How To Reset A Steam Game

How to Reset a Steam Game

Sometimes, games get a little wonky. Maybe you want to start completely fresh, or perhaps a glitch is making it impossible to play. Whatever the reason, knowing how to reset a Steam game can be super helpful. It’s like hitting the “restart” button on your progress, giving you a clean slate. This doesn’t mean you’re deleting the game; it just means you’re getting rid of the saved information and starting over.

Understanding Game Saves and Resetting

Before we jump into how to reset, let’s understand what’s happening behind the scenes. Most games save your progress: your level, your inventory, your choices, everything that makes your game, your game. This info is stored in something called a save file. When you reset a game, we’re usually dealing with these save files. Think of it like erasing a drawing and starting with a blank page. The game itself remains, but your progress is wiped clean.

Types of Game Saves

Game saves can be stored in different places. Some games save data to your local computer, while others save your progress to Steam’s cloud. Knowing the distinction is very helpful, when you’re trying to reset the game. Here’s a quick rundown:

• Local Saves: These save files are stored directly on your computer. You might find them in your Documents folder, in the game’s installation folder, or in a hidden location.
• Cloud Saves: Steam cloud saves automatically store your game data on Steam’s servers. This lets you play the same game on different computers without losing your progress.

When you want to reset a game, it’s very important to know where the game saves, because it’s very helpful when you’re looking to delete those save files.

Resetting Games That Use Cloud Saves

Many modern Steam games use cloud saves, and it’s the easiest and more accessible way for the users to keep their games data synced. So, if your game uses cloud saves, Steam will often restore your last saved game data from cloud after you delete game data on your computer. This means you can’t simply delete the game’s save files on your computer and expect a clean reset. You must disable the cloud saves to achieve a proper reset.

How to Disable Steam Cloud Saves

Disabling Steam Cloud saves prevents the game from uploading/downloading any game data from/to cloud. Here are the steps:

1. Open the Steam client.
2. Go to your Library of Games.
3. Find the game you wish to reset and right-click on the game.
4. Select “Properties” from the menu.
5. Select the “General” tab, and look for the “Steam Cloud” section.
6. Uncheck the box that says “Keep game saves in the Steam Cloud”.

Now, with cloud saves disabled, you can proceed to delete local saves.

Deleting Local Save Files

With cloud saves disabled, you can now find and delete the game’s local save files. Where exactly those files are located differs from game to game, but there are some usual suspects to look out for:

• Documents Folder: Look in your “Documents” folder, there will often be a folder related to your game’s name.
• Game Installation Folder: You can find this by right-clicking on the game in Steam, selecting “Manage” then “Browse local files”. Look for folders with names like “save,” “profile,” or “data.”
• Appdata Folder: This is a hidden folder. Type “%appdata%” in the Windows search box, and you will be able to access it. Then, look for folders with the name of the game.

Inside these locations, look for files with names indicating save data. They might have extensions like “.sav”, “.dat”, “.profile”, or others related to game saves. When you find the files, delete them carefully. Be sure that you have selected the correct files, because deleting wrong files may corrupt the game.

Re-Enabling Cloud Saves (Optional)

Once you have deleted the local save files and you have started a new game, if you want to use cloud saving again, you need to re-enable it. Just follow the same steps in the “How to Disable Steam Cloud Saves” section, but now check the box that says “Keep game saves in the Steam Cloud”. Steam will then start uploading/downloading the game data to the cloud.

Note:Be careful, that if you enable the cloud save with no local saves, it may download old game data.

Resetting Games That Don’t Use Cloud Saves

Not every game uses Steam cloud saves, especially older titles, so you don’t need to disable the cloud save in that case. Resetting these games is pretty easy and simple, you just need to delete the local save files.

Finding and Deleting Local Save Files

Locating local save files is as described in the “Deleting Local Save Files” section, but just again repeating it, you should search your Documents folder, game installation folder, or Appdata folder. Look for files with names indicating game saves and delete them.

After deleting the save files, the next time you launch the game, it should start with no progress, it’s a new game.

Specific Game Reset Instructions

While the steps above cover the general process, some games might require a slightly different approach. Here, we will talk about the specific instructions for common games. Note that the specific game location and save file names may vary based on the game version, and OS, so always be aware of that and carefully try the steps.

Minecraft

Minecraft stores its save files in the “.minecraft” folder, which is located in “C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Roaming”. You’ll find individual save folders inside of that folder. Delete the save folders that you no longer want to use. When you launch the game next time, it will not be present there.

The Witcher 3

The save files for “The Witcher 3” are located in the “Documents\The Witcher 3\gamesaves” folder. You can find and delete save files there. The game will start from fresh again after deleting saves.

Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley’s save files can be found in the location “C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Roaming\StardewValley\Saves”. Find and delete the folder with your farm name in it, and your game will start from fresh.

Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V)

GTA V save files are located in “Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA V\Profiles\[Random Number]”. Within the folder you will find files with .bak extension, those are the save files. Delete those files to reset the game.

Terraria

The Terraria save files are located in “Documents\My Games\Terraria”. If you want to delete player save file, then remove the “.plr” files, and if you want to reset a world then you can delete “.wld” files.

Borderlands series

The Borderlands series games, including Borderlands 2 and Borderlands 3 save files are located in “Documents\My Games\Borderlands [Number]\SaveData”. Inside the folder, delete the save files that you want to reset.

Common Issues and How to Troubleshoot

Sometimes, resetting a game might not go as smoothly as planned. Here are some common problems you might encounter and some steps you can take to fix them:

Game Still Loads Old Save

If the game is loading old saves, even after deleting the local saves, the cause may be cloud sync. Make sure that you have disabled the cloud save for the game. If the cloud saves are disabled then it may be possible that the save files are stored in different location than the location you are looking at. Try finding the save files in different locations, as mentioned in previous sections.

Can’t Find Save Files

Some games hide save files in unusual locations or with unusual file extensions. Use the steps mentioned before to find hidden folders like “AppData”. It’s possible that your game saves are stored in a very uncommon folder, you can try to Google that particular game save file location to find out more about that. Another approach, you can search “save” in your computer directory, and it may show some game related files.

Game Crashes After Reset

If your game starts crashing after deleting save files, it is possible that something went wrong during the file deleting process. Try to verify the game files via the Steam client. This will fix any corrupt files. You can do this by right-clicking on the game in Steam, then choosing “Properties”, then the “Installed Files” tab, and then finally “Verify Integrity of game files”.

Game Settings are Resetting

If your game settings are resetting along with your progress, it’s possible that the settings files are stored along with save files. When you’re deleting save files, be careful about game configuration files, which may store game settings like audio, graphics, or control settings. If you want to preserve the game settings, don’t delete any files except the save files.

Backup Your Game Data (Recommended)

Before you start deleting any file, it is a good idea to backup game save data, so that if anything goes wrong, you can restore it. Just find the folder where game save files are stored and copy the folder to a different location. Then, after deleting the files, if you want to restore the game data, you can copy back the files from backed up location.

So, there you have it—a comprehensive guide on how to reset a Steam game. Remember, it’s all about finding and deleting those save files, and sometimes disabling cloud saves. If you’re having problems, take it slow, follow the instructions, and you’ll have that clean slate in no time. Happy gaming!