Fan of Balatro that I am, I’ll take any chance I can to talk about it. And, well what better opportunity than a simultaneous console launch and free DLC pack? Indeed, as of yesterday, Balatro is available on Xbox (both a la carte and via Game Pass), and its fourth col- laboration card pack has launched for all platforms.

It’s great to see Balatro finally make it to Xbox, though I’m a bit confused as I’d thought that it launched for all console platforms at the same time. Anyway, all you Xbox-only guys can join in on the addiction if you want. It’s on Game Pass, so you should be able to try it for free if you want. If you find yourself enjoying it, though, I’d recommend just buying it outright ’cause you really don’t want to lose access to it after the many many hours you’re likely to spend unlocking everything.

Okay, now for the big new for all of us existing fans: Friends of Jimbo 4’s surprise launch! Just like with all previous Friends of Jimbo collections for Balatro, each card suit gets two new themes for players to choose from. There’s quite a wide range here, so there’s prob- ably at least one theme you’ll like, even if you don’t know the rest. The new card themes are as follows:

• Spades: Assassin’s Creed, Slay the Princess
• Hearts: Critical Role, Bugsnax
• Clubs: Dead by Daylight, Fallout
• Diamonds: Civilization VII, Rust

I’m pretty psyched for Slay the Princess, Fallout, and Dead by Daylight as those are prob- ably going to be pretty fun card designs. Assassin’s Creed I could take or leave. I enjoyed the first couple of games and Black Flag, but haven’t really cared for the series since. I’ve no idea what Critical Role is, Rust seems odd considering its art direction is pretty bland, and Bugsnax just strikes me as an odd choice. Civilization VII seems fine, though I think an older entry would have provided more recognizable characters.

At any rate, it’s nice to have more card options, so this is an absolute win, I’d say. What do you think though? Which of these are you looking forward to using?

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What series would you like to see in the next DLC pack? Think you’ll give Balatro a try now that it’s on Game Pass?

Image from the Steam page