Darksiders 3: What Nightmare Mode Is

If Darksiders 3 is your first foray into the Darksiders series, you’re probably unclear on what Nightmare Mode is and what it entails for your playthrough. That’s why we’re here to clear things up with a guide.

What Nightmare Mode Is in Darksiders 3

As with past entries in the series, Nightmare Mode applies a new layer of challenge to the game by erasing your save whenever you die.

Yes, you heard that correctly: One death, be it by accidentally screwing up a jump over a pit or getting turned into a smear on the ground by a boss, will erase your save and force you to start the game from the very beginning.

There’s no way to revert this either, as the game will auto-save after you die and ensure your progress is permanently lost.

Is Nightmare Mode Worth Doing?

With this in mind, you’re probably wondering whether Nightmare Mode is worth taking on at all, and the answer to that is complicated.

On one hand, if you enjoy a challenge and added tension to your game, there’s no better way to play Darksiders 3.

Yes, you can lose all of your progress in the blink of an eye, but each encounter and fight will carry much more weight to them.

It’s likewise a great way to make subsequent playthroughs more exciting.

Darksiders 3 does offer a new game plus mode, and if you so choose, you can play through the game’s standard mode first and then apply Nightmare Mode after you’ve got a good grip on the controls and mechanics.

Otherwise, it’s not recommended you play Nightmare Mode unless you’re ready for an experience that can be unnecessarily tense and frustrating.

Hopefully, this cleared up what Nightmare Mode is in Darksiders 3. For more on the game, check out our guides on how to save and how to use exploding bugs.