This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker is best described as an ‘incremental clicker game’ that blends together elements of Balatro with Cookie Clicker. It is certainly an intriguing concept, and one that succeeds quite well at that.
We had our hands on the full, retail version of the game for quite some time now, and overall impressions are very strong, although there could be a few improvements made here and there. Read on to learn more.
This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker Review
Published by Oro Interactive and created by solo developer Mash, This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker is more than your usual idle clicker, which might be quite deceiving at first glance. The game has a fairly in depth progression system, and despite its idle nature has you interact with the game just enough to not be a chore.
Your Usual Idle Clicker Game in Terms of Gameplay, but With a Ton of Depth
After a rather abrupt introduction where you are technically imprisoned into a never ending Poker game by a rather nefarious Jester, you will be made to play through until you reach the lofty goal of one billion Coins.
As far as gameplay goes in This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker, it is pretty straightforward. You set up decks, buy upgrades and skills to earn more money faster. Along the way, you will be able to purchase all kinds of power ups, many of which are vital to progression. These power ups (or Upgrades) cost Coins to purchase and/or strengthen.
Coins earned along the way can also be used to purchase all manners of Deck upgrades, including being able to buy more cards, and boost the bonuses earned from auto hand flips, like any good idle game should.
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It’s here where the game stars to get tricky. This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker has you spend Coins earned against upgrades, so some upgrades are just flat out more important when compared to others.
For example, being able to auto flip cards while AFK and leave on certain Expeditions is most certainly an important perk, though it remains a bit puzzling as to why the game doesn’t really default to unlocking these first, over the multitude of options on offer, many of which feel not as important.
Still, having a skill based progression tree makes for a ton of depth, and some of the mechanics introduced make for a legitimately fun way to play Poker, even if it is a bit arcade-y, which works well in its favor.
Despite Simplistic Graphics, the Visual Presentation Remains Top Notch
One of the most striking things about This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker is in its visual presentation. The game has a retro pixelated look, with sprites and animations for individual cards to go along with it.
The overall result is quite fantastic, and the game looks and feels very, very polished and spectacular as a result, which is despite its simplistic appearance, further proving that there is more than one way to push awesome visuals in a game.
This is probably the strongest part of This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker (outside of its rather flavorful auto clicker Poker gameplay), and it’s presentation is top notch.
The Game Could Use a Tutorial of Sorts, and Some Things Aren’t as Clear for First Timers
We now come to my one (and really, only complaint) with this game. This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker lacks a proper tutorial of sorts, at least in the current build of the game.
Things can be a bit chaotic for newcomers, or those unacquainted with Poker as a whole. Certain aspects of the game’s progression remain unclear (such as being able to unlock exotic cards, Explosions and more), and it would help to have a decent tutorial baked in.
There’s also the fact that the Jester (that is, the game’s main antagonist) has way too little screen time to speak of. It would be nice to incorporate a few lines of dialogue and additional NPCs, but that is perhaps something to keep in mind for the future.
Overall, I’d say that This Ain’t Even Poker, Ya Joker is a rather fun little clicker game that has a very pleasant aesthetic and in depth progression system that makes it well worth playing today.
Code From: Oro Interactive
Platform for Review: PC (Steam)
