What this tool does: Built for Terrible Lizards players on PC, Steam Deck, Xbox Series X|S (Game Pass), and PS5, this interactive field manual decodes all 14 hidden Steam achievements, calculates your 16-Amber New Game Plus (NG+) modifiers, audits all 24 Chapter 2 notes, and diagnoses Level 3 cavern framerate stutters.
One-Line Field Verdict: WDR Studios' debut blends responsive first-person wall-running and RJ Palmer monster designs across a 6–10 hour campaign (82% Very Positive across 383 Steam reviews), but because Steam hides 14 of 15 achievement descriptions and Level 3's flooded electrical rooms cause heavy GPU frame drops, you should configure the -dx11 / "Terrible" lighting preset and track missable collectibles as you go.
Fourteen of the fifteen Steam achievements in Terrible Lizards are flagged hidden: true in the Steam client, hiding their unlock conditions until you stumble into them. Check off achievements below to track your 100% completion rate and verify whether your Dead by Daylight crossover codes are ready to claim on the main menu.
ACH_Welcome (97.7% global rate)ACH_Complete_Level2 (49.6% global rate)
ACH_Welcome • 👁️ Visible • Dead by Daylight Decoded Requirement: "Enter the Dinosaur roadside attraction."
Walk from Jordan’s broken-down car on Route 66 through the front entrance doors of the Dalton’s Dinos museum lobby. Unlocks automatically and grants your first Dead by Daylight reward code on the main menu.
ACH_FallDeath • 🔒 Hidden on Steam Store • Interactions & Deaths Decoded Requirement: "Die from fall damage."
Drop into any deep chasm, missed wall-run gap, or elevator shaft where fall velocity exceeds survival threshold. Named as a direct nod to Undertale alongside "Welcome to the Underground".
ACH_Complete_Level1 • 🔒 Hidden on Steam Store • Story Levels Decoded Requirement: "Finish Level 1."
Restore exhibit power, survive the backstage gift-shop and theater transition, establish headset contact with Stella, and cross the collapsing bridge into the subterranean excavation caverns.
ACH_DinoDeath • 🔒 Hidden on Steam Store • Interactions & Deaths Decoded Requirement: "A dinosaur ate you."
Allow any prehistoric creature (the Dilophosaurus Hybrid, Cave Brontosaurus, or Allosaurus) to catch Jordan during a pursuit or arena sequence. The title references JT Music’s classic FNAF song "Join Us for a Bite".
ACH_PaleoPal • 🔒 Hidden on Steam Store • Interactions & Deaths Decoded Requirement: "Interact with each Paleo Pal character's talk box."
Press the interactive audio talk-box buttons in front of all four Paleo Pals mascot displays (Benji the Brontosaurus, Alistair the Allosaurus, Stephanie the Stegosaurus, and Dennis the Dilophosaurus) while touring the attraction.
ACH_Complete_Level2 • 🔒 Hidden on Steam Store • Dead by Daylight Decoded Requirement: "Finish Level 2."
Navigate the subterranean mining outposts, Gondola cable car, Lake Cave, and both Cave Brontosaurus boulder pursuits to complete Level 2. Unlocking this also activates the Dead by Daylight Charm code on the main menu.
ACH_Rock • 🔒 Hidden on Steam Store • Interactions & Deaths Decoded Requirement: "Kick the Rock."
Interact with the kickable rock prompt along the ground path early in the attraction before descending into the deep caverns.
ACH_Globe • 🔒 Hidden on Steam Store • Interactions & Deaths Decoded Requirement: "Spin the globe."
Locate the desk/display globe inside the Dalton’s Dinos building and spam/activate the spin interaction until the celebratory effect triggers.
ACH_Complete_Level3 • 🔒 Hidden on Steam Store • Story Levels Decoded Requirement: "Finish Level 3."
Survive the flooded electrical rooms, restore all four fuses during the Allosaurus arena hunts (fixed in Patch v1.0.9), and uncover the truth about the black biomass slime beneath the dig site.
ACH_Complete_Level4 • 🔒 Hidden on Steam Store • Story Levels Decoded Requirement: "Finish Level 4."
