Palworld Lead John Buckley Says Combolands Is “Perhaps the Best Indie of the Year,” Calling It More Addictive Than Balatro

John Buckley, head of publishing and communications at Pocketpair, has singled out a relatively unknown indie game as one of his favorites of 2026. Despite Pocketpair celebrating the full release of Palworld this year, Buckley believes Combolands deserves attention and has described it as potentially “the best indie of the year.”

Buckley shared his recommendation on X, strongly encouraging players to try the game even if they normally avoid its genre. His praise is particularly notable because Combolands comes from Crux Games, a development team consisting of only two people.

Pocketpair Lead Calls Combolands His Most Addictive Game Since Balatro

Buckley did not simply recommend Combolands as another indie worth checking out. He called the game “100%” his pick and compared its addictive quality to Balatro, the acclaimed poker-inspired roguelike.

“I haven’t played a game more addictive since Balatro,”

Buckley said, adding that Combolands is

“perhaps the best indie of the year”

in his opinion and rating it a

“10/10.”

Combolands combines city building, deckbuilding and roguelike mechanics into short runs centered around creating increasingly powerful combinations. Players place buildings, build synergies between them and attempt to develop a small settlement into a thriving city.

The game also introduces different guilds with their own strengths and weaknesses, giving players additional strategic options as each run develops.

Combolands Has Earned an “Overwhelmingly Positive” Steam Reception

The recommendation is not coming in isolation. Combolands has also attracted strong praise from players on Steam, where approximately 97% of its user reviews are positive at the time of writing. That has earned the game Steam’s “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating.

Crux Games describes the experience as delivering strategic depth and the satisfying progression of watching numbers continuously increase, with runs designed around roughly 30-minute sessions.

The game’s small development team makes its reception even more notable. Crux Games consists of just two developers, putting Combolands in a very different category from Pocketpair’s much larger operation behind Palworld.

While Buckley’s recommendation does not necessarily make Combolands a direct competitor to Palworld, his comments highlight how smaller indie projects can stand out in an increasingly crowded market.

For players looking for a compact strategy game with roguelike progression, deckbuilding elements and a strong focus on experimentation, Buckley’s recommendation puts Combolands firmly on the radar.