All Atomic Heart Difficulty Settings Explained: Which One is Best for You?

Atomic Heart is mired in controversy, but there’s one thing no one can argue with: it’s a beautiful world with some truly vicious enemies. But how difficult it is to dismantle those enemies will entirely hinge on what difficulty level you select. Here are all the Atomic Heart difficulty settings explained, so you can decide which one is best for you.

All Atomic Heart Difficulty Settings Explained: Which One is Best for You?

Atomic Heart has three difficulty settings: Peaceful Atom (easy), Local Failure (medium), and Armageddon (hard).

Let’s break it down into what that means.

Peaceful Atom states, “We are pleased to welcome you on an easy sightseeing tour of Facility 3826, comrade! Spectacular and dynamic battles with robots won’t take too much effort or distract you from the narrative. Of course, you’ll still have to fight, but only the plot will keep you on your toes.”

What does that mean? It means that one of the most common enemies you meet, the Lab Tech (VOV-A6), will go down in two swings of your Swede axe. Getting swarmed by several will be manageable, enemy power attacks will have a delay, so you’ll have time to dodge, and resources will be ample.

This is a great mode if you’ve never played an action roleplay game before or want to take it easy and enjoy the robot enemies and world of Atomic Heart. That’s not to say that the game isn’t without its challenges, though. Puzzles will remain the same, and bosses can still challenge you.

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Local Failure states, “Do you like to overcome difficulties? That’s admirable! We’ll leave you to it. This is no walk in the park. Some combat situations may seem difficult, and objectives will require know-how. But you can always be inspired by a sense of your own superiority after completing each stage. Just try to stay more alive than dead!”

As the description implies, the difficulty is ramped up for Local Failure/Medium mode. What’s different between this mode and easy is the difference in resources and the damage dealt/taken. The VOV-A6 will take triple the amount of hits with the Swede to knock down, they’ll move a little faster, and resources are harder to come by. If you’ve played other action roleplay games, it will feel familiar and sometimes difficult.

You can choose to Rambo it, skating past Daffodil Security robots, but it’s a good idea to approach each enemy and new room with a quick scan. The last thing you want is to get swarmed and wind up in Nora’s room.

Armageddon states, “Do you have a wild imagination and dark thoughts? What can you do? That’s just how it is. Buckle up: a real nightmare is in store, where you’ll need experience, reaction speed, and the skills to properly manage your resources to survive. Save your bullets and always keep one in reserve… for yourself.”

Yeah. I’ll be honest; Armageddon mode is hard. The VOV-A6, my barometer for hardness, apparently, will take about a dozen slaps with the Swede before it goes down. And these Lab Techs are much, much faster. Every encounter with them is like a mini-boss fight on Peaceful Atom.

Resources are also far scarcer in Armageddon, meaning you’ll have to pick your battles meticulously. Not only to save your neruomed capsules, which you’ll pop a lot of, but because you’ll need as many robotic resources as possible to craft bullets and upgrade your weapons. If Armageddon mode in Atomic Heart sounds like your jam, here’s everything you need to know.