As much as I appreciate the efforts put into balancing and coding these extra difficulties (and I do appreciate them, I really do), I wish they'd opted to include these system changes as toggles in a New Game screen that you select in parallel to the basic three difficulties. I like the sound of several of the more immersive features of Nightmare, but I have little desire to face extra-punitive enemy encounters.
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Alien Isolation updated with New Difficulty Modes
- Thread starter Skelter
- Start date
Yeah, the androids are the worst part about this game, well,
until they get hostile, they could have made all friendly instead. 
Revolutionary
Member
YES this is exactly what I asked for in the OT around launch!!! Thank you CA!
If you can see the head, then it can see you. In that situation, it would have been smart to back away just a bit so that the view is obscured by the desk.
abstract alien
Member
One of the things I loved about outlast is that there weren't any real weapons. That's what made it tense for me, amongst other things. It really want to play Alien though, so I'll jump in soon. It looks really damn fun, and hopefully it makes me uncomfortable. That's the best part of survival horror lol
The final section in the main game is lacking in my opinion, but everything up to that point was nice. The dlc has one of the most insane main enemies I've ever experienced in a game though, wow. Don't even spoil it for yourself. Just freak out as it happens.
Shake Appeal
Member
Yeah, and I'd happily turn off "more aggressive alien," as its sustained interest in you is already kinda silly on Hard.
The Cowboy
Member
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've wanted this since day 1, finally the most immersive/hard mode is here - just add in delete save upon death and its perfect.
I've wanted this since day 1, finally the most immersive/hard mode is here - just add in delete save upon death and its perfect.
Astral/H3X
Member
Man, I'm gonna need that Novice if I ever get this, because there's no way I WONT be using the Oculus Rift. Also three pairs of underwear on standby.
You could with the regular difficulties, haven't tried with the new ones but I assume it's the same. Just switch it in the in game options.
Had alot of fun running through Nightmare Difficulty yesterday, definitely a solid bump in difficulty.
Ended up with literally NOTHING in my inventory which is a massive change compared to Hard Mode. The flamethrower just chews through ammo now, probably a 4-5x increase in fuel consumption.
I thought I was done with the game but this patch was a nice, unexpected surprise!
Oh and you DO need to start a new playthrough from scratch for Nightmare Difficulty. You can't just switch to it in the options menu.
Ended up with literally NOTHING in my inventory which is a massive change compared to Hard Mode. The flamethrower just chews through ammo now, probably a 4-5x increase in fuel consumption.
I thought I was done with the game but this patch was a nice, unexpected surprise!
Oh and you DO need to start a new playthrough from scratch for Nightmare Difficulty. You can't just switch to it in the options menu.
http://www.twitch.tv/joefenix/c/5654175
Stream archive if you're interested.
I ran the game at the end of last month on Hard without ever dying in 4h20mins so I pretty much know it inside out. Most of my tactics still worked in Nightmare but to a lesser degree in certain cases. It's going to be really interesting to see what kind of experience people have with this mode.
I'm especially curious to see if some players will end up feeling like they've backed themselves into a corner in terms of supplies. I know the end of the game was DRY for me, I'm talking 12+ crates in a row with nothing in them at all. The Alien is also much more of a problem in general, especially combined with the broken tracker and the instant kills even after a flamethrower burst.
Pretty sure I've also seen the Alien learn to ignore flares although I can't 100% confirm that's what happened. He definitely didn't go for one of my flares at all during one of the later chapters which is uncharacteristic.
Rhazer Fusion
Member
I am playing this game now and really enjoying it. Yeah, I got toe admit the difficulty surprised me, but I am progressing through it rather well I suppose. Got to get though Normal first. I will tackle Nightmare later.
CoolZombie
Member
Sounds great, this was easily my GOTY, absolutely loved it. Do we know how it sold?
I probably wouldn't recommend it unless you're someone who really really enjoys a challenge and doesn't mind dying ALOT. With no prior knowledge of the game there's probably too many handicaps here to make this an optimal first playthrough.
It would definitely be the best way to start for a certain kind of gamer but unless you're really looking for a super challenging and potentially frustrating first playthrough I would recommend sticking to Normal or Hard.
Lightning Count
Member
Time to dig this out again, been a while, I have been distracted by Dragon Age.
Not sure what version you're playing on but the game does track real life noise and will alert the Alien to where you are.
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
The game crashed in the middle of loading the next level and lost 30 minutes of progress and I just didn't care any more. 6 hours in and just not digging the game. The Alien was outright cheating to always be searching in roughly the right area no matter what I did, but was also too stupid to notice me in my often very obvious hiding spots. I felt like any time it showed up it was perpetually attached to me with an elastic band to preserve the tension.
