vampire survivors The new 0.10.0 update adds a cheat menu, and after using it to unlock some things I was stuck on, I really wish more games included one.
vampire survivorsif you haven’t heard of it, is a delightful upgrade game and literally destroying thousands of monsters in a single run. I would describe it as roguelike-ish; you pick a starting character with certain attributes and a specific weapon, and you’ll upgrade that weapon, other weapons, and other items as you collect gems by defeating enemies. Your weapons fire automatically, so all you have to worry about is gaining experience and items while dodging baddies.
The game launched in Early Access on Steam late last year and has received regular updates that add things like new characters, weapons, powerups, stages and special items, although that you usually have to unlock them by fulfilling certain conditions. The game is an absolute blast, but unlocking everything can be tricky and time-consuming. I have already put 40 hours in vampire survivors, but the game menu tells me that I still have 26 things to unlock. When I look at this list, I sometimes get demotivated and choose to play something else.
The new cheat menu – in the game it’s called the “Secrets” menu – could solve this demotivation considerably. It accepts codes (“spells”) to unlock characters, special items (“relics”), and stages, meaning I can now choose what to unlock myself and what to cheat for. I still want to unlock most things by completing the requirements, but there are a few things I just don’t want to worry about, and thanks to this Secrets menu, I can easily get what I’m less interested in. .
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23924221/download.jpeg)
Cleverly, the developers of vampire survivors also chose to make the Secrets menu a full-fledged unlock. You won’t be able to find the item that unlocks it until you have a good understanding of the game and have already unlocked other items. If you’ve gone that far, I’d say you can choose what to cheat on your own, and I wish other games would take a similar approach.
I’m playing Death Stranding right now, and while I love the story, the gameplay at every moment is so slow. I wish I could cheat a truck with infinite health, battery, and some kind of hover ability so I can easily make deliveries and see the game’s story, but I think I’m going to have to suffer for hours of traversal frustrating to learn what happens next to Sam Porter Bridges.
vampire survivors The Secrets menu doesn’t just open unlockables; there’s also a spell to spin the UI, which I can appreciate for being silly even though it doesn’t seem like fun to use at all. In the Patch Notes 0.10.0, the devs say they are working on more spells, so hopefully there will be more wacky ideas to come. (Bighead mode, maybe?) I’m not going to spoil how to unlock the Secrets menu or what codes do what, but if you want to know, here is a GameFAQs guide.
vampire survivors is available in Early Access on Steam for $3. It usually works quite well on Steam Deck, where it is one of the most popular games on the platformalthough I couldn’t enter any cheat code spells on the portable gaming PC – I had to enter the codes on my MacBook Air.