3 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
11
"later"
3 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "I fell for the hype. Bland repetitive gameplay. RNG decides if you win or not from the start. I got the game bc my friend talked about how hard it is and after reading promoted reviews it looked fun. My 2nd try I beat all the rounds bc of a series of very good …" - Tanner_Wilson
12
"decks"
3 negative reviews mention this · 17% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Broken for over 2 years. Two years later and decks & jokers still dont unlock when you meet the conditions (sometimes). No its not a seeded run, no its not a challenge run. People have reported this years ago already. The team released a statement on it, still not …" - JeagerManJensen
📋 All 18 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Apple Pencil Support Broken
Apple Pencil is no longer properly supported after iOS 26
Won’t save
So I’m not great at the game so it really challenging for me, but that’s what brings me back to it. I’m giving it one star because it won’t save my progress. It’ll take me days to beat a deck but when I finally beat it, it doesn’t save it. It’s so extremely frustrating that i have to keep doing it in hopes that it’ll save this time. I’ll give it 10 stars if it would save locally to my phone.
I fell for the hype
Bland repetitive gameplay. RNG decides if you win or not from the start. I got the game bc my friend talked about how hard it is and after reading promoted reviews it looked fun. My 2nd try I beat all the rounds bc of a series of very good joker cards and hand deals. For the next hour I watched my friend lose after 3 rounds or less bc of bad cards. He eventually won several days later and said it wasn’t worth the time.
Mobile Save Issues
I put in a TON of time in this game and honestly it’s great. But… I keep beating a green stake and it won’t save properly and acknowledge that I beat it and the new deck won’t unlock. Pretty unfortunate for the amount of money I spent on this thing. (Downgrading to one star because it keeps happening and honestly, my money should be refunded)
Broken for over 2 years
Two years later and decks & jokers still dont unlock when you meet the conditions (sometimes). No its not a seeded run, no its not a challenge run. People have reported this years ago already. The team released a statement on it, still not fixed.
I'll do part of your job for you. One way you can 100% reproduce it, is by choosing endless at the end of a run. Tho it happens even without endless mode at random.
I'll do part of your job for you. One way you can 100% reproduce it, is by choosing endless at the end of a run. Tho it happens even without endless mode at random.
Doesn’t save after beating a stake
THE GAME WONT SAVE PROGRESS! I’ve beat gold stake 3 different times and it shows I haven’t!!! Update: JUST BEAT GOLD STAKE 5 TIMES AND IT DIDNT SAVE ANY OF THE RUNS
Love to play the game but
I can’t play the game, is on a eternal loading cloud safe when this game is new to me, give the option to skip this eternal loading cloud safe
Lost progress
Used to love this game, was on a frustrating road to 100%, redownloaded the game to find only two of the 10 decks I golded completely gone. Safe to say I will no longer be playing this game again.
Game doesn’t load on iOS
It’s a known issue that devs don’t care about. Game does not load on iOS if you have previous save files through Apple Arcade. Love the game but wasted my money buying it.
Mindless and boring
Barely matters what you do, you still get thousands of points.
Can't progress in game
I've won with several decks multiple times and maybe two wins have actually saved on my account. Can't really play much more since I can't unlock anything
Well made game but too many 2 pairs
Especially if you like two pairs. Over and over and over. One off the flush, one of the straight, but you will have 2 pair. 6s and 3s so you will miss by 5. If that sounds like fun this is your game
Save data corrupting
Best mobile game I’ve ever played, but can’t unlock anything or have more fun
I hate this game 😡, devs respond
First off, I have Balatro on 3 platforms, iPhone, Xbox, and PC. I have been playing since its release.
I bought it on different systems thinking I might have different luck on a different device. Nope.
They’ll have you think that the game is randomized, but I’ll have you know, and from testing on 3 platforms that it is not.
The game is constantly trying to screw you over. Things happen in your favor maybe less 10-20% of the time, if that. The rest of the time is spent losing and feeling like I’m pretty much gaining nothing and making zero progress. Meanwhile, people around me, friends, coworkers, have been playing equally as long, and have beaten each deck numerous times, and I’m over here like how.
I’d love it if the devs had something to say in response, but I’m probably more likely to witness two polar bears giving birth on a green prairie while getting struck by lightning on a cloudless day, all within a 24hr period.
The algorithm is toxic.
I bought it on different systems thinking I might have different luck on a different device. Nope.
They’ll have you think that the game is randomized, but I’ll have you know, and from testing on 3 platforms that it is not.
The game is constantly trying to screw you over. Things happen in your favor maybe less 10-20% of the time, if that. The rest of the time is spent losing and feeling like I’m pretty much gaining nothing and making zero progress. Meanwhile, people around me, friends, coworkers, have been playing equally as long, and have beaten each deck numerous times, and I’m over here like how.
I’d love it if the devs had something to say in response, but I’m probably more likely to witness two polar bears giving birth on a green prairie while getting struck by lightning on a cloudless day, all within a 24hr period.
The algorithm is toxic.
Was awesome, now janky.
iPadOS used to be the definitive way to enjoy this masterpiece , now touch and pencil controls are broken.
Pick up, play, and drop
Great game. Addictive especially once you feel like you mastered the basics. I love having this on my phone. You can fit a game in just about anywhere and many different situations. Then, just as easy, drop the game and come back later. The music is calming enough to play in public too. Jan if there were more games that n iOS would that hit like this…..
Game is GREAT but progress doesn’t save
Unlocks do not save on iOS. It feels hit or miss as to whether something I’ve unlocked will be there after my run.
I’ve tried every fix I can find online and nothing works consistently. Incredibly annoying.
I’ve tried every fix I can find online and nothing works consistently. Incredibly annoying.
Freezes
Love the game but it’s almost unplayable. It keeps freezing and I have to click the cards for like a minute straight before it responds. This happens very randomly but frequently. I’m on the latest IOS and iPhone 17 pro. Hope the fix it.
Sentiment summary
99%
Positive (4-5★)
0%
Neutral (3★)
1%
Negative (1-2★)