10 Video Game Hard Modes Hidden Behind Unique Challenges

Undertale is full to the brim with secrets and easter eggs. Its special hard mode is, in fact, an interesting combination of the two.

The mode is a secret that can only be unlocked in the intro sequence of the game. When Flowey asks you for your name, if you input Frisk, the protagonist's true name, the game will warn you that this decision will "make your life a living hell" and then irreversibly trigger the hard mode on your save file.

The mode only works until the end of the Ruins, but it still makes the enemies there significantly stronger and alters some minor things in the later parts of the game, like erasing the labels on switches and disabling the effects of certain items.

The fun thing about Undertale's hard mode is that despite it not requiring the player to finish the game, you technically still need to do it to learn the protagonist's true identity and have the idea to use it as their name.

It's an interesting reward for those players who are attentive enough to follow the game's story and curious enough to use that knowledge in creative ways.