Fallout 4 Survival Mode: Bethesda's latest game is about to get even more difficult

No fast travel, no manual saves, and no enemires on your compass - Survival Mode looks brutal

(Bethseda)

Bethesda has announced that a new 'Survival Mode' is coming to Fallout 4, which will make the task of staying alive in a radioactive wasteland even more difficult.

The mode, which was discovered in in-game files by a fan and later confirmed by Bethesda, is still being tinkered with. But when it finally gets released to players, it'll turn the game into a completely different experience.

Writing on Reddit, the company announced some of the features they were considering for the new mode.

Saving isn't as easy

Manual and quicksaving from the menu will be disabled in Survival Mode. If you want to save your game, you'll have to find a bed and sleep in it.

Combat gets even more painful

Fighting will become more dangerous, for everyone involved. Players will take more damage, but they'll also deal more to enemies.

Enemies will be harder to spot

Enemies will no longer appear on the player's compass, and the distance at which locations of interest appear on the compass will be greatly reduced - so keep your eyes peeled.

Put your walking boots on

Fast travel will be disabled in Survival Mode. If you want to get there, you'll have to walk, negotiating the wasteland as you go.

Ammo is getting heavier

Bullets and shells will now have weight, depending on their size and caliber. Heavy items like mini-nukes and rockets will really hinder a player's movement, so they'll have to be more choosy about what they carry.

Adrenaline

Playing in Survival Mode automatically gives the adrenaline perk, which ups your damage output as you get more kills.

Start taking care of yourself

Players will have to start thinking carefully about how their character eats - going without water, food or sleep for too long will adversely affect health, adding to fatigue and reducing some stats.

They can also now get sick - eating uncooked meat or drinking dirty water can give you bugs, which will negatively affect your abilities. Players will be able to treat sickness by taking antibiotics, which they can buy or make at chem stations.

Adding to the realism, damaged limbs won't auto-heal after combat - if you get shot in the arm, it'll stay crippled until healed by a Stimpak.

Some of these new features will make the whole game more tactical, essentially turning it into a survival game - players will have to think much more carefully about where they build up settlements, and what they choose to carry for different kinds of expeditions and missions.

There's no information on when Survival Mode will land, but Bethesda said on Twitter that they were "still messing with it." We'll bring you more updates as we know more.