Beyond Balatro: 7 Innovative Roguelike Demos to Discover During Steam Next Fest

Steam Next Fest is always a treasure trove of indie innovation, but this edition reveals a fascinating trend born from Balatro's success. Developers aren't just cloning it—they're applying its multiplier-driven, rule-breaking roguelike formula to entirely new genres. From chessboards to word games, these seven demos prove that the "Balatro-like" is more than a clone; it's a vibrant new design philosophy transforming classic systems into addictive, score-chasing experiences.

The Balatro Blueprint: How a Hit Sparks a Trend

To understand the trend, one must first understand the source. Balatro’s genius lies in its intoxicating loop of breaking a familiar system. It takes the foundational rules of poker and, through a cascade of jokers, tarot cards, and planet cards, allows you to shatter them. The core appeal is building an engine—a runaway train of multipliers that turns a pair of twos into a universe-obliterating score.

The "Balatro-like," then, is not about cloning poker. It's about applying that same roguelike/progression layer—the run-based structure, incremental power spikes, shop-based meta-progression—to other established game systems. It asks: "What if we could break this game too?" Steam Next Fest, with its low-risk, high-reward demo format, is the perfect incubator for these experimental hybrids. The following demos represent the most promising sprouts.

Strategy Reimagined: Chess, Words, and Minesweeper

This first cluster takes cerebral, methodical classics and injects them with a thrilling dose of chaos and customization.

Gambonanza asks what happens when you treat chess not as a war of attrition, but as a rule-breaking puzzle box. You play on a small board, enchanting specific tiles and purchasing "gambits" that fundamentally alter the game's logic. Imagine summoning phantom pieces, making pawns move like kings, or duplicating your queen. It introduces unique bosses that demand you rethink your newly broken strategies on the fly. It’s chess, but unshackled.

Beyond Words comes with a fascinating pedigree—it’s from Steve Ellis and David Doak, creators of GoldenEye and TimeSplitters. Their latest project layers Balatro’s modifier-driven progression onto a Scrabble-like word grid. You place letters to form words, but the real game is in the modifiers you attach to your tiles and the board itself, creating cascading score multipliers. The demo even features boss battles, challenging you to outscore a foe within a limited number of words. It’s a compelling fusion of vocabulary and value engineering.

Coinsweeper performs a particularly clever alchemy, turning the tense deduction of Minesweeper into a strategic resource gamble. You reveal tiles to earn coins while avoiding mines, but the key innovation is the ability to "retire" from a round early to salvage your score. This creates a delicious risk-reward tension: do you push for one more lucrative tile, or cash out before hitting a mine? The shop offers items like mine detectors and score multipliers, letting you build a safety net or double down on your greed.

Arcade & Parlor Games Get the Roguelike Treatment

Here, the focus shifts from quiet strategy to tactile, physics-based fun, proving the formula works just as well with chaos as with calculation.

Raccoin carries a notable pedigree as published by Playstack, the publisher of Balatro. It translates the visceral joy of an arcade coin-pusher into a roguelike. You fire coins into a cluttered tray, aiming to push prizes off the ledge. Special coins stick, duplicate, or explode, while power-ups like UFOs and black holes introduce glorious chaos. With its full release currently slated for March 31 (subject to change), the demo is a potent hit of pure, uncomplicated fun with a surprising depth of strategy.

Ultrapool transforms the gentleman’s game of pool into a tense score-attack. You have a limited number of shots per round to sink balls, which themselves can be upgraded for higher point values. The goal is to chain shots and leverage pocket multipliers to build a massive score. Its most player-friendly feature is a forgiving retry system for failed levels, emphasizing progression over punishment and keeping the focus on beating your high score.

Rogue Hanafuda introduces many to the beauty of traditional Japanese card games. It operates on poker-like principles, where you aim to create specific sets (or "yaku") from a hand of beautifully illustrated hanafuda cards. The roguelike layer comes from purchasing stackable item cards that provide powerful bonuses with often manageable drawbacks. It’s a game of deep hand management and strategic compounding, offering a serene yet brain-burning alternative.

The Wild Card: A Gashapon Sim That Captures the Spirit

Not every game on this list is a direct mechanical sibling to Balatro. Some simply capture its spiritual core.

Capsulitas is, by the developer's own admission, "kinda not" a Balatro-like. Yet, it perfectly encapsulates the core loop that fans adore: risk, inventory management, and the relentless chase of multiplying value. Here, you buy randomized capsule toys, polish them to increase their worth, and sell them for profit to buy more capsules. The satisfying cycle of investment, optimization, and payoff scratches the same itch. It’s a different kind of multiplier chase, one built on economic savvy rather than card combos, but the compulsive "one more run" feeling is identical.

Steam Next Fest demonstrates that Balatro’s greatest gift is a template for reinvention. These seven demos are your chance to playtest the future of the genre, where the thrill of breaking a game's rules can be found anywhere—from a chessboard to a gashapon machine. Don't just wait for the next update; dive in and discover which hybrid has already become your next obsession.