Content from Last 48hrs

Oh it's worse than that. You need to get an A rank or better on Hardcore mode. So they really make you suffer before improving the quality of life. Once they do though, it's suuuuuch a relief. The downside is that she clanks everywhere she goes instead.

See that falls into "if you're gonna make a game suck less later on, or on subsequent playthroughs, why not just make it not suck the first time?" for me.

Oh yeah. The first time you play through it, those bits are rough. Then in NG+ Ashley has a suit of armour on which means she cannot be hurt, or carried. It makes the game 1,000 times funner.