Choose Slay the Spire
Choose Slay the Spire if you want the Steam Leaderboards, Adjustable Text Size, and Save Anytime side of the pairing. On Steam, it's currently about 48% cheaper on the Steam Store. 75,305 Steam reviews back the pick.
Slay the Spire vs Balatro
Slay the Spire and Balatro both land in Strategy, Indie on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Strategy, Indie on Steam. Slay the Spire (2019) is 5 years older than Balatro (2024). Both sit near 98% positive on Steam (Slay the Spire: 75,305 reviews, Balatro: 99,852). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Balatro
Choose Balatro if you want a Casual game with Color Alternatives. On Steam, it's the newer release (2024) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 99,852 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Slay the Spire and Balatro sit in Strategy and Indie on Steam and both list Custom Volume Controls, Playable without Timed Input, and Mouse Only Option, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (97.5% vs 98.1% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Slay the Spire |  Balatro | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2019 | 2024 |
| Genres | Strategy, Indie | Strategy, Indie, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Verified |
| Price | 6.24 USD | 11.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 97.5% positive (75,305 reviews) | 98.1% positive (99,852 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Mega Crit | LocalThunk |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Indie on Steam.
- Slay the Spire (2019) is 5 years older than Balatro (2024).
- Both sit near 98% positive on Steam (Slay the Spire: 75,305 reviews, Balatro: 99,852).
- Slay the Spire is currently ~48% cheaper on Steam than Balatro (6.24 USD vs. 11.99 USD).
- Both are Deck Verified.
Slay the Spire vs Balatro — FAQ
- Which is better, Slay the Spire or Balatro?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Slay the Spire sits at 97.5% positive (75,305 reviews), Balatro at 98.1% (99,852). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Slay the Spire or Balatro first?
- If you want chronology, Slay the Spire (2019) came out before Balatro (2024). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Slay the Spire and Balatro similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Indie on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Do Slay the Spire and Balatro both run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — both are Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve confirms they run with full controller support, legible text, and default settings out of the box.