Sounds good to me. Going through the game on hard at the moment and apart from that one early section in the medlab where the xeno is hot on your ass and you're still learning the ropes it hasn't been really all that hard..
Androids can easily be outrun and outmanouvered like the ghosts in pacman and the xeno is easily fooled as long as you can keep circle-crawling around an object and keep out of his line of sight. ( almost comically so, we were playing hide and seek around a table for minutes and I could almost pull his tail, only thing missing was Benny Hill music )
This will give me enough incentive for another go..
Androids can easily be outrun and outmanouvered like the ghosts in pacman and the xeno is easily fooled as long as you can keep circle-crawling around an object and keep out of his line of sight. ( almost comically so, we were playing hide and seek around a table for minutes and I could almost pull his tail, only thing missing was Benny Hill music )
This will give me enough incentive for another go..
The1stOfHisName
Member
I just beat this on Normal the other day, which was tough enough to be honest. By the final section, I was low on flamethrower fuel and it felt like a proper achievement getting to the end.
Knowing more about the game and how everything works, I'd be tempted to give Hard a go, but Nightmare sounds a bit too much.
I still need to gather up all the collectibles as well. Might try an Easy or Novice run to get those, though I could chapter select on my original run still...
Knowing more about the game and how everything works, I'd be tempted to give Hard a go, but Nightmare sounds a bit too much.
I still need to gather up all the collectibles as well. Might try an Easy or Novice run to get those, though I could chapter select on my original run still...
That's why they added Novice difficulty.
No excuses now!
Also surprised to see people keep mentioning Alien "cheating" and "rubber banding" still. Of course it does. I can't see any other way combined with the semi-random nature of the AI design to make the game work and for the game to work you need to feel constant threat of the Alien when it's around.
As Jim Sterling noted in his review this combined with manual save points can be frustrating but it's the inevitable price of admission to the experience on offer.
Besides, the lifecycle of the Alien as depicted depends on it hunting down and securing hosts so it makes sense once it has an idea preys around it keeps hunting for you. They just make sure to keep nudging it to where it remains an ongoing threat.
family_guy
Member
I love this game. I cranked my sound system up for this. My downstairs neighbors hate me.
Chaotic-Strike
Banned
Yeah the key about this game is to keep moving because the Alien is programmed to always be on your tail. So when it goes away for a while, it's time to change hiding spots and move on.
It's to encourage you from staying in the same spot.
It's to encourage you from staying in the same spot.
I'd advise you to use 7.1 headphones and make up with your neighbours.
This game is incredible with good headphones. Literally a different experience for me.
Q
Queen of Hunting
Unconfirmed Member
nightmare would be fine with just the ultimate alien part. i hate when games add some handicap sorta shit to later difficulties
This is me. I really tried to enjoy it, but the Alien behaviour completely ruins this game for me, sadly...
Nothing this update will fix I think.
Maybe that's just me?...
I had the same thing happen to me, I never screamed so loud. still love the game
Freedom = $1.05
Banned
Having moved on from the game around the 5th stage or so, novice does sound mighty appealing. I can't open their site, does it let you change difficulty mid-game?
Reverb Shock
Member
Five hours? Damn. At least now I know not to be afraid of anything for the first section of the game.
I take it the new difficulty modes aren't for people that are new to the game. Is the game better on a higher difficulty? The game said it was the way it is supposed to be played, I just don't want to get annoyed with the game to the point where I don't want to play it.
Freedom = $1.05
Banned
great, i guess i'll jump back in once im done with wolfenstein. thanks!
DylanTackoor
Member
Just got my rift, this is gonna be goooooooooood
The Jackdog
Member
Its not that long, def not 5 hours.
Can I switch between normal and novice? Theres some parts I get stuck on and this is a lonnnnnng game. Id love to switch the alien to puppy mode if I'm getting really stuck then back to normal "imma get cha" alien
DylanTackoor
Member
Nah it takes like an hour, 5 hours is crazy unless you just stand around doing nothing.
Shake Appeal
Member
I broadly agree, and I love the game, and I hate that games journalists struggled with it, but I do think they could have toned down the constant proximity of the Alien, especially on Hard. It's a little silly, and sometimes it drains tension just because you become so used to it. They could have stolen some more "quiet moments"/downtime with ambient horror from Amnesia.
I kinda hate to say it, but a little more scripted appearance would have done wonders to me. Not as much as the whole thing, but make single sections Alien encounters, and other sections exploration-like. The on-off thing can be bad as well (see Outlast) - but a finely tuned system would have been neat.
MatrixMan.EXE
Member
It is time for me to jump in and play, then.
Got the game at launch and got distracted by other things. Nightmare mode sounds delicious.
Got the game at launch and got distracted by other things. Nightmare mode sounds delicious.