Poker roguelike hit Balatro is continuing its ascent to the highest echelons of indie game myth with a new collaboration featuring indie legends Slay the Spire and The Binding of Isaac, yet another CDPR crossover with Cyberpunk 2077, and even Stardew Valley via custom art drawn by creator Eric Barone himself.
The latest free update in Balatro's growing Friends of Jimbo line was revealed and released today, October 24. New free card skins inspired by the four featured games are now available on PC, console, and mobile. If you missed it, Jimbo Part 1 pack starred Vampire Survivors, Among Us, Dave the Diver, and The Witcher 3. The folks at CDPR are really hooked on Balatro, it seems, joining the likes of Black Mirror's Charlie Booker and a non-trivial portion of humanity in its entirety.
All four of Part 2's featured games are titans in their own right. Slay the Spire is still arguably the king of deckbuilders, and both it and The Binding of Isaac, along with Balatro itself, are among the best roguelike games you can play today. Cyberpunk 2077 has grown into one of the best RPGs that CDPR's ever made, and perhaps the only game to trump No Man's Sky's comeback tour. But the Stardew Valley collab is a little extra special given Barone's involvement. (Another artist, NEATO, handled the excellent Slay the Spire and Binding of Isaac art.)
"The one and only ConcernedApe made the Stardew Valley card art himself!" Balatro creator Localthunk revealed on Twitter. "Turned out perfect."
"Thanks for the great game," Barone replied. "I'm honored that Stardew is included. I have to 100% the game now..." So we can safely add Barone to the list of the Balatro-afflicted, too. Excellent.
