Hi everyone!

From feedback I’ve gotten on the game so far, it seems like it’s pretty hard. I just released an update that’ll hopefully remedy the issue a bit. You can read more about the update here. If you’re still struggling though, here’s a list of tips and tricks that’ll help you succeed in Operation Winston! Plus some cheats if you need extra help!

Choosing the game’s difficulty:

When starting a new file, you’re presented with two difficulty options: easy and hard. In hard mode, Winston can lose all his lives/clones and receive a game over, which forces him to start the level over. In easy mode, there are no pesky game overs! Any clones the player runs into restore Winston to full health, and, most importantly, boss health is reduced. If you’re playing the game for the first time, easy mode comes highly recommended!

Keep an eye out for strange looking walls:

Winston’s clone allies are littered throughout each level. Like mentioned in the last section, clones give you an extra try in hard mode and fully restore your health in easy mode. Most clones aren’t out in the open, but instead hide in secret rooms. A dead giveaway to the location of a secret room is if a floor runs under a wall like in the picture below. Try walking into these walls and see what happens! You may run into a clone or some other secret!

Use Winston’s companion, Droney:

When the game is paused, selecting the 2P Assist option summons Winston’s technological travelling companion, Droney! Droney can pick up Winston, items, and enemies, which makes him a valuable member of Winston’s team! Having a friend control Droney is a ton of fun, but he can be useful for single-player too! Unlike Winston, Droney cannot take damage, and, after a while, he’ll teleport back to Winston, meaning Droney will always stick around, and, if you need him, you can take control of him and carry Winston across pits or yank enemies out of his way.

Knowing when to fire and when to dodge:

Winston isn’t as spry as he used to be! When Winston shoots, you may have noticed that it takes him a bit to wind up and fire. When facing enemies, particularly bosses, it can be tempting to just mash the fire button, but, most of the time, doing this results in the enemy running into Winston before he has a chance to make his shot. The key to mastering Winston’s movements is knowing when to shoot and when to dodge. If the enemy is far away from Winston, go ahead and make the shot, but if they are getting close, consider dodging and moving to a safer firing distance.

Boss’ hidden health bars:

Each boss is made up of three phases, each with two attacks. Although you can’t see it, each boss has fifteen hit points per phase (ten in easy). Even if their hit points are drained, a boss won’t move on to their next phase until their attack is completed (unless they’re in phase 3). This means, if you’ve counted the amount of hits you have on the boss, or feel like you’ve hit them enough times, you may not want to risk attacking anymore and instead focus primarily on defense. 

The secret level select:

What if the above tips haven’t helped? Maybe you’re stuck on a boss and just want to get to the ending of the game? With the help of the level select screen, you can warp yourself anywhere you want!

On the title screen, enter this code: up, x, down, x, left, left, right, right, up, x, down

After you put in the code, you’ll see a, perhaps familiar, level select screen. Using the arrow keys, you can navigate and preview all the game’s levels. When you’ve decided where you want to go, press Z to confirm your selection!

Pressing the right and left arrow keys will change the song that’s playing in the sound test, but not only can you listen to the game’s fantastic soundtrack, created by my friend Jake, you can also use it to choose exactly where in a level you want to warp! The number of the track playing corresponds to a checkpoint, so playing track seven and choosing Cookie Coastline will take you right to the boss fight! Most levels in the game have seven checkpoints, but Awkward Aqueduct has nine and Doomsday Dreadnought has twelve, so keep that in mind. Use this feature to skip areas that may be giving you a hard time!

If you need a little extra help, or just want to have a bit of fun, enter this code using the sound test (press x after you've selected the right track): 11, 10, 0. You’ll know you entered it right if you hear Winston say “Yay!” 

After you’ve selected a level, you’ll now be in debug mode! Pressing different number keys will cause different things to happen in the game. Some that may be useful include 3, which allows you to drag Winston around if held, 4, which heals up Winston, and 7, which gives Winston five clones. Pressing 6 may not be so helpful…

Hopefully this guide will help you survive the dangerous world of Operation Winston! Ultimately, I made this game so that anyone can play it, so whether you beat the game in hard mode or used the level select to skip to the end, I’m really thankful that you checked the game out!

Keep saving the world!

- Alec