Wayfarer
A cinematic first run. The kung fu stays readable, Soul’s countdown stays in front, and you are not asked to clear a punishing wall before the Wulin makes sense.
Difficulty modes
Compare Wayfarer, Pathbreaker, Hellwalker, and Sixty-Six Days by behaviour, not by a made-up damage chart. S-GAME has said higher modes make foes more aggressive and can add abilities. Bigger health bars are not the whole change.
Match the mode to the run
Soulframe Liang has been clear that the story should not sit behind pain. Players who want the cinema of kung fu have a door, and players who want something harsher than a typical single-difficulty action RPG have another. Pick the door before you burn attempts on the wrong one.
- Wayfarer if the first evening should stay readable
- Pathbreaker or Hellwalker if you want the AI to push back
- Sixty-Six Days only after a harder clear, with 66 attempts total
Pathbreaker
The middle rung. It borrows some Souls-like pressure in how danger is laid out, without renaming the whole game. Tells get firmer, and mashing stops being a plan.
Hellwalker
Behaviour changes, not just health bars. Foes grow more aggressive and can gain extra abilities. On higher settings the Flower Bride presses harder and can split her white flowers into separate patterns.