Dark Fairy Tale: Dreamland Survivors
Dark Fairy Tale: Dreamland Survivors
Game
Game2026
Runeborn
Developer iDream Interactive
Runeborn is a dark fantasy roguelike that merges deckbuilding with a slot-machine-like mechanic. Forge your Runebook, crush enemies, and combine Trinkets of boundless power to destroy the forces of Malakar! From the Steam store page
182 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 7, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
82
LovedLoved
139 positive · 30 negative
95% range 76–87%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 139 | 30 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
152 of 182 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
82% recommend · 140 yes, 30 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 170 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (263 of 324 positive).
Many players compare Runeborn to Balatro, often calling it a clone or heavily inspired. [1][2][3] Some reviewers find the game addictive and fun, praising its mix of roguelike and slot mechanics. [4][5][6] Several players criticize the sound design and visual effects as underwhelming compared to similar games. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [14]
Ehh its fun for a few hours, but I didnt really find any real strategy other than "go for 1 color so lines go brrr" It's whatever.
- [1]
Runeborn is a Balatro clone. But, wait, don't leave! I know, clones sound pretty bad in general, but in this particular instance it should not. Runeborn is a better Balatro. Runeborn is a deeper Balatro. Runeborn is a nicer Balatro. Runeborn is just more fun than Balatro. If you liked Balatro, you should play Runeborn. If you disliked Balatro, you should give Runeborn a try. If you have not played Balatro, play …
- [5]
I never leave reviews but I had to for this one. This is my Dream game! It takes everything I like about Slay the Spire, Luck be a Landlord, and Balatro and mixes them into one beautiful package. Big plus to using actual lines instead of how LBaL works, feels more like a slot machine and it's very satisfying. From the tutorial I could already tell that this is a well polished masterpiece with great art style. I'm …
- [11]
A fantastically addictive game. The early runs are ROUGH, because you only have a few (weak) unlocked trinkets and shops, so I'd say the first few hours are more luck than skill based (luck of getting the very few possible trinkets that can carry your run to the final act 1 boss...) but once you start unlocking more trinkets, more shops, more books... then the game really shines and shows its potential and becomes a …
- [2]
Wake up babe, Balatro 2 just dropped. Plays well on the Steam Deck. I use right touchpad as mouse and left as single button mouse click, just like I do on Balatro. The standard config is just a lazily implemented joystick cursor, which I wouldn't recommend. In general the game feels a bit wilder and less tightly designed than Balatro, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It is clear that it is very heavily …
Summarised from 34 of the 184 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Runeborn sits at 82% positive across 169 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Reactions
60 of 182 · most liked first#DarkFantasy? ☑️ #Roguelike? ☑️ #Deckbuilding? ☑️ 🔥 Runeborn 🔥 LocQuest has brought Runeborn to life in French, German, Spanish (Spain), and Korean. Thanks to @goblinzstudio.com, iDream Interactive, and the talented translators and LQA specialists who worked their magic on this one. 🧌
neutral · AI labelView post →Ehh its fun for a few hours, but I didnt really find any real strategy other than "go for 1 color so lines go brrr" It's whatever.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So the game is okay, the big problem with it is every run feels alike. Pair your deck down to a single element as much as you can and make big lines. It doesn't have the replay ability of other rogue lite deck builders.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Runeborn is a Balatro clone. But, wait, don't leave! I know, clones sound pretty bad in general, but in this particular instance it should not. Runeborn is a better Balatro. Runeborn is a deeper Balatro. Runeborn is a nicer Balatro. Runeborn is just more fun than Balatro. If you liked Balatro, you should play Runeborn. If you disliked Balatro, you should give Runeborn a try. If you have not played Balatro, play Runeborn. If you have no clue what I am talking about, just try Runeborn. But be…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's just a bit mediocre in it's current state. on first play it's interesting but as soon as you start to gain a bit of knowledge in the game you'll notice how little determinism there is in game. the ui/ux needs work, animations are frustratingly slow even on max speed and you cannot just click through them all and whoevers idea it was to require hold mouse click to skip an enemy's title card needs to go back to school, it could be really good but needs a lot more work on the economy…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's Balatro meets slots. Game systems are good. My main complaint is sound design/vfx. Doesn't have half the sauce Balatro does when it comes to hitting those big combos. I know it's superficial, but it's just not as exciting. Solid game, though.