From Software's latest release, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, is somewhat of a departure from its most recent games, putting players in the shoes of a 16th-century Shinobi warrior. Instead of equipping a variety of new weapons and gear or putting points into various attributes, players instead unlock new abilities through The Wolf's prosthetic arm as well as new passive and active skills while battling through the landscape against demonic enemies.

Even though gameplay mechanics have changed, this is still a From Software game (Dark Souls, Bloodborne), which means players should expect a lot of deaths against hard enemies. However, while Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice may not be quite as difficult as some games from the studio's history, the developer has added a way to activate a harder difficulty for players who really want to push themselves.

Before Hard Mode can be activated, players first need to battle through Sekiro's Ashina Outskirts zone and take down the Chained Ogre mini-boss by the Stairway Sculptor's idol. Once that's done, head up through a hole in the building at the top of the stairs to be taken to a courtyard where a General and his troops patrol. Instead of engaging, head off to the right using the grapple hook to find a shrine with a note attached. Continue beyond the shrine using grapple and cliff ledges to shuffle over to find a cave.

sekiro shadows die twice demon bell

Be warned that a powerful enemy lurks in this cave, making quick work of lower leveled players. This headless spirit can't be damaged by normal attacks and is able to slow your movement, so the best strategy at this point is to avoid confrontation, dodge past it, and jump up on the ledge behind it to find a small tunnel.

This tunnel eventually leads players to The Senpou Temple and a massive bell. There's a note nearby that urges players not to ring the Demon Bell, but in this case, ignore the note and ring it to earn the Bell Demon spirit. With this, enemies become much stronger but rewards are also greater for defeating enemies. Thankfully, if Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and its enemies become too difficult on this harder mode, players can use the Bell Demon item from their inventory to dispell the effect and return the world to normal.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.