Black Jacket review for PC, Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X

The obvious comparison to make when talking about Black Jacket is Balatro. After all, Black Jacket is yet another of the roguelike deckbuilders that have followed in Balatro’s wake that follows the formula of taking a classic game (in this case, blackjack) and adding a few twists here and there. On a surface level, the comparison makes sense.

And yet, the more I play Black Jacket, the less I think it’s a 1:1 comparison.

For one thing, Black Jacket isn’t just a gambling game with a twist, it’s got a bit of a storyline to it: you’re trapped in Hell, and you’re trying to gamble your way out. In practice, this plays out with some solid voice acting and a memorable cast of characters. If you want something more than just a Balatro clone – that is, something with a bit of a heft to it, so that you’re not just playing cards – Black Jacket delivers that.

The other reason why Black Jacket can’t just be described as “Balatro, but blackjack” is that it’s absurdly difficult – like, right off the bat. Where most games would try and ease you in with a few easier rounds and gradually ramping up the difficulty, Black Jacket doesn’t have that. You get a quick explanation of the rules, and then you’re off on your run – and, in all likelihood, it’ll be a short one because it doesn’t take long before you run into much more powerful enemies who’ll beat you no problem.

This means that Black Jacket is much more grind-y than a lot of other roguelike deckbuilders. You have to slowly earn better cards, and you have to figure out exactly how to play those cards effectively. It’s not enough that you suddenly unlock cards that cancel out other cards, or that drain values, or that do all kinds of other stuff you wouldn’t see in your standard game of blackjack, you have to develop your strategic sense, too.

As someone who’s always been horrible at blackjack, I’ll fully admit that my strategic sense is a work in progress – I veer wildly between way too cautious (I can’t possibly take another card, I’m on 13 and there are plenty of cards that could make me go bust!) and way too aggressive (Enh, I’m at 17, there are lots of cards worth 4 or less – hit me!). But the strategic elements that Black Jacket add in make figuring all that out even more fun. I don’t know that it’ll make anyone forget about Balatro or anything, but I’d still say that if you’re fond of that game and you want something similar (but not too similar), then Black Jacket is definitely worth investigating.

Skystone Games provided us with a Black Jacket PC code for review purposes.