Last month, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night paid tribute to its inspiration Castlevania with the addition of an extra-difficult Classic Mode. The update added five new levels with a number of elements drawn from classic platforming titles, especially Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
However, it has recently been discovered that the update added another mode in addition to the previously mentioned Classic. Dubbed “1986 Mode,” in honor of the year when the original Castlevania game was released, this mode was not officially announced by developer ArtPlay or publisher 505 Games and was instead left as a secret for fans to discover.
It took over a month following the update for the existence of “1986 Mode” to be found. As it remained un-discovered for so long, the developer had to provide hints to players and gaming news sources regarding this extra secret.
In order to access “1986 Mode,” players have to enter the classic Konami Code on Classic Mode’s title screen. The Konami Code is traditionally “Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, A, B.” However, for consoles which do not have an official A or B button, the last part of the Code is replaced by “Horizontal Left Face Button” and “Horizontal Right Face Button.”
“1986 Mode” shares Classic’s connection to traditional platforming titles, but adds elements which create further difficulty. These include:
- Inability to backflip, backstep or slide
- Decreased mid-air control
- Inability to jump on to or off of staircases
- Extended whip option removed
- Inability to stand or crouch during whip animation
This mode also adds a new color palette for protagonist Miriam, again inspired by classic Castlevania games.
Bloostained: Ritual of the Night is currently available for mobile devices, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Fans of the genre can also check out companion game Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon and its sequel Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2.
