History Main / UnlockableDifficultyLevels

* ''VideoGame/Doom2016:'' Beating the game on Hurt Me Plenty or higher unlocks [[UpToEleven Ultra-Nightmare]], which is the same as the already brutal [[NintendoHard Nightmare]] difficulty but makes the player go through the entire game in a single life [[CheckpointStarvation without saving or checkpoints]], and if they die at any point on Ultra-Nightmare, they start back over from the beginning. Similarly to ''Doom 3'', however, it can also be unlocked early via a command-line argument or config edit.

Subtrope of UnlockableContent. As mentioned, may lead to FakeLongevity. Related to EarnYourFun, when more skilled gamers find the default difficulty levels too easy for their tastes. Compare NewGamePlus, in which a subsequent playthrough carries over content earned the first time around; the game may be made more difficult to compensate.

** In ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'', you unlock Extra Mode upon getting HundredPercentCompletion. Here the whole game has to be beaten with no saves and with only three hit points instead of six. Its remake, ''Nightmare in Dream Land'', also unlocks Extra Mode this way, but the mode is slightly easier as saves are allowed here.

** After beating the first quest of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'', or by [[ClassicCheatCode naming their save file ZELDA]], players gain access to the (even harder) second quest.
** The 3DS remake of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' unlocks Master Quest (originally a separate harder version of the game in GCN), with the added perks of stronger damage by enemies and a mirrored overworld.

* Later ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' games have each a Brutal or Intense AI level that adds to the standard Easy, Normal and Hard; the method of unlocking it depends on the game itself (in ''5'', you have to complete Story Mode in Hard; in ''7'', you can purchase it in the Duty-Free Shop with the mileage points you accumulate in the other modes; and so on).

** In ''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'', the HarderThanHard Fusion Difficulty can only be unlocked via a special Metroid Toys/{{amiibo}}.
** As of version 2.0, beating the unlockable Hard mode in ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' unlocks Dread Mode, which turns Samus into a OneHitPointWonder.

* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' and [[VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle its sequel]] have three difficulty levels: Sweet, Mild and Bitter. In both games, Bitter is accessible upon first completion. The second game also has an extra difficulty level (Special) for the ''Bizarre Jelly 5'' GameWithinAGame, which requires completing Hard Mode without losing a life.

** In the ''[[UpdatedRerelease Special Edition]]'' of ''[=DMC3=]'', beating "Hard" mode unlocks "Very Hard", which further unlocks the "Must Die" mode, and so forth.

** ''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry1 DMC1]]''unlocks an "Easy Automatic" mode if you use specific recovery/revival times in the first missions.

** ''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry1 DMC1]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening DMC3]]'' unlock an "Easy Automatic" or "Easy" mode respectively if you [[MercyMode die multiple times on the same playthrough]].

** In ''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry1 DMC1]]'', Players start the game on its Normal difficulty, and upon clearing the game, it starts a NewGamePlus on Hard mode on the cleared save file, and clearing that same save file on Hard mode will bring players to [[HarderThanHard Dante Must Die]] mode. In later games, beating the "Must Die" mode unlocks the [[RocketTagGameplay Heaven Or Hell]] difficulty (introduced in ''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening DMC3]]''), and then that unlocks the [[OneHitPointWonder Hell And Hell]] difficulty (introduced in ''[[VideoGame/DevilMayCry4 DMC4]]''.

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'': Players start the game on its Normal difficulty, and upon clearing the game it starts a NewGamePlus on Hard mode on the cleared save file, and clearing the same save file on Hard mode will bring players to [[HarderThanHard Dante Must Die]] mode. In later games, beating that unlocks [[RocketTagGameplay Heaven or Hell]] difficulty, and then that unlocks [[OneHitPointWonder Hell or Hell]] difficulty.
* ''VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry'': Players can choose between Human (Easy), Devil Hunter (Normal), and Nephilim (Hard) difficulties when they start off a fresh save file. Beating the game on any of the three difficulties unlocks the Son of Sparda (Very Hard) mode, then beating the game again on that difficulty unlocks Heaven or Hell mode where you and the enemies can die in a single hit, and upon clearing that difficulty finally unlocks Hell and Hell mode, which only makes you die in a single hit instead.

** After beating the first quest of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'', players gain access to the (even harder) second quest.

* ''VideoGame/DiddyKongRacing'': By beating Adventure mode once, you unlock "Adventure Two", which features harder CPU racers and silver coins in harder-to-reach places.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'': Completing the game on [[HarderThanHard Lunatic Mode]] unlocks Lunatic+, which is similar to Lunatic, but every enemy is randomly given two extra skills, chosen at random from a special pool, these skills are enemy exclusive, and extremely unbalanced, such as one that makes all attacks hit, or regular skills with their activation requirements removed, so they always work.

* The Hard Mode of ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber'' is unlocked by beating the game for the first time. It has an exclusive opening cutscene where Richard questions why the playable characters (and the player themselves) would come back after already beating the game the first time and [[spoiler:knowing the story will still have the same DownerEnding]].

** In ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'', you unlock Extra Mode upon getting HundredPercentCompletion. Here the whole game has to be beaten with no saves. Its remake, ''Nightmare In Dreamland'', also unlocks Extra Mode this way, but the mode is even harder since your health is halved.
** ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamland'' also features an Extra Mode that is much like the first game's. Unlocked upon beating the regular campaign, this Extra Mode features stronger enemies and harder boss fights.

* Several ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' games have an unlockable Hard Mode (known as Hypermode in ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption Corruption]]'' and the ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy Trilogy]]'' compilation), accessible once the game is beaten for the first time.

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'': Players start the game on its Normal difficulty, and upon clearing the game it starts a NewGamePlus on Hard mode on the cleared save file, and clearing the same save file on Hard mode will bring players to [[HarderThanHard Dante Must Die]] mode.

* The ''VideoGame/HarryPotter'' game "Quidditch World Cup" features four levels, only two of which are unlocked at the start. Comet 260 is the lowest level, Nimbus 2000 is the medium difficulty, Nimbus 2001 is hard, and Firebolt is expert. Nimbus 2001 and Firebolt require several Quidditch Cards to unlock.

* ''VideoGame/Yakuza'': In each of the games, the Legend/Ex-Hard difficulty is unlocked after beating the game once.

* The [=PlayStation 2=] and handheld versions of ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsAragornsQuest'' have three levels of difficulty, but the last, hardest one, "King", is unlocked by completing the game once on either of the other two difficulties.

** All games from ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'' onwards, with the exception of ''VideoGame/MarioKartCuperCircuit'', have four difficulty levels: 50cc, 100cc, 150cc and Mirror Mode (the latter known as Extra Mode in ''64'' itself). The first three are available from the start, while Mirror is unlocked once you win all Gold Cups in 150cc. ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'' received an extra level (200cc) via a post-release update, and can be unlocked at the same time as Mirror.