Hollow Knight: Silksong is a very difficult game, comparable to titles like Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3, which are some really tough games to beat. However, if you’re one of those players who are in tune with the base level difficulty of Silksong, then you can unlock an even more difficult mode for the game.
The mode in question is the permadeath mode or Steel Soul mode, and there is a trick you can use to unlock it. As the name suggests, it’s permadeath, which means the only way to clear it is by finishing the game flawlessly. However, it’s a challenge that is suited for the hardcore veterans of the Souls community, who love to showcase their skill and expertise in the genre.
How Can I Unlock Permadeath (Steel Soul) Mode In Hollow Knight: Silksong
If you want to unlock the permadeath Steel Soul mode, you need to go to Extras and press the direction keys on your controller in the following order: Up, Down, Up, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right. A Reddit user discovered this secret on their Xbox account, and proof of that was posted on Reddit. Once you do that, the screen will flash, which is an indication that you have done it correctly and that Steel Soul mode is available in a New Game save.
The Steel Soul, once unlocked, is not the only mode that you are forced into playing. It’s just an unlock, and the game will give you the option to select the Classic mode as well, which is the Normal Mode of playing the game. However, every time you go into a New Game save, if you follow the button combination as listed, you’ll get the Steel Soul option before jumping into the game.
What Is The Steel Soul Mode In Hollow Knight: Silksong
The Steel Soul mode is basically a permadeath mode in Hollow Knight: Silksong. It simply adds to the difficulty where you need to complete the game without dying even once. Any scripted death that is related to the story does not count. However, if you die to a boss or even a basic enemy, your run will come to an end. The color of your health bar also changes to Grey instead of Red in Steel Soul mode.
Completing the game in Steel Soul mode is a challenge run for the most experienced players. This is because you will have to know everything about how the bosses work, where to find the best tools to equip in the game, and what happens in every region. Even a mistake in the final boss of the game will ruin your run, which means you have to be extremely good at doing pretty much everything that Silksong has to offer.
How Did Steel Soul Mode Work In Original Hollow Knight
In the original Hollow Knight, Steel Soul mode meant that if you die, there’s no respawn, and the game will simply end. If you try to enter a failed Steel Soul save, the game will ask you to start a new one. Additionally, in Steel Soul mode, if you died, it had a special animation which was different from the Normal mode.
In Steel Soul mode, Confessor Jiji was replaced by Steel Soul Jinn in Dirtmouth. This is because, since your death meant it was the end, Confessor Jiji had no purpose since the concept of recovering your lost shade did not exist. Another NPC named Tuk is also found dead in Steel Soul mode of Hollow Knight.
