I'd start by customizing those difficulty sliders for a more intense survival feel because the game really shines when the stakes are high. The custom settings are where the magic happens, and you'll want to crank up player damage to survivor+ (this makes every encounter feel genuinely threatening), while keeping resources pretty scarce to match that post-apocalyptic vibe.

Enemy ai is fascinating here, because at higher settings they'll actually coordinate and flank you - pretty clever system at work. Setting their effectiveness to survivor+ makes them feel like real survivors instead of just typical game enemies. For stealth detection, i'd definitely push that up too, since realistically, people would be pretty alert in this world (quick side note: listen for whistle signals between enemies, they actually communicate their search patterns).

Here's something interesting - keeping ally effectiveness at moderate actually creates a better balance, because they'll help without stealing your thunder. The beauty is you can tweak all these settings mid-game if things aren't feeling quite right, and don't worry about trophies, they'll unlock regardless of your settings. Most players i've guided through this tend to prefer the high-stakes combination of deadly combat with limited supplies, because it really captures that desperate survival atmosphere we're looking for.

Remember though, start with these settings but don't be afraid to adjust them until they feel right for you - that's why the system is so flexible in the first place.