IGTAP B-Sides: Hard Mode Unlock and Reward
IGTAP B-sides rebuild all five courses as hard versions. Finish the base game to open them, and finish the set to unlock level select.
B-sides are IGTAP’s hard mode. They rework all five base courses with tougher platforming, and they are separate from the main story. The unlock condition is simple: finish the base game first.
What the B-sides are
The developer described the release in one sentence: the B-side is “a hard-mode revamp of the entire game, reworking all 5 courses with harder platforming”.
That wording matters. These are not bonus levels bolted onto the end. They are the same courses rebuilt, which is why players treat them as the real skill test rather than extra content.
The B-sides shipped on June 16, 2026, alongside Steam Next Fest, so they were part of the game long before launch.
How to unlock them
- Complete the main story. The B-side entrance stays closed until then.
- Pick the hard version at the course entrance. It is a per-course choice rather than a global difficulty switch.
- Confirm the course loaded in B-side form. The route and hazards change immediately.
You do not need to finish every course again before starting. Once the base game is done, the hard versions are available.
What finishing them gives you
The reward is the reason to bother: completing the B-side unlocks level select. The developer stated it directly, saying you can then “go back and speedrun the individual levels as you please”.
That turns a hard mode into the entry point for the running scene. Without level select you can only practise by replaying long stretches. With it, you can drill one course until the route is clean.
Why the community treats B-sides as the real test
Two reasons come up repeatedly in player feedback.
First, the difficulty gap is wide. One reviewer wrote that the B-side is “so much harder than the demo” and appreciated the change. Another player started the B-sides after finishing the Steam release and only cleared the first one in the time available.
Second, the routes are genuinely different. A player working through 3-B flagged a checkpoint problem: the respawn point near the top matches 3-A, but the B-side has no floor there. That is the kind of detail that only matters when a course is rebuilt rather than recoloured.
How to approach your first B-side
- Finish the base game and the upgrade tree. B-sides are a bad place to discover that your income is thin.
- Pick one course, not all five. Choose the course you know best and learn its hard version fully.
- Expect to relearn the route. Do not assume your muscle memory carries over.
- Buy upgrades between attempts. Hard mode increases the value of running well, and better times raise clone income.
- Watch for checkpoint oddities. Some B-side rooms reuse a base-game respawn point, so a death can send you further back than expected.
- Then grind for level select. Finishing all five is the gate to single-course practice.
How B-sides relate to speedrunning
The leaderboard separates A-Side and B-Side runs, so the hard mode is a first-class category rather than a novelty. Runners who prefer short, punishing routes go straight to B-Side; runners chasing a full-game time usually stay on A-Side.
Both paths need level select, which is why the B-side completion reward matters even if you never intend to run the hard courses again.
Sources: the official Steam announcement for the B-side release and its level select reward, the community leaderboard at speedrun.com/IGTAP, the project page comments, and current Steam reviews.