What is Hell Mode in Hades?

Hades is now available on Nintendo Switch and Steam, having previously only been available on the Epic Game Store.

With the full release of Hades comes questions about certain aspects of the game, like what Hell Mode is and whether you should give it a try.

What is Hell Mode in Hades? 

If you’re wondering what Hell Mode is in Hades, the quick answer is that it’s a harder difficulty setting that adds unique challenges to your escape attempts.

As incentive for playing Hades in Hell Mode, you start off with 5 Heat right off the bat. You’re also able to earn better Bounties up to 25 Heat. In a standard game, you can only earn Bounties up to 20 Heat. 

When creating a new save file, you’ll see the Hell Mode option which you can check or leave unchecked. If you want to play Hades in Hell Mode, all you need to do is check this box.

Prior to doing this, you’ll see information on Hell Mode will pop up that reads:

“For those unafraid of death and other difficult matters, the Pact of Punishment will make your life harder right away. Set this if you’re a veteran of the cycle of death and rebirth, or seeking a purer, more challenging experience. Caution: You cannot change this later!”

Normally, you gain access to the Pact of Punishment contract after you beat the game’s last boss. With Hell Mode, you’re given instant access to the Pact of Punishment and can set Conditions that make your run even harder.

Unlike the normal Pact of Punishment process, some of these Conditions are mandatory while playing Hades in Hell Mode.

With these mandatory Conditions in place, enemies will deal more damage, spawn in greater numbers, and have more Health.

Meanwhile, sources of Health restoration are -25% less effective, and the damage threshold at which you become impervious is reduced 100% each rank.

If you’re wondering what the benefit is to playing in Hell Mode, it mainly serves as a way to put your skills to the ultimate test.

Beating the game in Hell Mode is satisfying, and serves as proof that you’re a skilled Hades player. You also get more Heat which allows you to acquire better Bounties.

If you’re new to Hades, we don’t recommend playing in Hell Mode to start.

One option if you want to jump right into Hell Mode as a new player is to play Hades both normally and in Hell Mode using two separate save slots.

You get four save slots in Hades so you can have one save slot for your normal runs and a second save slot for Hell Mode runs. 

It’s up to you, just keep in mind that Hell Mode makes Hades a lot harder to beat!

Related: Supergiant’s Hades Has Sold Over One Million Copies