Complete the final subterranean ascent and high-speed pursuit out of the facility to reach Stella’s car at the surface exit. Completing Level 4 unlocks New Game Plus (NG+).
ACH_Collect_AudioTapes • 🔒 Hidden on Steam Store • Collectibles Decoded Requirement: "Find all the audio tapes."
Collect every cassette audio recording hidden across the museum offices, mining outposts, and military bunkers—including developer-favorite tapes like "Campfire" and "Birds vs. Dinosaurs".
ACH_Collect_Amber • 🔒 Hidden on Steam Store • Collectibles Decoded Requirement: "Find all the amber samples."
Find all 16 glowing Amber Samples tucked along optional parkour branches. Every 4th Amber unlocks a New Game Plus modifier (4 = Bodycam, 8 = Slippery Surfaces, 12 = Stop Moving = Death, 16 = Low Gravity).
ACH_Collect_Notes • 🔒 Hidden on Steam Store • Collectibles Decoded Requirement: "Find all the notes."
Collect every written note across all 4 chapters. In Chapter 2 (24 notes total), do not miss "Adrenaline Junkie #3" hidden in the upper hole directly above the tunnel exit right after the balance beam segment.
ACH_Collect_All • 🔒 Hidden on Steam Store • Collectibles Decoded Requirement: "Find all collectibles."
Obtain every Note, Audio Tape, Amber Sample, and Plushie across the entire campaign.
ACH_StuffedAnimal • 🔒 Hidden on Steam Store • Collectibles Decoded Requirement: "Place all the stuffed animals."
Find every hidden dinosaur stuffed animal (plushie) and place each one onto its matching stone pedestal (such as the Stegosaurus Pedestal in the Lake Cave after the Gondola stereo swing-pole puzzle).
Beating Level 4 (ACH_Complete_Level4) unlocks New Game Plus, where you can toggle and stack four challenge modifiers. As confirmed by lead developer John ("patfan") in the October 2026 Q&A, one new modifier unlocks for every 4th Amber Sample you collect across the campaign (`4`, `8`, `12`, and `16` Amber). Enter your current Amber count below to see which modifiers are active and how many samples remain until the next tier.
Terrible Lizards contains 16 Amber unlock slots across the 4 NG+ modifier tiers (`4`, `8`, `12`, `16`). Please enter an integer between 0 and 16.
Applies a 1990s VHS/bodycam lens distortion, vignette, and camera shake filter to first-person movement.
Eliminates ground friction across every museum floor, cavern ledge, and slide.
Standing still for more than a couple of seconds kills Jordan immediately.
Drastically reduces gravity during jumps, wall-runs, and swings.
Players across Steam reviews and discussions report sharp framerate drops in Chapter 3's electrified water caverns (even on RTX 4090 systems), crashes on 4 GB VRAM graphics cards, and blank FMV projector videos on Linux / SteamOS. Select your hardware configuration and symptom below to generate the verified developer workaround.
Root Cause: Dynamic cavern reflections and volumetric lighting stacking inside the flooded electrical rooms, plus checkpoint streaming buildup.
Verified Action Steps: 1) Switch Graphics Preset to Medium and enable the "Terrible" Lighting setting in Options. 2) Add -dx11 to Steam Launch Options. 3) Reload Last Checkpoint once entering the affected cavern.
-dx11 • In-Game Lighting Preset: Terrible Unlike episodic mascot-horror releases, Terrible Lizards ships as a single continuous four-level campaign (`6–10 hours`). By comparing the global unlock percentages of the four level-completion achievements (`research/ach_pct.json`, captured `2026-11-01`), you can see exactly where player progression bottlenecks occur and which creatures guard each act.
