Singleplayer do whatever you like, multiplayer do not cheat.

The point of games is to have fun, "cheats" are essentially just difficulty options.

It's only really cheating if you cheat someone else. The point of video games is fun and entertainment. If "cheating" improves that, have at 'er.

Only single player games -- and usually only after they become monotonous playing the intended way.

no, I mod them

there is no such thing as cheating in a personal game

don't tell the people on Don't Starve forums, but save mods are totally okay and not at all "cheating and ruining the game". you know what ruins the game? losing my several hundred days of progress because I didn't actually pause the game when my dog started making puking sounds and I ran away from my computer

also, Minecraft automation - sure, I could let my server run overnight, or I could just directly give myself the materials the farm would have produced in 12 hours and save the power consumption. ofc I validate all my farms before I do any of that, and I don't give more resources than they produce.

It's hard not to in 4 player GoldenEye :D

I save scum my rolls in BG3 to get desired outcomes

If you cheat in a single player game you do you. You can do whatever you want. If you do the same in a multiplayer online game: fuck you, you are ruining it for the rest of us.

Edit: To answer the question: No, I don't cheat. Neither in single player nor in multiplayer games.

Almost never. I've stopped even changing difficulties for difficult boss fights. Gives me more satisfaction and makes me feel better at games than I actually am. If I die 24 times and manage to get it on the 25th, then at least I was actually able to do it eventually. Just more fun imo. No shame in it though, just a personal preference.

Not so much anymore because I haven't figured it out on my Steam Deck but ABSOLUTELY with PC games. Strictly a solo player though.

I don't, because I find that as soon as I do, the game feels permanently pointless. It's like grinding to get some random chance item, and then someone gives you a magic menu enabling you to just put any items you want in your inventory whenever you want. Items mentally become zero value. And then any game mechanics built around scarcity and the intended emotional impact of that scarcity become permanently meaningless too.

It's pulling back the curtain. You can't unsee what's going on back there. Any further interaction with the game just leaves me feeling "this is just a video game, the rules are pointless and with that menu I can get it to do whatever". Even partial cheats, like infinite ammo with no reloading needed, break the illusion for me permanently and leave further gameplay even without cheats feeling unsatisfying and pointless.

For me, it's rare that a game can survive its mechanics or overall gameplay loop being destroyed by cheats when those are what make games...games. You're left with either a creative mode sandbox, or a movie, neither of which I care for in a video game format.

you can't cheat on a blow up doll. solo play is not cheating.

If I find a game too tedious and I'm about to drop it then sometimes I cheat whatever currency the game uses by editing RAM values which is braindead easy. Single player only. If it makes me want to keep playing. I have less patience for poor pacing as I get older.

Except Wreckfest if it counts. I had zero interest in the shitty single player campaign. I just wanted to race online but the game locks most cars behind a crappy uninspired single player grind. I gave myself enough money to just buy everything and then soley focused on online play.

Edit: oh and carry weights are my second most cheated thing. I get no joy out of shop runs. I don't give a shit if my pockets being unlimited is "unrealistic" so is carrying whatever artibrary capped number it is like 250lbs everywhere without a backpack. Takes nothing away from the fun to cheat this waste of time shit.

Infinite Weapon durability in System Shock 2 and Zelda BOTW also come to mind. Stuff like that.

These days games often allow you to individually change the difficulty which I make use quite often when I feel a game is becoming too much of a hassle than a joy and I still want to know how the story continues or see what might be coming.

I don't think I have used a classic cheat in a long time. The last time I actively remember was The Sims 3 (I guess) and it kind of killed the game for me because suddenly everything was possible without any challenge and even a normal playthrough felt like I was missing something.

I am terrible at video games. I really struggle. Some sit in my library unless I turn on a cheat or two. I can get through stuff like horizon or cyberpunk no problem but the Main offender is fallout at the moment. All I really needed was unlimited carry weight. Oh, and my sibling and I used to cheat in age of empires and the sims all the time. (Rosebud anyone?) Never cheated in a pvp and I mildly chastise my acquaintance who does.

I kinda stopped cheating in games when cheats stopped being button combos or console commands. I never cared enough about using them that I am gonna go out of my way to modify the game or use a 3rd party tool to be able to cheat.

If the game has them built in, I might partake. Tho even back in the day, the one I used most just made everyone have a larger head (idk why this was even such a common "cheat").

single player games? yeah, especially if I've already beaten the game

other times I'm just skipping tedious grinding

definitely never in mp games

In single-player games I occasionally "lightly" cheat.

Using "infinite" mods or unlock "everything" mods just ruins all the fun for me.

But unlock a specific thing or get a small amount of rss type cheats that reduce grind I like.

