Monster Train+ vs Balatro+
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Monster Train+
Defend the last burning pyre from Heaven's forces in this strategic deckbuilding roguelike. Build unique decks with over 250 cards across five distinct monster clans, each offering unique gameplay. Explore powerful locations and upgrade your champions to restore the Inferno.
- Unlock over 250 cards
- Discover 5 distinct Monster Clans
- Upgrade Champions multiple times
- Explore powerful locations for benefits
- Build and strategize unique decks
- Includes Wild Mutations and Friends & Foes updates
- Adds new clan, Pact Shards, and endboss with DLC
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Hell has frozen over. Only you can protect the final burning pyre from the forces of Heaven and restore the Inferno. Monster Train brings a new strategic layer to Roguelite Deck Building, with three vertical playing fields to defend. Features: * Unlock over 250 cards * Discover 5 Monster Clans, each with their own distinct gameplay * Each clan has 10 levels to unlock, bringing new cards to your deck * Upgrade your powerful Champions multiple times * Includes the released updates Wild Mutations and Friends & Foes! Ultimate Replayability No playthrough is ever the same, it’s a fresh challenge every time. You’ll really never play the same deck twice! Perfect entertainment for your mobile device! Explore powerful locations To take back hell, you’ll need to power up. Choose your route carefully, different locations yield different benefits; upgrade your Champion, recruit powerful units, upgrade cards, gain passive bonuses or duplicate any card in your deck. Strategize to fit your playstyle With five clans to choose from, each has its own unique and surprising gameplay. Pick your primary and supporting clan to gain access to all cards from both. Build your deck and perfect your strategy to defeat your enemies! The Last Divinity DLC Epic new content expansion for Monster Train bringing new challenges, more replayability, and a new clan! * A new clan, the Wurmkin *Note: the Wurmkin clan unlocks upon completing Covenant level 1.* * Pact Shards; the new currency bringing benefits at a cost * New endboss: The Last Divinity
Balatro+
This is a hypnotic card game that blends Solitaire and Poker mechanics with unique rule-bending twists. Players aim to beat challenging Boss Blinds by forming strong poker hands and discovering powerful Joker cards to create exciting combos and boost scores.
- Twist rules in new ways
- Beat Boss Blinds with poker hands
- Discover over 150 Jokers with special powers
- Create awesome combos
- Multiple game modes (Campaign, Challenge)
- Beautiful pixel art
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Welcome to the official Balatro+ mobile game! Hypnotic and endlessly satisfying, Balatro is a magical mix of card games like Solitaire and Poker, that lets you twist the rules in ways never seen before! Your goal is to beat the Boss Blinds by making strong poker hands. Find new Jokers that change the game and create awesome and exciting combos! Win enough chips to beat tricky bosses, and find hidden bonus hands and decks as you play. You’ll need all the help you can get to beat the big boss, win the final challenge, and win the game. Features: * Remastered controls for touch screen devices. * Each run is different: every pick-up, discard and joker can dramatically alter the course of your run. * Multiple game items: discover over 150 Jokers, each with special powers. Use them with different decks,upgrade cards and vouchers to boost your scores. * Different Game modes: Campaign mode and challenge mode for you to play. * Beautiful Pixel Art: Immerse yourself in the CRT fuzz and enjoy detailed, hand-crafted pixel art.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Balatro+ at 63K against Monster Train+'s 965. Balatro+ also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and device support (5 vs 3). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Monster Train+ against 4.9 for Balatro+. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Balatro+ has 63K ratings behind it against 965, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 79% of Monster Train+'s written reviews are positive against 82% of Balatro+'s.
Monster Train+ ships an update every 2 months, Balatro+ every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Monster Train+ | Balatro+ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (965 ratings) | 4.9 (63K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 79.1% of reviews | 82.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 965 | 63K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 13.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 536 MB | 136 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Good Shepherd Entertainment | Playstack Ltd |
Customer experience
Monster Train+
Balatro+
User reviews
Monster Train+
From 965 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Engaging and addictive gameplay
- 👍 Variety of factions and strategies
- 🎨 Cute and charming visuals
- 🕹️ Challenging yet rewarding experience
- 💰 Great value as part of Apple Arcade
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and performance issues
- 🔋 Can drain device battery quickly
- 🕹️ Difficulty can feel unbalanced at times
- 🔁 Repetitive enemy and level designs
Balatro+
From 63K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Addictive gameplay
- 👍 Unique and creative spin on poker
- 🎨 Excellent visual style and music
- 💎 High replayability and depth
- 🕹️ Smooth mobile controls
Room to improve
- 🐛 Cloud save issues and data loss
- 🔇 Disables other audio playback
- 🔍 Small UI elements and text
- 🔁 Repetitive blind tags
Bugs and requests
Monster Train+
Reported bugs
3 issues- Game crashes on certain devices
- Saved progress being overwritten
- Lag and performance problems on later levels
Requested features
4 requests- Longer and more varied gameplay runs
- Cross-device save synchronization
- Expanded faction and champion options
- Customizable difficulty settings
Balatro+
Reported bugs
2 issues- Freezing and crashing on some devices
- Unlocks and progress not tracking properly
Requested features
4 requests- Portrait mode option
- Ability to quickly deselect cards
- More accessibility options
- Syncing progress across devices
In-app purchases
Monster Train+
No in-app purchases
Balatro+
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Monster Train+ free?
Is Balatro+ free?
Which has better reviews, Monster Train+ or Balatro+?
Do Monster Train+ or Balatro+ have ads?
Which is updated more often, Monster Train+ or Balatro+?
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