Don’t try to enter this code unless you want a serious challenge.

Hollow Knight: Silksong isn’t an easy game, but that difficulty is one of the reasons why fans love it. There are likely some in the fanbase who might even feel it’s too easy, and for them, developer Team Cherry added the most famous of cheat codes to the game, although it doesn’t give you 30 lives. 

The famous Konami Code, best known for its inclusion in the NES game Contra, does work in Silksong, but it will make the game far harder, not easier. The secret was found not long after the game came out on Thursday over at the Silksong subreddit. A variation of the code can be inputted in the Extras section of the title screen to unlock the Steel Soul mode on a new playthrough. The description of the unlocked mode says, “No reviving. Death is permanent.” 

As the description suggests, Steel Soul is a permadeath mode, meaning that once you die, it’s game over and your save is wiped. Considering how difficult Silksong has been even for veterans of the Hollow Knight, this option is truly for those who want the highest of challenges. It appeared in the original Hollow Knight as an optional setting made available after beating the game, but Silksong players just need to press a few buttons on the menu screen to unlock it.

The code needed to unlock Steel Mode in the Extras section of the title screen is Up, Down, Up, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right. For consoles, you will need to use the respective controller’s Dpad, while PC requires either using a controller Dpad or the arrow keys on the keyboard. There are no additional buttons to press, and when inputted correctly, the screen will flash. To activate the new much harder difficulty option, back out of the Extras screen, select Start Game, pick New Game and that will take you to the Mode Select screen where Steel Soul is now available. 

The Konami Code was first used in Gradius, a shoot ’em up game made by the company and released for the NES in 1986. The full code is Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, and Start on a controller and was programmed into the game’s code by developer Kazuhisa Hashimoto as a way to test the game easily, as it added all the power-ups to the player’s ship. Hashimoto had mistakenly left the code in the NES game, and it was eventually discovered by players in the U.S. 

The Konami Code is mainly remembered for its use in 1987’s Contra for the NES, which gave players 30 lives to start the game with. It has since been used in other Konami games and paid homage to by other game developers. Tech companies such as Google and Facebook have also used the code as an Easter egg in their different services over the years. 

Hollow Knight: Silksong is out now on PC, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, PS4 and PS5. It’s also available for Xbox Game Pass subscribers.