What is Hardcore Mode in Atomic Heart? – Answered

Many games have a way to experience the gameplay in a much more difficult manner if the player chooses to. Atomic Heart has a base of three difficulty settings, but many players have noticed that there could be a Hardcore Mode in the game hidden behind the main story.

When you begin your playthrough of Atomic Heart, you won’t see any option for a Hardcore Mode, and there aren’t any other gameplay options outside of the story. To clear up this mode, we’ll outline all of the difficulty settings in the game and what Hardcore could be.

Atomic Heart – What is Hardcore Mode?

Within the Trophy and achievement list for the game, there is one that requires players to complete the game on Hardcore Difficulty. Of course, there is no way to play that when you start the game. So at the time of this writing, the belief is that you’ll have to complete the main story to unlock the Hardcore Mode.

Based on the achievement, Hardcore is likely a much more difficult version of the Armageddon setting. Games like Dead Space also have their own version of this with an attached Trophy, and they can lead to permadeath. The full details of Hardcore Mode aren’t yet available in Atomic Heart though.

Related: Atomic Heart Review | Lacking a Pulse

On a normal save, there are three difficulty settings to choose from that are fairly based. These include Peaceful Atom, Local Malfunction, and Armageddon. Essentially these just serve as easy, default, and hard difficulties. When you can get through one of those, it’s time to try out the Atomic Heart Hardcore Mode.

And that is all! If you are interested in learning more about the game, check out Where to Get the Makarov Pistol (MP) in Atomic Heart or Does Atomic Heart have a 6 Hour Cutscene? – Answered.