The Long Dark is a Game about Realism & Survival.
If you have not played The Long Dark, you may be looking at this image and pondering: ‘How is this a game about Realism? Look at the painted art style.’
The Long Dark portrays realism by way of it’s gameplay.
It has by far the most in-depth & realistic survival system I have encountered in a game.
Whilst you do not have to monitor your micronutrients (something that only the most meatheaded, constantly wet, alpha music blasting, endorphin addicted, Gym rats do) there are features that make you watch what you eat. Yar-har-har, scurvy is fun.
At first glance the survival is almost standard.
You have your Condition, which is just health. (The lower bar with teh haert <3 )
You have a Thirst Meter. (Circle with a Droplet)
A Hunger Bar. (It’s the Stomach)
The non-typical Rest Meter. (EYEBALL)
And the very abnormal Temperature Meter. (It’s obviously the thermometer)
Only 5 stats to manage, Easy.
It’s Not.
The Premise of The Long Dark is thus:
You are one of a few sparse survivors of a Geomagnetic Storm which has left the Canadian Island of Great Bear without any power, and all vaguely electronic devices non-functioning.
It is the Middle of Winter.
There are 2 Core Gamemodes.
The Campaign; which is a more story focused episodic experience, that follows McKenzie & Astrid (the main characters) as they hike across the island to reunite and deliver a much needed cure to a now EXTRA isolated community.
Survival; this is the one we’ll be talking about today. An endless survival mode where the only goal is to survive as long as possible.
The temperature during the day will regularly dip below -10°C and at night it will get even lower. Then there’s Wind Chill (yes this game has that), which can and will make you miserable.
Wind Chill can drop the temperature a further… 6 Million Degrees.
I Exaggerate, but it does make things worse.
A lot worse.
And let me tell you:
The only places safe from the constant chill are indoors.
Plus, there are only 2 other stats you’ll have to manage inside.
Restfulness and Hunger.
Not all indoor areas are made even.
Some places lack beds, others lack usable cooking spots.
No cooking spots means, No Water or Cooked Food.
The Problem is self evident.
Here is a brief explanation of the several chokeholds the game has you in at any time.
The basic tools of Outdoor Survival in The Long Dark are simple.
1. You will be slow and encumbered. Always.
There are many things that you will need & want to bring with you when outside in your game.
Every gram counts.
On an average expedition you will want to bring with you the following.
Snackies: so that you don’t starve.
A Water Bottle: because despite the miles of snow, there’s not a drop of it that’s safe to drink!
Fire Wood & Fire Wood Accessories: it’s something cold out there & you need to cook some Beans.
A Hatchet: To gather more Fire Wood & Fire Wood Accessories.
(‘let me see what you have’) A KNIFE! >:D : For the safe, responsible and environmentally friendly harvesting of Woodland Critters. Also self defence from those critters.
Clothes: it’s something cold out there & you need to not become a Vampire’s Favorite flavour of Popsicle.
A Pot: help you utilise your Fire Wood & Fire Wood Accessories, when making beans.
A Storm Lantern: The lights aren’t working anymore.
Medication: In case of Injury.
A Gun: In case of Woodland Critters.
Whilst these aren’t Everything you may need to carry with you, it is a lot and all of it has Weight.
Your character can only hold 30kg by default, increasing to a max of 45kg.
When fully equipped for an expedition, you will typically be carrying 20kg of items.
Warm Clothes are heavy y’all.
Oh, also; Being tired decreases your carrying capacity.
If you are exhausted, it gets halved.
The more you Carry & the more you Sprint the quicker you get tired.
You Will be Slow and Encumbered. Always.
2. Your Clothes will keep you warm.
Despite what one may think.
You will not survive walking out in -5°C wearing your fresh Yeezies.
The easiest way to stay warm outside in The Long Dark is to wear warm clothes with wind resistant attire and to stay out of the wind.
The weather is not your ally, blizzards are common on Great Bear. Even the Woodland Critters are afraid of them, that’s how bad they are.
Clothing will degrade over time, something that Poor Weather will exacerbate. When clothing is fully broken, it cannot be repaired.
Different items will need different materials to be repaired.
Leather shoes will need Leather, Old World Great Coats will need double the amount of cloth that a Sweatshirt requires.
Clothing can get wet & will freeze, making it heavy and useless.
