Balatro, the 2024 breakout hit selling over 3.5 million copies and a triple Game Awards winner, maintains immense popularity. However, mastering its mechanics might leave players seeking new challenges. While mods offer one solution, accessing Balatro's built-in developer debug menu provides an alternative, preserving achievements. This guide details how to enable cheats and utilize the debug menu's features.
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Enabling Cheats in Balatro
To activate Balatro's debug menu and utilize its cheats, you'll need 7-Zip (free, open-source software). Locate your Balatro installation directory (typically C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Balatro). If not found, access it via your Steam library: right-click Balatro, select "Manage," then "Browse Local Files."
Right-click Balatro.exe and open the archive using 7-Zip (may be under "Show More Options"). Locate conf.lua and open it with a text editor (like Notepad).
Modify _RELEASE_MODE = true to _RELEASE_MODE = false, then save. If saving fails, extract conf.lua to your desktop, make the change, and replace the original file. The debug menu (accessed by holding Tab in-game) should now be active. To disable, revert _RELEASE_MODE to true.
Using the Balatro Debug Menu
The Balatro cheats menu is user-friendly. Unlock collectibles by hovering and pressing '1'; spawn jokers by hovering and pressing '3'. Initially limited to five jokers, pressing 'Q' four times on a joker in hand transforms it into a negative, effectively allowing unlimited jokers per run.