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's.... fine. I wouldn't recommend buying it unless on pretty heavy sale, but it just hasn't chosen particularly good mechanics to try to incorporate into a slot machine type of game. On a more subjective note, it just doesn't have any "sauce." The menus are fairly simple, animations are light, and the end screens for battles as well as the combo VFX are incredibly underwhelming. It may not *seem* like a huge deal but in a game this random it basically has to feel rewarding when things do…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Balatro slot game. Okay concept IMO, but unless you manage to snowball with a viable combination of trinkets in the early game, it's really hard to get your gold up to buy scrolls with which to remove symbols and mitigate the RNG factor, which is why I believe some reviewers are complaining that it's too random. Still recommend it though. Update 21/04: I have refunded the game as it's not very fun. It has lifted a lot of its systems from Balatro and tried to apply them to slots which just…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Runeborn is an absolute blast so far. The gameplay loop is satisfying, the atmosphere is great, and it hits that perfect balance between challenge and fun. Every run feels rewarding, and I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing how this game evolves. If I could suggest one thing, I’d love to hear more slot machine style sound effects when casting or meditating because those little audio cues really add excitement and make the magic feel even more impactful. Overall, highly recommend. It’s…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played a couple of runs in early access, few days after release. Here are my thoughts: 0. Graphics are absolutely stunning. Visually this game among the best I played. Interface makes sense, colors work great together and the art has very cohesive style. 1. Difficulty spikes a lot in chapter 2. But I may be at fault as not experienced with deck builders. 2. The game crashes every time upon exiting for me - I'm sure it will be patched so not a negative. 3. The sound design could use some…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →⠀⢀⣀⠤⠿⢤⢖⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⡔⢩⠂⠀⠒⠗⠈⠀⠉⠢⠄⣀⠠⠤⠄⠒⢖⡒⢒⠂⠤⢄⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠇⠤⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠀⠀⠈⠀⠈⠈⡨⢀⠡⡪⠢⡀⠀ ⠈⠒⠀⠤⠤⣄⡆⡂⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠢⠀⢕⠱⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢳⣐⡐⠐⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠀⠁⠇ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠑⢤⢁⠀⠆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⢰⠀⠀⠀⡀⢄⡜⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⡦⠄⡷⠢⠤⠤⠤⠤⢬⢈⡇⢠⣈⣰⠎⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣃⢸⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢪⢀⣺⡅⢈⠆⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠶⡿⠤⠚⠁⠀⠀⠀⢀⣠⡤⢺⣥⠟⢡⠃⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Here I will leave this beautifull capybara, whoever pass by can pet it and give it a thumbs up (I need Steam points)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →>>> www.tiny-gaming.net/posts/demo-d... - And another DEMO DIVE in the pocket! This time played #RUNEBORN - an interesting, slot-based roguelike. #SHROOMandGLOOM with a superbly clever, immersive deckbuilding. And #LOOTPLOT - a crazy number-go-high game! #indiegames
positive · AI labelView post →I’m typically pretty good at these types of games, beat all of stp, balatro, etc… This game has almost 0 strategy or build balance. Everything depends on trinkets though or removing runes, the one time you get a good build a boss will likely exact counter it, whether that be wilds or amuletting your runes, which if you don’t roll a good rng for the npc that destroys runes (and it’s exponentially expensive to remove the amulets). Pretty much like no strategy in this, it’s all rng and there is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I never leave reviews but I had to for this one. This is my Dream game! It takes everything I like about Slay the Spire, Luck be a Landlord, and Balatro and mixes them into one beautiful package. Big plus to using actual lines instead of how LBaL works, feels more like a slot machine and it's very satisfying. From the tutorial I could already tell that this is a well polished masterpiece with great art style. I'm really looking forward to the full release and discovering how much content…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You don't want anything to do with this game, or do you? 😏 It's challenging, bold, and chaotic, and not in a bad way. We took a look to see what Runeborn is all about. Play and Review: youtu.be/gx6SKw-YvA0 #Runeborn #indiegame #indiegamedev
positive · AI labelView post →I wouldn't say this is a bad game, and I would leave a neutral review if I could. I just don't think it is for me. If you like chasing ultra high-roll strats, this is for you. If you like consistency and feeling like you could potentially win any given run with skill and knowledge, then you will likely find this game frustrating. The scaling of enemies in the late game pretty much requires that you've assembled a murderous high roll build, and then found a way to make it relatively…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Balatro meets slot machines, except every level has a blind. It's difficult to get the ability to shape your runes around your relics, but your relics are the only things you can guarantee access to at all times. If you haven't fought a particular enemy before, you don't know their debuff, and most of the debuffs disable certain relics. This caused me to lose the best run I've achieved because my relics were all shaped around doing lines of 5 and I ran into an enemy that disabled my 5th column.