Played on hard, turned into an exercise in determination as my save got wiped over and over again. I found out after play-through 5 where I had almost beaten the game anyways, that if you eat embryos you get an extra life. You find a fair amount of embryos. I would have beaten this game on my first save if I would have known this, and you probably will too!

Moral of the story is: play the game on hard mode to preserve the sense of tension and the impact of losing. The game is better when dying drops your heart into your stomach. When every death brings you closer to oblivion (of your save file), your pretend fear becomes a real anxiety that creeps up as you face threats.

An experience that has stuck with me for months, I highly recommend it! Play it many times, there's different ways to experience the story.