Balatro: Unleashing the Power of the Debug Menu for Enhanced Gameplay
Balatro, the 2024 Game Awards sensation, captivated players worldwide with its innovative gameplay and endless replayability. Selling over 3.5 million copies and earning three prestigious awards, its popularity endures. However, even seasoned players might seek new challenges to revitalize their experience.
While mods offer one solution, accessing Balatro's built-in developer debug menu provides an alternative, allowing for cheat functionality without altering the core game files. This preserves achievements, making it a perfect choice for those who prefer to avoid modding.
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Enabling Cheats in Balatro
To activate Balatro's debug menu and its built-in cheats, you'll need the free, open-source software 7-Zip. Locate your Balatro installation directory (typically C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Balatro). If you can't find it, access your Steam library, right-click Balatro, select "Manage," then "Browse Local Files."
Right-click Balatro.exe and open the archive using 7-Zip (this might be under a "Show More Options" menu depending on your OS and 7-Zip settings). Inside, locate the file conf.lua and open it with a simple text editor like Notepad.
Modify the line _RELEASE_MODE = true to _RELEASE_MODE = false, then save the file. If saving fails, extract conf.lua to your desktop, make the change, and replace the original file. With this done, pressing and holding the Tab key in-game will activate the debug menu.
To disable the debug menu, simply revert the _RELEASE_MODE parameter in conf.lua back to true.
Utilizing the Debug Menu in Balatro
Balatro's cheat menu is user-friendly, with intuitive functions. Unlock collectibles by hovering over them and pressing '1'. Spawn jokers by hovering and pressing '3'. While initially limited to five jokers, pressing 'Q' four times on a joker in your hand transforms it into a negative, effectively allowing for unlimited jokers.
