With both the Aegis VII colony and the planetcracker ship Ishimura overrun with Necromorphs, your goal in Challenge mode is straightforward: kill all enemies. Each level plays out as 10 waves, each getting increasingly di cult, with more and tougher enemies. Points are awarded for dismemberment and kills. Racking up a huge score requires ring shots that sever limbs and killing multiple Necromorphs simultaneously. At the beginning of each level, you’re given a rivet gun and a choice of one weapon from your Story mode arsenal.
TIP: Upgrades found in Story mode carry over to Challenge mode. The more upgrades you nd through the course of the adventure, the better equipped you are for battling Necromorphs and earning high scores.
In addition to the rivet gun and a weapon of your choice, a random weapon is pulled from your arsenal at the start of waves 4 and 7. Although you don’t have any control over the selected weapon, you can always make the best of them. For example, soften up waves with the amethrower and deliver nishing blows with your rivet gun. Be creative with your available arsenal.
Extraction Site
The Marker extraction team has transformed into packs of vicious Necromorphs, and it’s up to you to take them out limb by limb in this rst Challenge mode stage. Slashers and Leapers are your enemies, along with the occasional Super Slasher. Given the relative ease of the level and its all-purpose nature, select the plasma cutter to accompany your rivet gun in battle.
Always prioritize Leapers ahead of Slashers. These fast-moving ends can quickly whittle away your health, so it’s best to eliminate them rst. If you’re feeling the heat from a pack of oncoming Slashers, buy yourself time by severing their legs. Additionally, use stasis to keep them at bay. Give the few Super Slashers in the level high priority. These aggressive creatures move faster and attack harder than ordinary Slashers, making it imperative that you act quickly.
Take advantage of the random extra weapon awarded to you at the start of waves 4 and 7, since Necromorphs will drop only clips for your selected weapon (if you opted for the plasma cutter, only enemies will drop ammo for it). Also, check footlockers and green supply boxes throughout for health packs and bonus clips.
Central Plaza
Once a thriving hub of activity, the Aegis VII colony central plaza has become home to Slashers, Leapers, and Flyers. The plasma cutter is a good choice, but the contact beam and force gun are nice options too. Enemies often appear individually or in pairs, making them easy to obliterate with a charged-up contact beam or force gun shot. The only catch is that if you run out of ammo, you need to be comfortable relying on the slow-to- re rivet gun.
Slashers pose little threat here, often appearing at a distance. You can nail them from afar to speed through each wave or take a cautious approach and wait until they come within a reasonable range before dismembering them. For Leapers, stasis is helpful because they can dart over long distances quickly to attack.
During the nal waves, taking out the Flyers that circle above is tricky, so focus on them only after you clear the ground of enemies. Hitting these creatures can be tricky, and you don’t want to be taking damage from Slashers and Leapers while concentrating on a Flyer. If you’re having a tough time landing attacks on a Flyer, try using stasis to slow it down.
Maintenance Bay
Packs of Leapers, Slashers, Lurkers, and Pregnants await in the maintenance bay. The plasma cutter, force gun, and arc welding gun are good strategic choices. Necromorphs tend to appear individually and approach from long distances. Use your rivet gun for enemies at range, then switch to your other gun when Necromorphs close in.
The only drawback to selecting the force gun or arc welding gun is dealing with the Pregnants, which explode with Swarms when blasted. In the nal few waves, when several Necromorphs can crowd the screen, blasting Pregnant bellies and unleashing Swarms will only make your job harder. Select either the plasma cutter or the rivet gun to sever a Pregnant’s limbs and avoid releasing its Swarms.
Kill Pregnants before any other creature. Use stasis to slow them down, allowing you to accurately target their limbs. Save the Lurkers for last, because you can grab their caustic projectiles with kinesis and throw them at other Necromorphs for easy kills.
Mess Hall
Necromorphs are hoping to dine on your esh in the mess hall, but it’s up to you to dish out dismemberment. The force gun is a must-have for this stage, as it can absolutely annihilate the packs of Slashers and Leapers that patrol the mess hall. Furthermore, two shots from it are enough to kill the Super Slashers that appear in the level’s second half.
Focus on ring your force gun at point-blank range; it’s less e ective at range. When possible, allow two or more enemies to approach so as to catch more than one in the blast. Not only does this conserve ammo—which is limited in this level—but it also hauls in more points.
Switch to the rivet gun (or other precision weapon randomly awarded at the start of waves 4 and 7, such as the P-Sec pistol or plasma cutter) when dealing with Pregnants and Lurkers. Unlike previous stages, you want to eliminate Lurkers quickly to avoid being pummeled by their projectiles. As for Pregnants, the rivet gun is better than the force gun for severing their arms for a clean kill.
Medical Bay
Like the mess hall, the medical bay’s tight quarters make the force gun ideal for blasting away Slashers and Leapers. Use it against Leapers and powerful Super Slashers that rush you in each wave. Save ammo by using the rivet gun for regular Slashers. When dealing with multiple enemies, sever Slasher legs to buy time and kill any Leapers before nishing up the Slashers.
