Balatro's first big update hits public testing with new Joker mechanics, more

eurogamer.net:

Balatro, the acclaimed poker-themed roguelike from developer LocalThunk, has just received its first big content update — officially known as Update 1.0.1c — with the patch currently in Steam public testing ahead of a full release «in about a week».

Update 1.0.1c, as per some sizeable patch notes shared on Balatro's official Discord channel (via Reddit), promises «a lot of changes», with LocalThunk explaining they're opting to have an extended public test «to ensure everything is working smoothly before pushing it live for real».

There're a couple of bug fixes and a lot of balance changes to be found in the patch notes, with some cards getting buffs while others see their effects and rules of play tweaked — with the adjustments covering everything from pricing to chip rewards.

Additionally, the update aims to fix an issue seen on Windows and Steam Deck that could result in poor or stuttery performance for some players.

As for new stuff, the two most notable mechanical additions arrive in the form of Perishable and Rental Jokers. Perishable Jokers have a 30 percent chance to appear during Orange Stake runs and cause Jokers that receive the 'perishable' sticker to be disabled after five rounds.

Rental Jokers, meanwhile, have a 30 percent chance of appearing during Gold Stake runs. Jokers marked with a 'rental' sticker cost $1 up front and then $3 every round, with the effect stacking alongside eternal/perishable.

The update's public test is now underway, and can be accessed by right-clicking Balatro's entry in your Steam library then going to Properties > Betas > Beta Participation. From here, simply select the 'public_experimental' option to get stuck in. All being well, LocalThunk expects to push the update live «for real» in «about a week».

Update 1.0.1c patch notes:

• Updated version of Love2D — this fixed an issue on Windows and Steam Deck causing poor/stuttery