Creative Assembly’s Alien: Isolation has been given a free update, and with that update comes two new difficulties for players to choose from: Nightmare and Novice. Each difficulty modifies different aspects of the game’s gadgets, items, and other gameplay elements, including the AI of the alien itself. The Nightmare difficulty is for the player who wants to survive against tougher odds, and it invites them to try to beat what is touted as the ultimate Alien: Isolation experience. The Novice difficulty, on the other hand, caters towards the players who favor exploration and story over survival.
Specifically, Nightmare Mode will feature a damaged motion tracker that has a broken display and undependable information, scarcer resources, more aggressive survivors and synthetics, and no map to speak of. As if that’s inconvenient enough, there will be no visual feedback at all, and the alien’s aggressiveness will be amplified exponentially. Novice Mode kicks players off with more resources and ammunition. Survivors and synthetics will be less of a pain than they will be in Nightmare Mode. Finally, the alien will be more easily distracted and less aggressive when hunting.
Below is a list of what each difficulty mode will offer players:
Nightmare Mode
Broken motion tracker
Distorted signal
Unreliable information
Less game feedback
No health bar
No ammo counter
No flashlight indicator
Authentic Flamethrower
Fuel burns faster
Fuel is rarer
More dangerous enemies
Androids hit harder
Survivors are deadlier
Reduced resources
Survivors do not drop ammo
Fewer items to scavage
More hostile environment
Map system offline
Harder to hack systems
Ultimate alien
More aggressive
Adapts faster
No second chances
Novice Mode
Less menacing alien
Less aggressive
Adapts slower
Easier to distract
Hiding places more effective
Less dangerous combat
Androids easier to beat
Weaker survivors
Ropley is more resilient
More resources
Ammo more plentiful
Frequency of components increased
[ Source(s): Alien: Isolation ]