The Evil Within 2 has difficulty settings for all games. Casual, Survival, and Nightmare modes represent the easy, normal, and hard modes that are ubiquitous in gaming. However, if you’re a survival horror masochist, there’s a very hard difficulty to unlock: Classic Mode.
You’ll have to play on one of The Evil Within 2’s initial difficulty modes before you can get a chance to try out Classic Mode. To help you decide which setting is the best for your first playthrough, we’ve described the differences between the difficulties below.
Also: The Evil Within 2: How to Get the Shotgun
The Evil Within 2: Casual Difficulty Differences (Easy)
Casual Mode is great for players who want to explore Union and take in the story without having to worry about dying too much. Crafting items and ammo are a lot more plentiful, and enemies aren’t as aggressive or tough as in higher modes. Casual Difficulty also starts with aim assist enabled by defaults and gives you the bonus of having the Bottle Break ability unlocked at the start of the game.
The Evil Within 2: Survival Difficulty Specifics (Normal)
For players who want to experience the game with a balance between difficulty and narrative, Survival Mode is an excellent choice. In this setting, there’s fewer items and ammo available, and enemies will be somewhat more aggressive. You’ll have to deal with some item management in your adventure, meaning there’ll be a lot more sneaking around. You can also use aim assist in Survival Difficulty.
The Evil Within 2: Nightmare Difficulty Changes (Hard)
If you’re a survival horror veteran and you want the full experience that The Evil Within 2 has to offer, Nightmare Mode is the setting for you. Ammo is rare, so expect to treat each bullet like its gold. You’ll have to craft a lot more in this mode. Items are more scarce, so you’ll have to take on a lot more tense, stealthy exploration. There are more enemies in this setting, and they’re harder to put down. You also can’t use aim assist, which makes the ammo situation even direr.
The Evil Within 2: How to Unlock Classic Mode and What it Changes (Very Hard)
Unlocking Classic Mode in The Evil Within 2 can be either pretty easy or very hard, depending on your choice. To unlock Classic Difficulty, you have to beat the game once on any difficulty.
Classic Mode takes Nightmare mode to a new level. Not only do you have the same item and ammo disadvantages, along with more robust enemies, but you also have some new handicaps. This very hard setting has no autosaves, and you’re limited to seven saves for the entire game. Additionally, you can’t upgrade Sebastian’s skills or his weapons, so you’re stuck with the same stats through the whole game.
For more info on The Evil Within 2 check out our guide hub.
