Mortal Shell has done a tremendous job in paying tribute to the critically acclaimed Soulsborne games. Just like the classic Soulsborne games, Mortal Shell introduces you to its protagonist called The Foundling. Throughout your journey, you'll be taking on terrifying enemies and exploring Mortal Shell's nerve-wracking hostile environment. Traversing this environment isn't easy and you'll have to inhabit the dead bodies of warriors to give yourself an upper hand. The base difficulty of the game will seem synonymous with other Soulsborne-type games, but you can further increase the difficulty up a notch in Mortal Shell by using a hidden method.
The game largely focuses on shells that players inhabit, encouraging you to learn all available skills and get better while inhabiting a specific shell. However, you can make the game even more challenging by disabling the shells altogether. By unlocking the hidden difficulty, you'll remain in The Foundling's original form, who has unlimited stamina, but can be killed with a single blow. Mortal Shell's combat is heavily focused on balancing the offense and defense. Therefore, delays in attack or defense timings can easily get The Foundling killed on this secret difficulty.
The increased difficulty can be activated just a short while after you start the campaign. Once you reach the Fallgrim area, wait for a cutscene to play out that points you in the direction of the Fallgrim tower. Instead of heading straight to the tower, take a right turn and head down further into the swamps. Soon, you'll be welcomed by several enemies, but it's best that you run past them. You'll then reach a shallow river, from where you should make a right turn, and then take the immediate left.
You should then be able to see a tree. Take a right turn at the tree and walk through the walkway until you find a hole that leads further into the tree. You will then find a shrine where you can renounce your shells and play the entire game as The Foundling.
Renouncing your shells makes the game incredibly difficult as even basic enemies can halt your progress and make short work of you. If you're a newcomer to Mortal Shell, we advise that you play the game normally first and then switch to the hard mode if the current difficulty isn't tough enough.