Animal hide can be painfully sewn into Warm and Reliable clothes.
I say painfully because it takes days to sew a pair of pants. (This is not a complaint, I actually quite like it)
One last thing, sewing kits are non-renewable.
There are only so many of them in the game.
Luckily there is a renewable sewing option!
Fishing Hooks!
Which are objectively worse, in almost every other way.
Keep your High Quality Clothes in good nick and dry.
Mittens are Warmer than Driving Gloves.
Your Clothes Will Keep you Warm.
3. You are not alone, but your tools will keep you safe.
There are many things that can kill you in The Long Dark.
Hypothermia, Starvation, Dehydration, Illness, Exhaustion, countless Injuries, Cabin Fever, Scurvy, Poison, and Spilt Chemicals (Rampant Capitalism).
There is none more terrifying than,
The Woodland Critters.
This game features a half dozen hostile denizens of the wilderness.
Each will try and kill you in a different way.
Now, one thing I should take the time to say something.
The Depiction of Wildlife in The Long Dark is not realistic.
Wolves will not attack you on sight in the wild. Cougars will not stalk you through the wilderness. You should not pursue or hunt wildlife without a licence and/or outside of hunting season. The Long Dark depicts a hypothetical scenario that exaggerates a depiction of Survival & Wilderness encounters.
Wolves, Bears, Cougars, Moose & other wildlife are key to the balance of their ecological system and should not be attacked or harassed unless strictly necessary to ensure your own survival
Now, with that said.
I am unironically scared of Moose.
You may be thinking: ‘It’s a Moose. Isn’t that just a bigger Deer?’
No.
A male Moose will weigh an average of 635 Kilograms. Females weighing an average of 500 Kilograms.
They stand at anywhere from 5’5 to 7 Feet tall.
Their Antlers are 5-6 feet wide & weigh an average of 36 Kilos.
They are known to absorb several bullets from hunters thanks to their thick & sturdy bones.
Much like their Avian Cousin; The Goose, Moose are territorial.
Very Territorial.
Did you know that the top run speed of a Moose is typically 60kmph?
Imagine a 7 foot tall, 635 Kilo, Tank of a Creature, Sprinting towards you at 60km/h with the intent to kill.
They cause more deaths per year in Canada than Black Bears & Grizzly Bears, combined.
Do you understand why I’m scared of them now?
Wolves can smell you coming.
Wolves are more than common on Great Bear Island.
They prowl the Valleys & Hills, pursuing Wildlife much larger than them.
Sometimes you may even find a Deer Carcass they have helpfully taken down for you.
Whilst typically solitary, some of them do hunt in packs.
Courage comes in groups.
Where a Torch, a Flare or errant gunshot may have scared off a lone wolf, a Timberwolf pack must either be evaded or fought off using all of the limited means at your disposal.
The more meat you hold, the farther away a wolf down-wind of you can smell you.
The greatest threat a lone Wolf will pose is when you are unprepared for them.
Wolves are the baseline of Wildlife.
Once they’ve spotted you, they are the easiest to kill with a headshot.
But Bullets are few, and the Wolves are many.
They are much alike Guardsmen. A Single one will not end you, but the sheer number of them will slog you down, expend your energy and resources, all until…
Something Bigger Comes Along
Though not nearly as common as Wolves, Bears are just as alarming to find.
To outline the nature of Bears, I would like to use a Quote from The Long Dark’s Story Mode:
‘He’ll come for you when you’re not expecting it.
But you won’t miss it. It won’t be subtle.
It’ll sound like a ton of muscle and bone bearing down on you like a freight train of hate and hunger.’
I feel that quote sufficiently surmises the danger of a Bear in this game.
Despite the midst of Winter, the Geomagnetic Storms that have made the rest of the Wildlife (except for the Moose) erratic, has also affected the Bears.
Awoken from their Hibernation like someone woken at 2am by the neighbours blasting ‘California Girl’ at max volume from their 4 Concert Quality Speakers, they are a little bit miffed.
They are quiet, at times easily mistaken for a Wolf when stalking you.
But when they see you, there is no mistake.
If it’s too late, they will rear up, roar and then slam down to charge you.
They will find you too.
Bears have the most sensitive noses in the game, and they’re Stubborn.
A Bear will happily stalk you for half the Map if your scent is too high.
They are patient too.
