Alan Wake 2's Difficulty Settings, Explained

Alan Wake 2 will have three different difficulty settings, developer Remedy has announced, allowing players to experience the game at whatever level of challenge they want.

These settings include Story, Normal, and Hard, and you can see the full descriptions for each below. In Story difficulty, combat should be easy so that players can focus on exploring the world and solving its many mysteries. The Normal setting will offer "challenging" combat but should overall feel like a balance between survival and mystery-solving, Remedy said.

Finally, the Hard mode should be "significantly challenging" for players, so much so that it will be a requirement to learn and become accustomed with the game's items and mechanics.

Alan Wake 2 launches on October 27, and ahead of that, the game will become available to preload today, October 25. The game officially launches on October 27 at midnight Eastern.

Our Alan Wake 2 review is now available and scores the game a 10/10. For more, check out GameSpot's in-depth breakdown of all the key details about Alan Wake 2.

You can also check out the Alan Wake 2 launch trailer, which debuted at the Xbox Partner Preview.

Alan Wake 2 difficulty options:

Story:

Combat will not pose a challenge. Focus on mystery-solving and exploration.

Normal:

A balance between mystery-solving and survival. Combat is challenging. Using items and conserving resources is require to stay alive.

Hard:

Significantly challenging combat. Leveraging items and familiarity with the game mechanics is essential for survival.