It’s time for game developers to bring back the cheat code

For gamers of a certain age, sequences of gibberish characters like idkfa, torg, ABACABB, and UUDDLRLRBA are akin to long-lost magical incantations. They hark back to a time when game developers frequently and regularly let players use cheat codes to customize their gaming experience with everything from infinite health and instant level selection to full debug menus or gigantic anime-style giant head avatars. There were even external cheat devices that allowed players to hack console games with cheat codes that the developers never intended.

Although the heyday of the cheat code is long gone, the idea of ​​allowing players to manipulate their gaming experiences in the same way is coming back into fashion for some developers. Last month, Square Enix announced that the upcoming Switch 2 and Xbox ports of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade would include new “simplified progression” features. As the name suggests, the new options menu will give players the ability to go through the game with infinite health, magic, and money, faster leveling, max damage attacks, and much more.

While some reacted negatively to what they derisively called a “cheat mode,” director Naoki Hamaguchi defended the new options in a recent interview with Automaton. “Personally, I like to try lots of different games just to keep up to date, but I don’t really have the time, so I only get to that point,” he said. “Personally, I believe that with today’s digital entertainment, the player should have a choice in how they interact with the content. That’s why I pushed for this solution.”

He’s right. Players are responsible enough to know if, when, and how to use these types of options to streamline their progress in a game. At the same time, I think many games would benefit from hiding these types of gameplay-altering options behind the obscurity of old-fashioned cheat codes, rather than attempting in-app menus.