I'm about 6 hours in on normal and I'm thinking about changing it to hard. It's not that I think the game is too easy because I actually think it's quite challenging, but I feel like I have too much stuff and I don't know if I should just wait until my second playthrough to start on hard? I know the game hasn't even been out a day yet but does anyone have any idea of what the difficulty settings actually change? Because if it's just easier to die and enemies are harder to kill then I think I will just stick with normal.

Im playing it on hard. It feels more like a stealth game to me but i need bullets god damnit !

I'm playing on hard difficulty and so far it's not bad. I'm only 3 hours in or so. I sure can use more shivs. I try to choke a bitch every chance I get or just try to bypass if possible. When I beat it I'm going to play on Normal just so I can make sure I get all the artifacts I think.

Playing on hard (which I rarely do), seems ok so far.

@citizencoffeecake: I started on normal even though people recommended to start on hard, because people also recommend playing Bioshock Infinite on hard first time through which I did and then deeply regretted.

From Patrick's review:

"/.../ while the game does an admirable job of ammo limiting certain weapons for long stretches of the game, I eventually hit a point where I wasn't thinking about the weapon I was wielding. The game's early hours are the most harrowing, and it's why I'd recommend players interested in a rougher experience consider dialing up the difficulty before diving in.".

I agree. Actually, I think that the design decision with including difficulty levels at all in this game was a mistake. Hard should have been the only way to play this game.

With a game like this that puts storytelling as priority as much as gameplay, I'd always go with Normal. Even if it's a little bit too easy, at least you're not stuck at one annoying/BS part and ruining your enjoyment of the narrative. You have your whole life to play it again on Hard if you wished to do so.

Hard all the way. The game isn't frustratingly tough or anything, but Hard limits your resources and damage treshold to the point where you will actually use the shit you got - often because you don't have different options. Also, there's rarely a situation you can't get out of if you're prepared. If you got some sort of plan in your head, you'll be fine.

I hit one point in the entire game where I "gamed" it a bit and that was mostly because I didn't feel like risking too much - it was the last stretch and I was at the edge of my seat at this point.

Patrick said that he hit a point where he wasn't thinking about the weapon he was wielding. I never reached that point - at the very last portion of the game, I had 10 bullets in 4 different guns total, 3 shells in my shotgun and one bullet in the rifle. And no way to produce a nail bomb, which is a fucking murderer here.

Seriously, go with hard. Apart from one moment, the challenge is balanced very well, and even then it's mostly about the game playing with your expectations. I made that choice and it made the entire game super, super tense from start to finish. And it's already tense narrative-wise.

@kidable: With most games that puts storytelling as priority as much as gameplay, I'd agree with you (Bioshock Infinite comes to mind). For this game, scarce weapons and ammo, fear of enemy encounters, etc. is a big part of the storytelling itself.

@ghostiet: But I'm 6 hours in, do you think I should still switch to hard now?

@pompouspizza: 6 hours is around where? Bill's Town? Hotel? I'd say go for it.

@ghostiet: Yeah I have not long left Bill's town.

@pompouspizza: Good moment to change. Pittsburgh is awesome precisely because there are at least 4 moments with human enemies that fully push your arsenal and ability. Probably the game's finest gameplay moment.

I'm playing on easy. I only want the story -- the gameplay does nothing for me. I'm bumping hard since I lost all my progress due to that autosave glitch.

It definitely changes the amount of items available as well as what kind of items are available in certain places. A great example of the latter is in the first part of the Quick Look when Patrick is facing the infected he picks up a steel pipe on normal, whereas on hard the only melee weapon availabe was a less durable (and less powerful? I'm not entirely sure) wooden plank. I probably didn't find any steel pipes until about an hour later into the game.

Hard is definitely the way to go, combat feels much more desperate, most of the time I feel like I'm just scraping by. So far it feels pitch perfect for the game, its setting and what it's trying to do.

I decided to play it on hard from the start after watching the quick look and Patrick recommending it. But the problem is.....they didn't ship me my game yet!! Motherfuckers.....ugghh. I gotta wait all weekend.

I was on vacation too!

I'm playing it on normal and I've found it plenty challenging. I do have a consistent stock of supplies and ammo, but that may be due to my conservative style of play. Unless you find the game exceptionally easy, I'd say play it on normal first and hard on your second playthrough.