It's fun cheating in single player games after you've already finished them the normal way.

Cheating otherwise robs you of the experience.

Cheating if the game is simply too hard or unplayable, is also acceptable.

Cheating in online games? Especially against other people? You're an asshole.

Mostly singleplayer, when I feel like I've completed the most that the game would offer. Sometimes save cheesing/rng manipulation if I can't get a certain thing to go my way, but not a lot.

On multiplayer, I did used to play anarchy minecraft servers (where cheats level the playing ground for everyone), but nothing that breaks that balance. Multiplayer is only fun when everyone has similar tools to you.

Only if it's single player and there's some bullshit time consuming part I don't want to deal with or some bug fucks me over. I wouldn't in multiplayer. I can't even bring myself to murder people in arc raiders unless its self defense.

Depends on the game and platform really.

Been using game cheats since IDDQD and IDKFA. I've never used a cheat in a multiplayer competitive game, that's like cheating at golf. No one really cares what your fucking score is, and cheating ruins any and all accomplishment and personal validation from competing. At that point, you're just being an asshole to other people for imaginary clout, and you should really consider what is gratifying about playing in the first place.

Single player after i've beat it a few times sure. Multiplayer no.

I play games to have fun, which is the reason I don't play multiplayer games (unless local). I also have a very limited amount of time to play games after work.

I cheat with WeMod on openSUSE Tumbleweed for every game I can. I've just recently beaten Resident Evil 2+3 and am currently on 4 right now, and am having a blast getting to play these games!

The number one reason I am having a blast is BECAUSE of the cheats. Every game is different for me, so I only use the cheats that will minimize the amount of time I have to do silly shit like collect X amount of this material or whatever other stupid grindy stuff they come up with that doesn't respect my time as a player. Using the RE games as an example, I don't turn on every single cheat. I don't want to worry about inventory management (not fun to me, personally), so I turn on No Reload. This means my weapons will never need to be reloaded, which means more space in the inventory for the story important items. Win/Win for me. What I don't do, for these games in particular, is use the infinite/god mode cheats. I still want to get damaged and try to recover if it happens, so I leave that one off.

People get... really fuckin' weird when you talk about how much fun you have using cheats in a video game. "You can't be having that much fun, or else you wouldn't cheat!", "You shouldn't cheat on video games because it takes the fun away!", "WOW, YOU NEED TO GET GUD SCRUB. ONLY LITTLE BABIES CHEAT IN VIDEO GAMES!!!!!111!!". And here I am just having fun and completing game after game after game to get through my monumental Steam library. :P

Single player do whatever you like. Play your way. Example: the old DnD games like Neverwinter Nights and Baldurs Gate, I’d start a game by console commanding a Light/Lore (scholar iirc) ring and a stack of identify scrolls. Do what you like to remove the irritating part. Bag weight mods in Fallout, anyone?

Multiplayer, no, never.

You could argue that mod use is cheating, in the same sense that console commands are. That would mean almost everyone who has ever played Skyrim is a cheater alongside everyone who modded out Inquisition’s beige pajamas before BioWare added an alternative.

IDDQD, IDKFA, ⬆️⬆️⬇️⬇️⬅️➡️⬅️➡️B,A,Start, are the ones I know off the top of my head. Tons of people don't want to grind, just sandbox, so you get city and people sims with infinite cash codes.

I guess what I'm getting at is, if they weren't called cheat codes, would it even be considered cheating? Cheating usually involves someone being harmed or cheated out of something (money, love). Are there any victims in this case (strictly single player, of course)? I'd argue that you even lose out if you aren't using codes, cuz you might say 'fuck it', and just move on to another thing (like your Terraria example).

Heck, we might as well tie this up with something modern and political, like right to repair. If you bought the software, you should be free to manipulate it, all the way up to (but not including) distributing your version for money. Single player cheating is about as harmful as a nice masturbation sesh.

Last time I remember cheating in a game was giving myself infinite lives in Sonic Mania. The game is really fun, but I'm terrible at it and I hated having to restart from the beginning of act 1 when I was struggling with the boss. Got really bad with the final boss.

In single player yes, who cares, mods are fun too. In co-op, fine, as long as everyone is on board with the change. In PvP, never, thanks for fucking ruining the fun.

I never cheat online multiplayer. I like to be challenged and cheating ruins it.

I hate that modding is considered cheating by some games when all I want is quality of life improvement. Divinity 2 does this by disabling achievements if you installed any mods but thankfully there is another mod that re-enables achievements.

Not really. Taking away the challenge ruins the fun.

But I liked activating cheat codes in GTA: San Andreas. Spent many hours traveling around the map in a flying tank and causing random mayhem.