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a fun game. Unlocking new trinkets provide build depth but it still feels a bit samey. Maybe rune types could have built-in differences instead of relying on trinkets to separate all of the builds? Like lightning runes could chain between rows or fire ruins cost extra to hold but have bonuses if they are triggered when cast or rolled. Another example is the trinket that lets dark runes match with any column. This could be a perk of dark runes themselves, but maybe the trinket could be…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wake up babe, Balatro 2 just dropped. Plays well on the Steam Deck. I use right touchpad as mouse and left as single button mouse click, just like I do on Balatro. The standard config is just a lazily implemented joystick cursor, which I wouldn't recommend. In general the game feels a bit wilder and less tightly designed than Balatro, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It is clear that it is very heavily inspired by the Jimbo though, with many items and mechanics being carbon copies, but…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is brilliant game, if you've played and love Balatro, or similar games this will be right up your street. I'm actually embarrassed that it's been out less than a day and I've got nearly 10 hours played.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →And here i thought "No way this game is interesting" Well well well how wrong I was. This is a really well made roguelike. It has a wide variety of trinkets and you unlock even more with time. Some of the trinkets are very impactfull completely shifting your strategy and playstyle which is why no run feels the same even in my 90 hours. And every strategy feels viable. And it is very satisfying when your strategy works. Just gotta get through early runs. I felt really weak at the beginning and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Um, this game is nothing like Balatro. It ridiculously simple, and there is minimal strategy. Also there's really only 5 lines and it's just "do you match? do you not? cool" thats it. No actual interesting interactions.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Did you get lucky? No? Well ♥♥♥♥ you.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Incredible feelings when you roll the slots without spending money for every roll, just the game price, helped me with gambling addiction 5/5
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's time to check out another brand new roguish game in the Rogue Review! Today it's Runeborn, a Rougelite slot machine based adventure game! If you're confused by that series of words, don't worry, so am I! Let's make sense of it all together. Twitch.tv/extracredits
neutral · AI labelView post →Now with Runeborn out for people to pick up and try, maybe watch out play and review to get our thoughts about this fun little slot machine rougelike. #indiegame #indiegamedev #Runeborn youtu.be/gx6SKw-YvA0
positive · AI labelView post →Really addictive game... hits all the right spots! It's kind of difficult, but not too much (cleared Edition 8 after a bunch of tries), and it just has all of the juice. Works fine on Steam Deck even with the default controls.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →meh. the animations & art are in an uncanny valley of "really good assets" with reused things. That's not a big deal though. Biggest issue is that that the best and most consistent way to play the game is to make everything the same color. Any of the bonuses and upgrades you get are just slightly different versions of that.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game clearly has potential as a deckbuilder rougelike. I think there are some unique ideas gameplay-wise, however I wish that each element felt more pronounced in its own unique way, rather than just essentially being incompatible versions of the same thing. Comparing to other 'slotmachine' games, the fact that all runes have the same appearance rate but have a strictly lower base damage is not good design, in my opinion. I would say the game is good but would would potentially wait for…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →best balatro-like since balatro
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its such an amazing game, the art, gameplay, ui, its all so good, it has so much potential. There is nothing bad about this game in my opinion. Great job and i look forward to seeing what comes in the feature.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is what i hope is the next balatro with popularity at least, the game at this point is very balanced with a curve. The early game is very easy especially if you play a few times but the end game is very hard if you get unlucky which sounds like a bad thing but i think thats the case with most if not all roguelikes. Gameplay: A solid mix of Balatro meets Luck Be A Landlord with a great range of trinkets and replay value 9/10 Sound Design: Music feels like great ambiance for you the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really fun game. The only downside is that it gets a bit grindy to unlock the last levels, because you need to win the game with almost every book (=character) several times.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A fantastically addictive game. The early runs are ROUGH, because you only have a few (weak) unlocked trinkets and shops, so I'd say the first few hours are more luck than skill based (luck of getting the very few possible trinkets that can carry your run to the final act 1 boss...) but once you start unlocking more trinkets, more shops, more books... then the game really shines and shows its potential and becomes a genuine strategic roguelite, among the best I've played these past few years.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I give this one a thumbs down, no matter what your build is, the slots still have bad RNG. Pointless