I once hid within a Cabin with a Bear stalking me. I took a 6 Hour power-nap and it was standing outside the front door when I went to leave.
It tanked the first Headshots I hit and it only got more Mad.
I walked away from that encounter with my best Boots destroyed, a nearly broken Rifle, 3 Rifle rounds gone, A Wound that Wept Blood, a broken bone and a Bear Carcass to track down.
I tell you this anecdote for a reason.
If you have a Bear and Only 2 Bullets.
Don’t Miss.
Truth be told, I have yet to encounter this one yet.
The Cougar is exclusive to the ‘Tales from the Far Territory DLC’, appearing after a set ‘grace’ period.
It is also one of the few features that can be enabled or disabled, alongside Scurvy.
From what I have heard, I do not want to encounter this one.
They stalk the boundaries of the Far Territories, watching from afar, slowly circling in before attacking.
They are relentless.
Most wildlife in The Long Dark can be scared away, fought off, or outright killed.
From this your most valuable Tools will arise.
Wolves will cause a Struggle, they can be fought off.
Knifes, Hatches, Hammers, your own Hands. Anything will do, you can get them off.
Everything else?
They will just Maul you.
Broken Ribs, Severe Lacerations, Infection Risks, Blood Loss, etc.
You cannot fight off a Bear with a Knife.
But you can scare it with a flare gun.
Firearms in this game are a Tool. You will use them to hunt and to either ward off predators or kill them.
You are not alone, but your tools will keep you safe
4. Weather you Should Quit.
In The Long Dark, you are a tiny fleshy meat person who is %60 Water
Water freezes at 0°C.
Blizzards can hit -50°C with High Winds that constantly tear, dampen and freeze your Clothing.
Weather is a Fickle thing.
You can emerge one day to find the Woods submerged in an oppressive Fog.
The Next will be clear, then that night you’ll get an Aurora.
You are awoken in the middle of the night as The Lights flicker to life.
The Computer in the Gas Station you’ve been living out of turns on and produces a horrific screeching noise at it’s resurrection.
The Radio’s begin to replay a hundred years worth of broadcasts all at once.
Cars humm to life, their carcasses warming once more.
Flashlights begin to work.
The Wildlife freaks out.
The Sky is bathed in Beauty.
ITS ALSO BLOODY COLD.
As one may presume; during an Aurora technology (which don’t work, except for when there’s an Aurora) breathes itself to life, sometimes screaming.
There are certain benefits and negatives in this.
First of all,
FREE LIGHTS!!
Second of all, Collectables!
People don’t write everything down on easily findable paper notes (contrary to what some games will have you believe), they write them on their Computers. Which don’t work. Except for when there’s an Aurora!
Thirdly, After a certain amount of time (30 days for me) you get access to:
The Trader, Sutherland.
Sutherland the Trader is the only NPC the player can talk to during the Survival Game Mode.
He is only available during an Aurora, as he communicates with you exclusively via Radio. Now say it with me!
‘Which don’t work. Except for when there’s an Aurora!’
Sadly, Sutherland is exclusive to the ‘Tales from The Far Territory’ DLC. Fortunately, this is one of the few times that I can actually, fully, One Hundred Percent, recommend a DLC!
We’ll discuss the DLC more in a little bit.
Sutherland is great.
He is the %100 best way to get certain resources that are otherwise non-renewable, like sewing kits.
All you have to do is give him some stuff he wants like Hides, Meat & Foragables that he can’t easily get.
He’s great!
Fourth, Wildlife hates you extra more.
During an Aurora, wildlife becomes tougher, angrier and much more erratic. Good luck if you find a bear.
The Weather of The Long Dark is instrumental to your survival, you don’t want to be caught in a blizzard. So at times, you should ask yourself if it’s worth hauling a Quartered Deer carcass back home and weather the blizzard outside or leave it and find shelter.
Weather You Should Quit.
With that, we have covered the basics of Outdoor survival in The Long Dark!
I know, it took a while, but now you understand the gameplay loop and we can discuss the meat of this essay.
The Long Dark is the most realistic game I have ever played.
It succeeds in the atmosphere of realism by being made with genuine knowledge of Wilderness Survival, Hiking & The Environment it’s set in.
If you sprint everywhere, you will be tired, hungry & thirsty.
If you have more than 20kg on your back and fall more than 50cms, you’re going to trip and sprain your ankle.
