Dead Cells: How to Change Difficulty

How to Change Difficulty in Dead Cells

Dead Cells combines gameplay elements from roguelike and Metroidvania games, seeing you trying to get as far as you can in each run, yet wanting to explore as much as you can. However, it is the traversal and combat that make the game so satisfying and difficult to put down. You’ll be dodge rolling past enemies, analyzing their attack patterns, and taking them out as quickly as you can. However, as you reach the later levels and start facing off against bosses, the enemies put up quite a challenge. Much like the Souls games that clearly inspire Dead Cells, the game’s difficulty is part of the experience, and it could be overwhelming for some. If you’re struggling, you might be wondering if and how you can change difficulty in Dead Cells.

Unfortunately, since the difficulty is part of the Dead Cells experience, there is no way to change it from the start. You can change it to make it harder later on, but you will never be able to make Dead Cells easier.

If you want to make Dead Cells harder for yourself, however, you have some options. Firstly, you will need to beat the final boss (The Hand of the King) at least once. Doing so the first time will award you with an item called a Boss Stem Cell. With one cell, you can up the difficulty to Hard by putting it in the tube at the start of the game, in the Prisoners’ Quarters. If you beat The Hand of the King with that cell active, you will get another, and if you start a run with both activated, you’ll be playing on Very Hard difficultly. There are five cells to get in total, with the first four upping the difficulty, up to Nightmare difficulty, and the final one gives you access to an area called the Repository of the Architects. Each of the cells that change the difficulty remove at least some of your health fountains, and give you access to some of the locked doors that are littered throughout the game. Nightmare difficulty removes all health fountains, makes taking hits cause infection, and multiplies the amount of dropped cells by three.

That’s all you need to know about how to change difficulty in Dead Cells. For more tips and tricks on the game, be sure to search for Twinfinite.