10 Video Game Hard Modes Hidden Behind Unique Challenges

The Konami Code is one of the earliest cheat codes in gaming and a huge part of its history. After it was first introduced in Contra, the cheat became so famous that many other games decided to use the same exact sequence for their own exploits.

BioShock: Infinite is one such title, except the cheat in question actually unlocks a spirit-crushing hard mode.

If you know the Konami Code and are curious enough to use it in the game’s menu, BioShock: Infinite rewards you with a special difficulty setting called 1999 mode. Choosing it will immediately warn you that it will not make the game “feel like BioShock,” and it’s really easy to see why.

Not only does this mode make enemies overpowered, but it also impacts your respawns. You get a reduced number of them, and each time you die, you need money to come back to life, putting a unique survival spin on BioShock’s typical gameplay.

1999 mode can also be unlocked by finishing the game, but you have to admit, it feels better to unlock it using your knowledge of the decades-long Konami Code tradition.