Default values for game

Unity Engine
1

hello, im saving data to json file , then i load but , if there is no save file , i mean first start of game, something like this, if(!File.Exists(path)) wont work for me, i want to give default values before anyrhing saved. i would set values on start but it will set everytime i start game,

how do i check if savegame.json does not exist {
Life=5
Coins=10 } for example?

2

I use a ScriptableObject to hold the default settings and when the game starts up and if I have saved settings I just load it into this SO. It will stay the same until the game stops. It does not save, so the SO will be exactly the same next play around.
As for the file file exists you can use the default: