8 Hidden Video Game Modes You Never Knew About

The game setting known as 'Mercy Mode' is found in quite a lot of video games over the years. Crash Bandicoot players will all be familiar with the 'pity Aku Aku' given to you when you die enough times, and recently, in Doom Eternal, the Sentinel Armor item allows struggling players to take the edge off the game's brutal combat if they so wish.

Spyro: Year of the Dragon isn't particularly a difficult game, but in any case, if you're having trouble and end up dying a lot, the game will eventually shift into its own Mercy Mode.

The twist here, though, it that it doesn't tell you it's changed - and unless you're looking out for it, you probably won't even notice the difference.

What the mode does is reduce the frequency of enemies' attacks, slow down their movement, increase the amount of fodder enemies for you to regain health from, and so on. It's incredibly subtle, and you have to give Insomniac Games credit for lending us a hand while simultaneously keeping us just as immersed in the wonderful world of Spyro.