One of the most nominated games is a poker roguelike
The Balatro takeover began slowly and quietly enough. Some great reviews here, positive chatter on social media there. Eventually, it had people everywhere hooked. Then it came to mobile and everyone kept playing its compulsive mix of roguelike deckbuilding and high-score arcade chase. The mix of playing card combos and Diablo-style buildcrafting is nominated across five different categories, including best game, best indie game, and best mobile game.
Its total number of nominations is equal to that of Silent Hill 2 and one ahead of Black Myth: Wukong, and behind only Astro Bot and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which each have seven. It still seems like a long-shot for the best game win—my guess is that it and Animal Well split the best indie and best debut indie categories—but it’s an impressive showing for a game that wasn’t even on anyone’s radar until it blew up this year. — Ethan Gach
