14 DAY TRIAL // Disco Elysium is not an easy game at all, but there are always players who find “hard” games too easy for them. If you're one of those, then you don't have to worry Disco Elysium is too easy, as ZA/UM announced the game has been updated to include an extreme Hardcore Mode. On top of that, Disco Elysium now features support for widescreen displays.
Since Disco Elysium is not at all about combat, the changes introduced in the Hardcore Mode have nothing to do with this aspect. However, if you think you're a true detective and select Hardcore Mode, you'll find that the difficulty check has been going up, bringing down your chances of success.
But the changes go deeper than that. For example, you will have less money to spend and fewer coins to pick up, so you better think well before spending the little money you do manage to find. It's true that you'll be poorer in Hardcore Mode, but even the poor spend money from time to time, make sure that you prioritize correctly.
Directly related to the above is another important change: prices have gone up. Pharmaceutical products are much more expensive, which means failing costs you even more and they don’t heal you as much.
If you thought that you could finish the game without booze or cigarettes, you'll have to rethink your strategy in Hardcore Mode because these are going to become a necessity. Booze will help you build courage, which cigarettes will clear your head.
Also, the few possessions you do have become more important, so make sure to treasure what you have and don't start selling them or give them away. Then, there are the Thought Cabinet debuffs which are now more painful when you’re already liable to fail. On the flip side, the bonuses the thoughts offer might push you down paths you wouldn’t otherwise take.
The good news is you’ll gain extra token amounts of XP every time you finish a task and you’ll level faster and higher, if only marginally.