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really fun game. Simplest way to describe it is a "Balatro-like" with its own flavor. If you like/dislike Balatro, you'll probably like/dislike this game, as the core gameplay is very similar, but the presentation is very different (and equally good, imo). The art is great, the music is solid, the decision-making feels good, and the difficulty curve is really good. Not sure what else to say - it's just a good, underrated game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's not that bad, but most of the time you got to pick one color and stick with it. Pick gems of the same color and destroy the others. It's fun for about 1 hour.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →a slot machine game that allows you to have some semblance of Skill Expression with strategizing with the holds you have a problem I have currently with it is how hard is the need for extremely high scaling relics as early as the end of ACT1 and good rune drops in the end of ACT2, really RNG dependent will update this when the game updates
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The animations are slooooooow. Seriously. Why is there no fast mode? 50% of my time is wasted by looking at animations. Lines counting, gold counting, unskippable boss intros, ... I already have the game set to 4x in the settings and it is still unbearable.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Balatro for fantasy combat lovers, it's frikkin awesome
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great twist on a connect roguelite. Learning curve takes a bit to really understand the scaling and patterns. Starts simple and gets complicated fast in a good way as you unlock more of the characters, relics, and amulets.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game has no aura or sauce
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is great, it is not too easy and fun each run. Worth the money 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really fun version of number go up game and I’m a sucker for the dark fantasy theme. Buy it!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Exactly Like Balatro. except there are no cards. No Jokers, and no card packs to open. Like I said. exactly Balatro-Like.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yeah this one is pretty good
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An interesting and relaxing battler game. I wasn't sure how I would feel about it, but I LOVE it!!! Strategy can get really complex.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Absolutely miserable of a game experience. Do *not* spend more than .99 cents on this. You will thoroughly not enjoy it, I promise you.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game has some potential. But as of now, it's all a bit off. Aesthetically, the funeral music is incongruent with the high-score pyrotechnics. There is little opportunity to manipulate the board outside of random chance. Only two scrolls allow you to move runes, and the meditations are weak and not much help. I will check back and see if it improves at all, but as of now, not fun.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game, responsive devs, and a ton of interesting ways to play. Plus they actually let you read the number instead of using e^!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It isnt a roguelite as its listed. It doesnt have meta progression / u dont upgrade anything between runs. You only unlock new artifacts as you complete achievs aka roguelike. I refunded it because roguelikes arent my cup of tea but its still a fun game just like balatro. If you are into that then definitely give this a try.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game is insanely cool. dont know how it hasnt caught on more. it's $10, buy it
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →RNG is your worst enemy
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty fun, similar to balatro and slay the spire!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the best roguelikes I’ve played sometimes you luck out and sometimes you get smashed by rng but overall it’s a good time yep
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm really enjoying this so far; the intro is short/sweet and the core gameplay loop is a blast. I like the animations and flavor text as well; looking forward to seeing where this game goes. I certainly hope it gets the recognition it deserves in a space crowded with great games at this price point. 5/5 Would Recommend to Anybody
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Extremely fun and enjoyable iteration on slots! The mechanics of locking runes, adding charms to them, and being able to see your “deck” in each row with the ability to remove runes to better control your outcome, is very clever. Considering it feels like a full game despite it being EA, future updates are a huge bonus! I only have one nitpick, there is no UI scaling (text is small on Steam Deck) but I presume that can be fixed in the future, if it’s not already planned.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Took me 3h to beat my first run and it was amazing. Did 10 mil damage in one cast and that’s what I’m here for! Great game now please add more ways to play and steam achievements for this to be the best slot machine roguelike (besides luck be a landlord xD)!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very fun and so many combinations to learn.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A fun roguelike deck builder with fun synergies and creative trinkets, i feel balancing is a little hit or miss, but as this game is early access, and balancing is subject to change i cant hold it against the game, as im sure me not being able to pass the 2nd chapter is a skill issue.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.