Pregnants occasionally appear, which also require well-aimed shots from your rivet gun. Avoid using the force gun, as this will merely release the Swarms. Instead, use stasis and target the shoulders with a couple rivets for an e cient kill. If there’s another Necromorph near a Pregnant, hold o on using the force gun. Use stasis on the enemy, then quickly kill the Pregnant before nishing the other Necromorph with the force gun.
Although there are footlockers littering the place, most are locked. Work hard to conserve ammo so that you don’t have to fall back on the far-less powerful rivet gun. While it’s competent, it just can’t beat the force gun’s ability to make mush out of Necromorphs.
Water Tunnels
The watery underbelly of the Ishimura is swimming with Necromorphs— Slashers, Super Slashers, Pregnants, Leechers, and Exploders all have their eye you. While the partially lled aqueducts give some creatures like the Leechers an advantage, the ability to quickly execute Slashers by only slicing o their arms is a plus.
Although the water tunnels are an enclosed space, close-quarters weapons aren’t ideal; instead, opt for the plasma cutter or even the amethrower. Leechers that pop up from the water are best dealt with using either of these weapons, rather than a blunt rearm like the force gun or contact beam. Remember to give your controller a shake to keep your glow worm lit to more easily target enemy limbs.
Always prioritize Leechers as they appear, since they will tangle you up in vicious melee attacks that damage you and provide other Necromorphs time to move in close. Pregnants appear regularly, so be careful to aim for their shoulders to avoid bursting their bellies. Exploders also appear in the second half of the level, although they’re a bit of a blessing in disguise, because you can nail their in amed arms to clear the entire area of Necromorphs.
East Grow Chamber
The East Grow Chamber is a veritable Necromorph jungle with Super Slashers, Super Leapers, Pregnants, Exploders, and Flyers prowling about. Most of your troubles stem from Super Leapers whose blackened hides protect them from all but the most powerful weapons. Flyers provide plenty of grief, too, evading gun re as they glide through the dank air. Whip out your rivet gun and carefully re at them as they circle overhead.
Equip a high-powered weapon such as the force gun or contact beam. This allows you to take out Super Slashers and Leapers in two shots. The line gun is also e ective, although it requires more precise aiming. When dealing with Exploders and Pregnants, however, the line gun is particularly useful since you can lob shots at them from a distance.
What makes this level tough isn’t just the appearance of Super Leaper packs and aggravating Flyers, but the constant surprise of Necromorphs materializing at your feet. Stay on guard for Super Leapers that attack you the moment the camera shifts down. Since your health can be frittered away on such exchanges, do your best to respond in earnest.
Shuttle Bay 47
Guarding the last shuttle, located in maintenance bay 47 of the nightmarish Ishimura, are dozens of hardened Necromorphs. Super Leapers and Super Slashers are joined by spitting female Slashers and engorged Pregnants. The line gun is ideal for this level, since it allows you to quickly kill Super Leapers and can be used against Super Slashers at range. Be careful when aiming, though, as Super Slashers have a knack for evading attacks.
You must deal with Super Leapers before focusing on other enemies, mainly because of their incredible speed and nasty attacks. Conserve line gun ammo speci cally for the purpose of killing Super Leapers. Use a combination of line gun and rivet gun shots when confronting Super Slashers.
For Pregnants, regular Slashers, and Exploders, rely on your rivet gun. When it comes to female Slashers, though, hold o on dismemberment and use kinesis to grab their spitted projectiles. You can then hurl it toward other Necromorphs or back at the female for an ammo-free kill.
The Atrium
Light from the nearest star pours through the glass dome of the bridge atrium, casting a spotlight on your frenzied ght against packs of Leapers, Slashers, Pregnants, and Exploders. The atrium’s large, open areas call for the plasma cutter, which is good for dismembering from a distance. The rivet gun is useful here, too, especially against Lurkers that crawl along the walls and Flyers that silently glide overhead.
Slashers are surprisingly aggressive in the atrium, darting toward you with alarming vigor. Use either the plasma cutter or even the rivet gun to take out their legs. Cripple them well before they come in close enough to attack. In spite of their aggressive nature, they’re rather weak and a few well-placed rivets can dispatch Slashers in a snap.
As always, deal carefully with Pregnants and Exploders; in fact, pay particular attention to Exploders, as they move much faster in the atrium than in earlier levels. When pressed by a pack of Necromorphs, grab any of the red explosive canisters in the area for a quick, albeit dirty kill—just remember to throw it far enough that you don’t catch yourself in the resulting blast.
Life Support Room
Leapers and Lurkers are your enemies here, their fused hind appendages and tentacles whipping at you in the Zero-G life-support room. Select the line gun, as it can slice o all three Lurker limbs in a ash and can dismember and behead a Super Leaper in a single shot.
Each wave starts o with a string of Leapers that rush you one after another, followed by Lurkers that dart across the walls. Between waves, you need to hop to holograms positioned around the room. Quickly kill the Leapers by severing their hind appendage. Since it’s di cult to do so in later waves when more appear and the shadows make identifying limbs di cult, it’s ne to just pump them full of bullets.
When dealing with the Lurkers, switch to the rivet gun and nail them with well-aimed shots. Since they’re slow to attack, the ring rate of the rivet gun isn’t much of a concern. Should you fail to kill a Lurker before it unfurls its tentacles, break out your line gun and sever them with a quick blast.