Aliosso

Worth it

A good Balatro-inspired roguelike that will scratch the itch of a big numbers game, def worth it!

Plays like a cross between Balatro and Slay the Spire, and I've enjoyed what I've played so far a lot. Mechanics are easy to grasp but have depth, with numerous things to unlock over many runs, so replayability seems good too.

This review is specially made for those who like to get all the achievements in games. Minor spoilers ahead. Aliosso is a “balatro-like” indie deckbuilder with similar mechanics and even a few similar cards (=jokers) where the goal is reaching a score target by making combination of tiles (instead of cards) but you only can do pair based combinations so there aren’t any Straights or Flushes. The final stage is a Djiin where you need to defeat 3 enemies without “spells” and without visiting the shop between battles. Initially a lot of items, characters and deck are locked and need to be unlocked by completing specific tasks and only with these new unlockable content will you be able to complete the game, and only with the stronger ones you will be able to complete the game on the maximum difficulty. The graphics are very simple and perhaps the weakest point of the game, the 2D pixel art backgrounds, mostly desert inspired, and the characters only serve as a background and are mostly static apart from slight “breathing” animations and particle effects when scoring the tiles and when you destroy the enemies. Despite borrowing some things from Balatro, the game adds a lot of new tile effects, more decks and characters and some new systems like “water” which can used to cast “prayers” which are repeatable spells that initially only can be used during battles but later on can be used to heavily manipulate your deck, duplicating tiles or items, increasing or transferring score values, and many other effects. Another difference is how strong the “events” (=skipping battles) are: some of them when paired with specific cards will make the rest of the run fairly easier on their own, like the one that increases the odds combined with the cards with 1 in 4 initial chance of getting an extra X1. The other super useful one increases all hand levels by 2 and is always a must pick for me. Regarding the achievements, discovering the entire collection takes some time and effort because some of the cards require very hard to get conditions like getting 4 or 5 very specific tiles in the same deck and force you to play entirely for it, often ruining runs to get those tiles, but it’s easier than getting the gold stake in all jokers in Balatro. The Challenges are similar to Balatro but there are a few special ones that completely change the way the game is played and involve making right decisions to win it besides some luck. Defeating the Djiin in Infinite mode will also be a challenge, but if you do it on the easiest difficulty and save “Essence” to spend it afterwards on a particularly great run, it’s achievable. [b]In a perfect run, like one I had with the Archer, you can even break the game and the scoring system. I documented this on the check you can check [u][url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3675333852] here[/url][/u][/b]. The hardest one is completing runs on the max difficulty with every deck, which will take some time and persistence, since there are a lot of them. When I first got the key and together with other players, we convinced the Dev to make this easier by unlocking part of the ladder for the other decks of the same character after you win a run on the max difficulty with that character, but even with this feature you will need to win a lot of runs and the higher difficulties the win rate isn’t high, depending on luck and skill. To help you, I figured out some “flaws" of the game, most already worked on balatro too: [spoiler]In the shop, the game only saves if you do a reroll, so if you buy something by mistake you can leave and come back to undo that. The same happens when you score a hand, quitting before the enemy attacks back will undo that attack.[/spoiler] [b]Achievements:[/b] [b]How many:[/b] 26 Achievements. [b]How much time:[/b] I needed 140 hours, no guide was used. [b]Game difficulty:[/b] Medium, but gets easier for balatro veterans after some key unlocks. [b]Achievements’ Difficulty:[/b] Hard, completing everything will require time and commitment, but also some luck and good decision making otherwise more time will be needed. I also published a guide for anyone having problems defeating the Djiin in infinite mode. [b]Overall opinion:[/b] Aliosso is a fun and challenging balatro clone with familiar gameplay but its own mechanics, different “jokers” and a wide variety of decks with their own special tiles and will keep you engaged for lots of hours despite being visually simple. [b]Join and follow my group [u][url=store.steampowered.com/curator/42556190-Ribbon-Hunters/] Ribbon Hunters[/url][/u] for more suggestions and reviews of easy indie games to get all the achievements.[/b]

This is a stunningly polished hidden gem. It takes a lot of inspiration from Balatro - but that's not a problem at all. It also offers enough different systems (for example the prayers, which are skills which you can use to e.g. shield yourself from damage or increase your tile values) to feel really unique once you get over the gut reaction of "hey that looks like Balatro". I haven't played through the higher difficulties yet, but even when just starting to get a feel for different characters I can tell this game has staying power. Also, the game offers a demo. Always a big plus. Check it out if you think this might be for you.

Aliosso surprised me in a really good way. If you’re into games like Slay the Spire or Balatro, you’ll feel right at home — but it still does its own thing. The mix of cards, tiles and combos is super satisfying, and once it clicks, you’re instantly in the “okay one more run” trap. The animations are really slick and the art style honestly looks great — everything feels polished and satisfying to watch while you play. It’s strategic without being boring, punishing without being unfair, and every run feels a bit different. Took me a moment to fully understand everything, but once I did… yeah, hooked. Highly recommended — unless you value sleep. Then maybe don’t start a run at 11 PM. 😂

Fantastic game!!!! It combines many mechanics from the strategy roguelike deck building space and adds another resource management on top of it! It's challenging, there's a ton of variety to try, and every character has a multitude of ways to play them!!! I would seriously consider this the best hidden gem of 2026 in the roguelike deckbuilding space!

this game is like mahjong meets slay the spire 10/10 would recommend

11 hour review: It's a fun card roguelite game, similar in some ways to Slay the Spire etc. Definitely opens up as you play. Lots of things to discover and strategies to employ. Active devs looking to improve the game! original review: It's a fun card roguelite game, similar in some ways to Slay the Spire etc. Enjoying it, lots of little things to discover. I think maybe the one weakness is it's so dependent on some good drops, like in Slay the Spire most of the time you can build something that works. In Aliosso you can often die in the first battle or two if you haven't gotten at least an ok drop. (And end game seems to basically about breaking a supremely overpowered deck, like you can't even use spells in the final cave which seems like a poor choice as the rest of the game you're managing or building on spells)

Balatro but not polished. Cool skin I guess.