Hands On: Black Jacket
A descent into card-playing purgatory that proves blackjack still has a few tricks up its sleeve.
Releasing: 2026
Played On: Steam
Imagine you’re trapped in a hellish afterlife, and your only hope for escape is to sit at a card table and play your way out. That’s the premise of Black Jacket, a roguelite deck-builder currently in development by Mi’pu’mi Games and published by Skystone Games. But don’t think you’re just twiddling cards and hoping for twenty-one. This game twists the classic blackjack rules, layering in deck-building and roguelite progression within a dark, atmospheric narrative. I had hands-on time with a preview build and walked away intrigued.
You play as a lost soul trying to escape the underworld by winning coin from other damned players and bribing the ferryman. At its core, Black Jacket uses the familiar rhythm of blackjack — draw cards, get as close to 21 as possible without going bust — but from there it spirals into something far more elaborate. You build a deck, collect artifacts and curses, and gain special powers that let you bend the rules. Each opponent has quirks to exploit, and each run offers branching paths that evoke Slay the Spire, complete with shops, upgrades, and a climactic boss battle (at least they are taking inspiration from the primary sources in the field).
From the moment I sat down with it, Black Jacket impressed me with its moody atmosphere and sharp sense of place. The smoky, dimly lit tables, the eerie sound design, and the sense that every hand might be your last lend the experience a real edge. It’s not about winning for fun, it’s about surviving through strategy.
Mechanically, it begins as simple blackjack but quickly twists into something richer. Special cards can alter values, peek at future draws, or tamper with your opponent’s deck. In my preview, I found myself burning unwanted cards, sleeving key ones for later, and constantly weighing whether to risk another draw. The ability to hold or “sleep” cards adds unexpected tactical depth, turning a game of chance into one of calculated risk.
Let’s be honest — when another deck-building roguelite lands, it’s easy to roll our eyes. Do we really need another one? Hasn’t Balatro already claimed the crown? Well, yes and no. Because despite its surface similarity to Balatro’s blend of cards and chaos, Black Jacket manages to make the formula feel fresh again. There’s something irresistibly moreish about its loop: the risk-reward tension of blackjack, the steady drip of upgrades, and the constant whisper of “just one more round.” What starts as a casual hand of cards quickly becomes a compulsion. The premise is simple, the systems deceptively deep, and before long you’ll realise you’ve been playing far longer than you meant to.
Once the rhythm clicked, I found myself hooked — that perfect mix of luck, learning, and self-inflicted risk that defines the best roguelites.
