Hardcore Mode

 is an alternate gameplay mode, where players have a 20% chance of permanently dying when defeated. When a player permanently dies, they will see a unique defeat scenario screen, before their character is permanently deleted.

Players who choose to play in Hardcore Mode will be unable to play with non-Hardcore players, and vice versa.

Defeat Scenario
When defeated, the game randomly decides if this defeat should be a permanent death or not, with a 20% chance for death. In Co-op, both players will receive the permanent death.

If the player receives the permanent death scenario, they will see a short "fake" loading screen (nothing is actually loading), before being presented with the final defeat scenario, shown below.

"You collapse, body and spirit broken. Your luck has, at long last, run out. No one is coming to save you. No twist of fortune will protect you. The harshness of the world outside the walls has claimed yet another victim... You feel your body fall away, as your soul goes to meet your ancestors in the great beyond..."