You wouldn't understand the relationship between Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 actor Ben Starr and Balatro banana Gros Michel. It transcends words. It's an expression of belief… the belief that banana is good. Banana is just. Most of all, banana is ripe. Starr alludes to these tenants when WhatCulture Gaming asks him during the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 what feels better, winning Best Supporting Performer as Verso in Expedition 33, or "having Gros Michel last one more turn?" He answers swiftly, "Gros Michel's my boy. This award can fuck itself." "I want to experience the thrill of that sweet, sweet banana just lasting that one more round," Starr continues, becoming more passionate with each word. "15-times Mult, baby, let's go." Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 actor Ben Starr is still ready to "lose to Megabonk" at The Game Awards, since one "person's game of the year is going to be another person's worst game of all time" "'Here is existential pain, live with it'": Expedition 33 actor Ben Starr says the JRPG's powerful story "represents so much of the reason why I continue to play games" Palworld lead and Pocketpair founder says Megabonk dev is "one of the game developers I respect the most" as the solo indie creator withdraws his roguelike hit from The Game Awards Yep, that's Gros Michel, the additive Mult Joker named after a type of cultivated banana. Disease rendered the Gros Michel fruit "commercially extinct" in the '50s, according to the American Society for Microbiology, and since then, much of the world has instead munched on the Cavendish variety. Though, it's not quite as beautifully stout as Gros Michel. This grocery store tragedy plays out in Balatro, in which Gros Michel applies +15 Mult to whatever poker hand you play – though there's a one-in-six chance at the end of every round it spends in one of your Joker slots that it'll disappear. Then, the only banana you can obtain for the rest of that run is the Cavendish, which alternatively offers a three-times Mult to all hands played. Frustratingly, it also has a one-in-1,000 chance of self-destructing at the end of a round. Monkey business, that's for sure. Balatro creator says "I'm slow" and "I am sorry" and update 1.1 is not coming this year for good reason: "The prospect of rushing the work and going back into crunch mode to get it out this year just felt terrible"