Before starting a new game or when using the chapter selection to replay a completed chapter, you will be prompted to select a difficulty level. There are three difficulty levels at the beginning that determine what kind of game you will experience.
- Casual – Enemies are easier to kill, less resilient in their attacks, and deal less damage. Since they are also slower to react and are easily stunned, knife are easier to execute on them.
- Standard – Default. This is a good starting point and a good challenge even for experienced players.
- Hardcore – worth a try, but you’d better take some sections slowly and carefully to avoid disaster.
As a rule of thumb, higher difficulty levels will drain your resources more quickly. You will take more damage from attacks that require dexterity or frequent healing. You will expend more ammunition in taking down enemies, requiring you to become more accurate and accomplished in combat. Monsters are also faster, hungrier, respawn faster (where applicable), and lock onto you with greater speed and determination.
Interactive sequences are also affected by difficulty, introducing more complex keystrokes and requiring faster reflexes to hit the right button in less time.
