Probably Stolen is a reading-and-clicking game, so its best settings are the ones that make the reading faster and the clicking shorter. The demo also carries the series' hardcore layer — a dedicated scenario, a Hard Mode toggle, and one rule change that only bites on Hard. This guide covers both, from Update 049's patch notes and the demo build itself.
1. Comfort settings that actually matter
Adjustable text size is a listed accessibility feature, and this game is dense with tooltips, dossiers, and handbook pages. Set it before your first long session, not after your first headache.
Mouse-only play is fully supported, with play at your own pace and no timed input — nothing in the counter workflow is on a clock.
Custom volume controls and stereo sound round out the listed options; the demo's language selector sits on the title screen itself (the full game ships with eight languages).
2. The hint overlay and shortcuts
The demo opens with a labeled tour of your shop — Display Case, Telephone, Reputation Interface, Negotiation Counter, Sleeping Bag, and more — and that overlay stays available: the demo's own panel says to press the letter key to hide or show the hint overlay. The same panel lists the inventory shortcuts worth memorizing: quick transfer to inventory and to the display case, quick transfer to the counter, rotate item left and right, flip item, close UI or open the main menu, and skip dialogue. In a game where grid space is money, the transfer shortcuts are the difference between tidying and playing.
Two more Update 049 details belong in a settings guide: the game caps at 10 FPS while minimized (a setting exists to disable the cap), and on non-16:9 displays in fullscreen, UI elements can dock onto the black-bar space instead of squeezing the playfield.
3. One-click customer control
Update 049 added the quality-of-life settings veteran players asked for: buttons to dismiss a customer instantly, dismiss and immediately call the next customer, and call Security on the spot. In a queue-driven game, these are pace controls. The Security one deserves respect — it is the report answer with the deliberation removed, and the factions guide in this column covers what that button does to your five reputation tracks over time.
4. Skip Intro and starting fresh
The scenario screen's toggles include Skip Intro, which starts you directly at the Immunivax guide and still hands you the topical bandage the tutorial's night visit would have provided — a small, deliberate mercy for repeat runs. Pair it with the developers' launch advice: demo saves carry into 1.0, but a fresh start is recommended to avoid potential bugs, and the full game's four difficulty options only appear in the release build.
5. The hardcore layer
Rock Bottom is the scenario form of hardcore: start with nothing, at maximum difficulty. It arrived during the playtest as the Hard Mode scenario, became one of the community's favorite ways to play, and the demo carries a hardcore mode in the same spirit; a separate Hard Mode checkbox also sits on the start screen for other scenarios.
What changes when you play hard, concretely:
The missed-Aug rule. Since patch 48.3.10, the ending for letting too many Augs slip through applies only on Hard Mode. On standard difficulty a missed Aug still costs you — it just does not end the story by itself.
The margin for error. Rock Bottom's nothing-start removes the cushion that hides bad habits: every lesson in the money guide — rent discipline, case stocking, inspection before haggling — stops being advice and becomes the run.
The endings get closer. The arrest screen and the Game Over screen are not lore; on a hard run they are the two most likely final images, and both are in the demo.
6. Recommended setup for a first hard run
1. Finish one standard run first — perks unlock from run two, and Rock Bottom with perks locked is a stunt, not a strategy.
2. Turn on the one-click controls before the run starts; pace mistakes compound faster on hard.
3. Keep the hint overlay key bound in memory — on a nothing-start, inventory efficiency is survival.
4. Bring the bandage. The scavenging odds the game posts — 10% minor wound, 2.25% major, before modifiers — do not soften on hard mode; a flashlight does.
FAQ
Is there a difficulty select in the demo?
The start screen carries a Hard Mode toggle (alongside Skip Intro and Endless Mode), and the demo includes a hardcore mode built around the Rock Bottom scenario. The full game adds four named difficulty options at launch — their individual names have not been published.
What is Endless Mode?
One of the three toggles on the scenario screen, next to Skip Intro and Hard Mode. The demo presents it as a start option; treat the rent-and-buyout arc as the standard structure and Endless as the sandbox variant.
Does the game support controllers?
No controller support is listed on the store page. The game is built around the mouse, with a mouse-only option and no timed inputs.
Should I disable the 10 FPS minimized cap?
Only if you leave the game running minimized for a reason — the cap exists to save resources while you are away, and a setting disables it if you disagree.