The four difficulty settings
All four tiers adjust the same three things: how many enemies you meet, how much loot and resources are available, and how progress is recorded. Enemy health and damage scale with the tier as well.
| Setting | Combat | Resources | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | Fewer, weaker enemies | Most generous loot | Autosave on |
| Normal | Standard encounter density | Standard loot | Autosave on |
| Hard | Challenging combat, limited save locations | Reduced resources | Autosave disabled |
| Hellraiser | Extremely difficult combat, an abundance of enemies | Scarce resources | Manual save only, costing one Save Token |
Source scope: the Hard and Hellraiser descriptions above follow the in-game text quoted by the difficulty guides. The Easy and Normal rows summarise the same guides’ description of the shared scaling rather than quoting menu text.
What Hellraiser difficulty changes
Hellraiser is the tier that changes the rules rather than the numbers. Saving costs one Save Token each time, and tokens are scarce: the opening cult compound holds only one, found on a stretcher in the room after the first knife fight.
One token can therefore have to cover around ninety minutes of play. Because a death returns you to your last save and discards anything you picked up since, a long stretch without a token is a long stretch of progress at risk.
- When you can choose it
- Only when starting a new game
- Save cost
- 1 Save Token per save
- First token
- Opening cult compound, on a stretcher
- Autosave
- Off
How save points work
Save points are organic cracks in the walls rather than glowing terminals. Interacting with one shows an F Save progress prompt, and on Hellraiser the same prompt also tells you the save will cost a token.
Losing a fight sends you back to the last save, and anything you collected since then is gone. On tiers with autosave that cost is small; on Hard and Hellraiser, plan your tokens and your save points around boss attempts rather than long stretches of exploration.
Save handling on PC, including file locations and Steam Cloud, is on the saves and Steam Cloud page.
Which difficulty to pick first
Normal is the recommended starting tier. It keeps autosave, which means a death costs you the distance back to the last checkpoint rather than a resource, and it matches the encounter density the game was balanced around.
Players who found the opening hours punishing describe approaching them like a stealth game: avoid fights, use the environment, and keep ammunition for the moments you cannot skip. That approach carries over from Normal to the higher tiers.
Combat technique and enemy behaviour are covered on the combat guide, and control and text options are listed on the accessibility page.
Changing difficulty part-way through
Hellraiser is locked to a fresh save: you cannot raise an in-progress run to it. The tier has to be chosen when you begin a new game.
Whether the three lower tiers can be switched freely from the options menu is not documented by any official source. A Steam discussion thread summary suggests the setting can be changed at any time, but the thread itself is behind a login wall, so treat it as unverified.
Open question: switching between Easy, Normal and Hard mid-run is unconfirmed. Check the options menu in your own build before planning around it.
Frequently asked questions
How many difficulty settings does the game have?
Four: Easy, Normal, Hard and Hellraiser.
Can I change difficulty mid-game?
Hellraiser can only be picked when you start a new game, so you cannot raise an existing run to it. Whether the lower three tiers can be switched freely is not officially documented.
What is a Save Token?
On Hellraiser difficulty every save costs one Save Token. Tokens are limited, and the opening area contains just one.
Does difficulty affect achievements or trophies?
No. The trophy guide states that difficulty does not affect any trophies, so you can play on the tier you prefer.
Where to go next
Four mode names, save rules, Save Token cost, in-game descriptions. Source: AllThings difficulty settings explainer. Checked .
What each tier changes and the recommended setting. Source: GameTrek difficulty guide. Checked .