Are there any tricks that cannot be done without having the god mode combo cheats on or is this done just because you have access to it?

There are a couple skips that are only really doable with each on. One was only recently found to be barely doable without. Unliimited ammo allows rockets to not run out and a tractor beam skip to be done. Invincibility to get the jetpack early and faster grind boots. Also out of bounds last longer because of it.

They aren't actually cheats. they are unlockables. Cheats were unintended for players to ever have, these are just given as rewards for collecting gold bolts.

Which one was found to be doable without the cheats on? I'm just curious for major route differences between NG+ and NG with the obvious exception of gear.

EDIT: I also refer to them as cheats because that is how the game categorizes them not because I am looking down on them like old school cheat codes that weren't meant to be used

yea i'm just making it clear for anybody else who reads this. And its the early jetpack. in new game its flat out not possible atm.

Oh I thought it was tractor beam skip. I can post a video for you tomorrow of how to get early jetpack without invincibility. It is most likely slower but in the route I found you may be able to get ten brains before the triggering cutscene

Edit: With less than 10 brains it flat out crashes the game so my gut is saying 10+ would also crash the game but it may not due to triggering a different flag. Depends how the line is coded

A video would be a good thing.

The route I take consistently crashes and you have to cycle the power on the PS4 and I will have an high light linked to it once I finish streaming. I also found a different route that leads you over to the area you get to from the invincibility glitch. I'll test that around midnight or something

Edit: highlight made. IF you want to test the other route I showed at the end to see if it causes a crash before I can get to it be my guest