| Campaign Act | Achievement & API Key | Steam Unlock % | Primary Setting & Hazards | Key Unlocks & Patch v1.0.9 Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Museum Entry (Opening) | Welcome to Dalton's Dinos (ACH_Welcome) | 97.7% | Route 66 Exterior, Broken Car & Museum Lobby (Sept 19, 1992) | Unlocks Dead by Daylight Badge & Banner code on the main menu. |
| Level 1 | Welcome to the Underground (ACH_Complete_Level1) | 76.5% | Dalton's Dinos Exhibits, Gift Shop, Theater FMV, Pterry Jumps & Collapsing Bridge | Check all 4 Paleo Pal talk boxes (58.3%), spin the globe (27.5%), and kick the rock (48.6%). |
| Level 2 | That's DINO-mite! (ACH_Complete_Level2) | 49.6% | Excavation Outposts, Gondola Ride, Lake Cave & Two Cave Brontosaurus Hunts | Unlocks Dead by Daylight Charm code. Contains 24 Notes (including hidden Adrenaline Junkie #3) & Lake Cave Stereo Puzzle. |
| Level 3 | Slime-o-saurus (ACH_Complete_Level3) | 26.9% | Deep Flooded Caverns, Electrified Water & Allosaurus 4-Fuse Hunt Arenas | Patch v1.0.9 fixed the 4-fuse progression blocker in the 2nd Allo hunt; use "Terrible" lighting if FPS drops in water rooms. |
| Level 4 (Finale) | Finally (ACH_Complete_Level4) | 21.8% | Subterranean Military Expedition Complex, Projector Room & Surface Escape to Stella's Car | Completing Level 4 unlocks New Game Plus (NG+) and your earned Amber challenge modifiers. |
The table below pairs the official Steam hardware specifications (`research/steam_appdetails.json`) with the graphics and accessibility controls added during the September–October 2026 updates (`v0.9.45`, `v0.9.51`, and `v1.0.9`).
| Component / Setting | Minimum Specification | Recommended Specification | Field Manual Tuning Advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 10 (64-bit) | Windows 11 (64-bit) | On SteamOS / Linux, use Proton-GE so theater and camcorder FMV videos play without blank-screen softlocks. |
| Processor (CPU) | Intel Core i5-6400 / AMD Ryzen 3 1200 | Intel Core i3-10100F / AMD Ryzen 3 3100 | Physics and shimmy speed were decoupled from framerate in v0.9.76; enable VSync (default ON) to prevent screen tearing. |
| Memory (RAM) | 6 GB RAM | 12 GB RAM | If cavern streaming stutters after multiple deaths, reload the last checkpoint to flush accumulated level assets. |
| Graphics (GPU) | NVIDIA GTX 1050 2GB / AMD RX 560 2GB | NVIDIA RTX 2080 / AMD RX 6800XT | Cards with <= 4 GB VRAM should launch with -dx11 and use the Steam Deck or Low preset. |
| DirectX & Storage | DirectX 11 • 25 GB available space | DirectX 12 • 25 GB available space | Install on an NVMe/SATA SSD to avoid level load/unload hitches during high-speed Bronto slide transitions. |
| Lighting & Hints Toggles | 5 Presets: Low, Medium, High, Epic, Steam Deck | Optional "Terrible" Lighting Mode | Turn off Options → Accessibility → Hints to remove yellow parkour markers and quiet Jordan's self-talk. |
A first playthrough takes 6 to 10 hours across all four levels. Players who focus purely on parkour and skip optional notes can finish in under 6 hours, while completionists hunting all 16 Amber samples, audio tapes, Chapter 2's 24 notes, and plushie pedestals typically spend 10 to 12 hours.
Lead developer John ("patfan") confirmed in the October 2026 Q&A that the main campaign has one canonical ending. Earlier branching-consequence prototypes were scaled back so the six-person core development team could ship a complete, continuous four-act game on day one.
Beating the campaign unlocks New Game Plus, and finding every 4th Amber Sample unlocks a new modifier: 4 Amber = Bodycam Mode, 8 Amber = Slippery Surfaces, 12 Amber = Stop Moving = Death, and 16 Amber = Low Gravity (which allows sequence breaks and playground skips).
Terrible Lizards launched day one on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S (including Day 1 Xbox Game Pass) on October 29, 2026. WDR Studios stated they are hopeful about a future Switch 2 port depending on launch performance.