Alien: Isolation Update Offers Novice And Nightmare Difficulties

If you’re anything like me, an average gamer with an above-average beard, then you may have had a few issues getting through Alien: Isolation this fall. Since I fully acknowledge that I’m not terribly amazing at stealth games, I’ll admit without shame that it was one of the most frustrating, tedious experiences I’ve played through in recent years. Looking to draw in a much more laid-back audience, Creative Assembly now has released an update that will ease up the difficulty and suffering experienced at the claws of the Xenomorph.

This update, available now, offers a Novice difficulty that tones down the Xenomorph’s aggressive nature a bit while also providing players with more resources and generally weaker enemies. Although it may seem to take away much of what made Alien: Isolation a unique experience in the first place, Novice difficulty will open up the game to more casual gamers, giving them a chance to experience it without having to break all of their controllers.

For those on the other end of the spectrum, however, those of you who eat nails for breakfast and crap world peace in the evening, a new Nightmare difficulty has been released alongside Novice. Apparently one of the most requested features by fans, this higher difficulty will leave players with a broken motion tracker, even less resources than before and no maps at all. Survivors and androids will also be much stronger, and the Alien AI has been updated to its most punishing difficulty yet, adapting faster and hunting as efficiently as possible.

Whichever side of the fence you sit on about Alien: Isolation, it seems that this update has something for everybody. Although I personally found Normal difficulty challenging enough without wanting to make it too much easier, I’m glad to see Creative Assembly is working to open up the game to others while also giving seasoned veterans even more reason to retry the campaign.