[Update]: Frictional Games have released the full source code for the original two Amnesia games!

While Amnesia: The Dark Descent has a nightmarish atmosphere that keeps you on edge from the very beginning, the actual gameplay is not exactly difficult. Once you learn what the monsters are and how they operate, evading them is a fairly easy job, which unfortunately also makes replaying Amnesia a bit anticlimactic.

With that in mind, I am both glad and somewhat terrified to announce that Frictional Games will be adding Hard Mode alongside the new Xbox One version on September 28th. Hard Mode will disable autosaves and make manual saves cost 4 precious tinderboxes, there will be less consumables sprinkled throughout the levels, and should your sanity ever drop to zero because of the constant darkness, you will simply die of a heart attack!

The monsters will also be getting some buffs in Hard Mode. You can expect them to be faster, a lot more observant, significantly stronger, and perhaps most worryingly of all, they will stick around for longer! If you feel like that isn't bad enough, I'm sure you'll be delighted to hear that there will no longer be a musical cue to alert you to the presence of nearby enemies, so unless you're being quite clever with your exploration, you might just find yourself trapped in a corner with no way out.

The one bit of a bad news is that this new Hard Mode will not be compatible with your current save files due to the amount of changes. So if you're up for a truly challenging playthrough, you're going to have to start from the very beginning. If it's any consolation, there is a special achievement waiting you at the end, should you manage to brave all of the abominations along the way.

You can learn more about the Hard Mode, as well as Amnesia: The Dark Descent itself, by visiting the official blog.