- The map is your best friend. Check every door to make backtracking easy.
- Keeping a cheat sheet is recommended, since some combinations/instructions are not stored in the files you always carry around. This is especially helpful for subsequent playthroughs since the answers still work without finding the clues.
- You can and should examine the items in your inventory. Sometimes the object name changes, making it easier use or identify. For example to open a box, you'll have to spin it around and find the interact command.
- When plot items have been used everywhere possible, they will display a check mark in the bottom part of their icon. There is no record/achievement for keeping all the items, so feel free to discard it once it's used.
- Favor walking over running unless you're being chased or know an area is safe, enemies can track you by sound. Lickers and trenchcoat man use it the most, but even basic zombies become way easier to sneak by if they aren't already alerted the instant you enter a room.
- There's not too much need to hoard blue herbs as a poison cure. It's a fairly nasty ailment, but only one enemy applies it during a relatively short segment of the sewers and you can even mostly avoid that with a defensive item. Maybe keep at least 1 until you're past that part, but generally the defensive buff you get from combining them with a red herb is pretty substantial and worth using.
- The boards you find will permanently stop zombies from coming through a window. They are only for the first floor windows of the police station, so put them away if you're going to the second or third.
- While some items stack or can be combined, there are limits for each one. Almost all typewriters are next to storage boxes, so clear up some inventory space for new things. Try one healing item, one or two guns, and maybe a knife, but even that's a lot early on.
- Knives degrade slowly when you land attacks. Knives have a durability bar in your inventory menu, a durability icon when in use, and make a sound to let you know when they break.
- Knives can be used to test if a corpse on the ground is still alive. Aim at their legs when you poke them, since they can grab and bite you directly from the floor.
- Secondary weapons (Grenades, Flash bangs, and Knives) can save you from a grab attack, unless you're grabbed from behind. Make sure to equip the one you want if you expect to get grabbed.
- After knives are used in defense, they can be retrieved after taking down that zombie. Knife durability will be reduced by 1/3 each time you use it to escape. Also, zombies can potentially wake up even after retrieving the knife.
- Stunning zombies to get by is often more important than killing them. Headshots work well on Standard difficulty, but shooting kneecaps to trip them is recommended for Hardcore.
- Sometimes a zombie's head will explode, which means you landed a critical hit. These are rare for pistols and submachine guns, but common for certain high powered weapons and ammo.
- Zombies can open (unlocked) doors after banging on them a couple times, with save rooms being the main exception.
- Generally speaking, Leon has an easier time dealing with zombies, and Claire has an easier time with bosses.
- Certain records/achievements require you to play the game multiple times with both characters, so don't expect to find everything the first time.
- Mr Raccoon statues can only be shot once and will never return. While the toy's red base remains in game, it's a good idea to jot down the room's name so you can focus on the rest.
- Once a licker screams/attacks, either bolt for the nearest door or kill them. Weapons with stopping power are recommended.
- If a dude in a hat and trench coat shows up, save your ammo and run. I hear he's slightly faster on Hardcore.