Balatro creator recommends trying 2 “special games” this Steam Next Fest – and both are roguelikes on par with the poker-themed hit

Millions of people fell into Balatro’s poker-themed roguelike loop when it came out earlier this year, and for good reason. It’s instantly fun from the get-go, but you’ll still be discovering new strategies weeks after your first run that spark mini lightbulbs in your brain. So when its creator recommended two other “special” roguelikes in the ongoing Steam Next Fest event, I listened. 

“It’s Steam Next Fest! I want to share 2 special games with you all: StarVaders and Ballionaire,” Balatro’s solo developer LocalThunk tweeted earlier this week. “I have played both previously and LOVED them, and both have a free demo you can play right now! Go support some cool indie devs!”

Ballionaire has already had us in its grip for days. Described as “the world’s first autobonker game,” this roguelike is entirely set inside of a funky pachinko machine where you’re desperately trying to scratch passed increasingly greedy money requirements. You’ll press a button to make a ball drop from the top of the machine, and it’ll slowly accumulate cash by hitting other bobs on its way down. The roguelike twist is that in between rounds, you can choose between randomized upgrades and progressively whacky new bobs to place in the machine that might send your ball through a portal, for example, or fling it right back up to the top. It’s just as moreish and gratifying as Balatro, and you can try out its free demo on Steam.

LocalThunk’s second recommendation might be my favorite, though. StarVaders is obviously a twist on the iconic Space Invaders formula. UFOs slowly fall to the bottom of the screen. You need to shoot them before they land. That sort of thing. Instead, this time, it’s a deckbuilding, tactical, grid-based roguelike where you need to plan your move from square to square meticulously, a la Into the Breach. Cards pulled out of your ever growing deck are what determine where you can move, when you can attack, and when you can use special abilities like, let’s say, placing three bombs onto random tiles. Although StarVaders gets extra spicy with a risk-and-reward system where you can ‘overheat’ – use more than your usually allocated three cards per turn – in exchange for burning that last card for the rest of the battle. It’s tense, strategic, and so easy to have fun with. Check out its Steam demo here.

For now, check out some of the other ten best Steam Next Fest demos that you should try before the event’s over.