Balatro creator reacts to award nomination by telling you to vote for another indie: "A truly deserving gem"

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Localthunk is a big fan of the acclaimed indie RPG Arco

Arco
(Image credit: Panic)

The creator of the hit poker-inspired roguelike deck builder Balatro, who goes only by the online name of localthunk, is celebrating his game being nominated for three different Golden Joystick Awards by... asking you to play and vote for another game.

In case you missed it, Golden Joystick Awards 2024 voting has officially started, and Balatro has been nominated for Best Audio Design, PC Game of the Year, and Best Indie Game. Localthunk shared the news of Balatro's nominations to Twitter and immediately pointed fans to the highly acclaimed indie RPG Arco. "Public voting is open, but I implore you to try out/vote for the incredible Arco that was also nominated today," he said. "A truly deserving gem".

Arco is competing against Balatro in the Best Indie Game category. It's described by publisher Panic as a "Mesoamerican fantasy RPG where each fight is a handcrafted bullet-hellish maelstrom that you must solve through clever use of your skills, items, and environment."

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I can't yet vouch for it myself, but Arco has 643 Steam reviews and a whopping 97% of them are positive. GR+'s Austin Wood is also a big fan, calling it "one of my favorite finds of the summer" in his hands-on writeup.

The game blends real-time and turn-based combat in what sounds like a genuinely innovative system that's directly impacted by the choices you make in the story, which puts you in the shoes of four different characters, each with their own unique skill tree and playstyle. The handcrafted world makes brilliant use of so few pixels, and I'm a big fan of the underutilized Mesoamerican setting. Basically, I'm sold, Localthunk.

Arco is available on PC and Nintendo Switch, and Balatro is available on those platforms as well as PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Android, and iOS.

Astro Bot and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth lead the shortlist for the Golden Joystick Awards 2024, nudging out Helldivers 2 and Balatro for the most nominations.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.