As if Sekiro: Shadoes Die Twice wasn’t hard enough, it’s possible to make the game even harder with a special item called the Demon Bell. You’ll need to find a hidden temple that’s pretty deep into the game to find it — but only the most hardcore Soulsborne players will be able to handle the increased difficulty. Ring the bell if you dare.
Actually finding the bell isn’t too difficult if you’ve made it to the Senpou Temple area. But, there’s an alternate path to the Demon Bell that’s accessible very early in the game. If you’re the kind of psycho that wants to play the entire game at an extreme difficulty level, that’s totally possible. It’s accessible as early as the Aishina Outskirts, Outskirts Wall – Stairway area. If you’re willing to make some incredibly perilous jumps, and run right past a mystical, unstoppable early boss, you can ring the Demon Bell at the start of the game.
More Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice guides:
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – 10 Newbie Tips From A Soulsborne Veteran | Beginner’s Guide
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – How To Find Robert’s Firecrackers Prosthetic | ‘Memorial Mob’ Guide
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – PC Tweaks & Fixes Guide | DS4 Controller, Low FPS & More
Increase Difficulty With The Demon Bell | Secret Hard Mode Guide
The Demon Bell is a special feature that makes Sekiro much, much more difficult. Ringing the bell activates a harder difficulty level. The benefits aren’t exactly clear — as of this writing, I have no idea what the harder difficulty level does for players, or if there is any benefits or rewards. Knowing these types of games, it might just be for bragging rights.
There are two routes to the Demon Bell. The bell itself is located at Senpou Temple, Mt. Kongo – Bell Demon’s Temple. There’s a Sculptor’s Idol at the temple, so you can easily return at any time.
- Normal Route: Senpou Temple, Mt. Kongo – Shugendo, before the Armored Warrior, use the cliffs and follow the path up. It’s to the left of the Armored Warrior boss bridge. Drop down and take the secret bridge along the cliffs. You need to make a very dangerous jump — the bridge is located below the area with the red and white pinwheel. This path will lead to the white pinwheel.
If you’re feeling adventurous, there’s another secret route you can take to access the Demon Bell very early in the story.
- Early Route: Aishina Outskirts, Outskirts Wall – Stairway, past the General miniboss, go right from the arena and take the cliffside path. There’s a Temple Posting note — grapple to the tree, then drop down onto the ledge below. This is another perilous jump, and leads to a large open cavern entrance. The cave itself is filled with a ghostly Headless. Jump down into the dark arena, and run across to a smaller cave passage with a secret wall. Lean against the wall to enter the Demon Bell’s Temple.
To activate the Demon Bell, approach it and inspect the bell itself, then use the ringing mechanism. You’ll gain an item and an effect. You can disable the hard difficulty effect with the item in your inventory. You aren’t stuck with a harder difficulty. It is possible to drop down to ‘normal’ — which is still incredibly hard.