fossil elbow
Balatro Crash on Launch — lua51.dll Access Violation
Game: Balatro v11.5.0.1 (Steam, Windows)
Mods: None. Never installed any mods or Lovely Injector.
Crash Info
Game crashes immediately on every launch. Event Viewer shows:
Faulting module: lua51.dll (v0.0.0.0, timestamp 0x663005fc)
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset varies per crash (0x3ec14, 0x3ec4e, 0x3e542), suggesting memory-layout dependence.
Running as admin = silent crash (instant close, no dialog).
What I've Tried (All Failed)
Verified game files via Steam
Full uninstall + manually deleted game directory and %AppData%\Balatro
Cleared Steam download cache + clean reinstall (multiple times)
Deleted lua51.dll and re-verified to force re-download
Checked for Lovely Injector residue (version.dll, dwmapi.dll) — none found
Confirmed no system-wide Lua installation (where lua51.dll = not found, no LUA_PATH/LUA_CPATH env vars)
Updated GPU drivers to latest
Installed/repaired latest VC++ Redistributable (x64)
Ran sfc /scannow
Added Balatro.exe to DEP exclusion list
Tried launch options: --renderer software, -window
Forced dedicated/integrated GPU via Windows Graphics Settings
Disabled Steam Overlay
Notes
The varying fault offsets suggest ASLR sensitivity.
lua51.dll timestamp (~Apr 2024) differs from Balatro.exe (~Dec 2023) — unsure if normal.
Matches reports from other users with the same issue.
Any help appreciated. Happy to provide logs or system specs.