The Long Dark strives for realism. This also makes it slow. Quite slow, but engaging. Very engaging.
It balances exploration of Great Bear Island’s 12 base regions with the survival mechanics. Exploration into new regions is naturally encouraged by the slow removal of resources in any given region, via the player’s hand.
You naturally want to delve into new regions because of the possibility of better items like clothing, tools and more hunting spots.
Players typically end up developing a strategy where they create ‘safe houses’ in regions, leaving supplies & tools in the area to aid them on their next trip somewhere.
Each of the realism mechanics serves to create a unique flavour of tension.
There’s nothing like discovering that you need cured pelts to fix a particular clothing item, and that you don’t have any of those pelts.
Or that during an Aurora an elevator began to function, so you took it down. Only for the Aurora to end, leaving you in the depths of a mine, hoping you have enough Food & Water to last you until the next one (you don’t know when, they’re erratic like that).
One of my favorite anecdotes actually comes from my playthrough of the 2nd Story Mode episode, but isn’t unique to it.
I was stood at Max’s Last Stand, staring down a bear. My rifle was raised. It began to charge. I took the shot.
THE GUN JAMMED.
What followed was the beautiful melody of My Screams, an Angry Bear and desperate Gun Clearing Noises.
This is in-fact one of my favorite features of The Long Dark. In a lot of games with Firearms, you do not have to take care of your gun. If a game does have a durability on the guns, it normally just measures how long until it completely disintegrates.
Not in The Long Dark!
If you fail to use firearm repair kits or high quality cartridges, Your gun has an increasing change of jamming.
If you try to fire a Jammed gun, it will Misfire, wasting the bullet.
I love this mechanic. Some people think that durability is a bad mechanic but I heavily disagree.
Durability creates intense moments of panic and punishes the player for a lack of preparation, whilst rewarding them for preparing and maintaining their items. This is something that feeds into the fantasy that many games are attempting to sell the player on.
Now, some games do this better than others, This One for example, but that doesn’t mean that the entire mechanic should be thrown out.
It lends to a beautiful sense of realism that I think certain games benefit greatly from.
Do I think that all games need durability mechanics? No, gods no.
I do not want the next Roguelite that I play to include durability mechanics on the stuff I get, no thank you.
There is a whole discussion to be had about games that encourage the fantasy of preparation vs. reaction, but that’s for another time.
There are so many little Strategies that lie in the The Long Dark, things that you could realise & exploit
For example, Books are amazing as fire starters. It’s a bit totalitarian, but it works & you can’t read most of them.
Another great example is how you can still harvest carcasses that you find but didn’t kill. If they’re big enough you can even use them as a wind break.
Ultimately the Long Dark is a fantastic experience that is well worth the $30 for the base survival mode (even cheaper if bought on sale).
However, before we end this review, there is one last thing I’d like to discuss.
Tales From the Far Territory.
The DLC for The Long Dark. I told you we’d get around to it eventually.
Normally, DLC are overpriced for what they offer and just a cash grab that doesn’t understand or fulfil the philosophy of the base game.
Tales From the Far Territory is the same price as the base game and adds a significant amount of new features, such as:
A Daytime version of The Aurora called The Glimmer Fog.
Firearm & Item Variants.
2 New Animals in the form of Cougars & Ptarmigans, along with Female Deer Variants.
A Large amount of New Clothing.
More Forageables.
A Visual Update.
The ability to customise your Home with Furniture & Decor items.
Cooking.
Skillets.
New Afflictions.
Improved Fishing.
Travois, for long distance hauling.
Scurvy.
Sutherland The Trader.
New Tools, such as a Knife & Thermal Flask.
A New Difficulty mode named ‘Misery’.
The Cheat Death System.
An in-game camera item.
4 Optional Sidequests available in Survival Mode. and last, but certainly not least; 4 Brand New Regions.
The DLC is extensive and firmly worth the additional $30 if you enjoy the base game.
It seamlessly extends and improves upon the experience offered by the base game.
While I have yet to explore very far into the DLC myself, I am greatly looking forward to my explorations of the new regions, as what I have already seen added by the DLC is fantastic.
So, I am sure that the DLC is going to continue to be absolutely fantastic.
Overall, The Long Dark & Tales from The Far Territory are fantastic.
It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s not hard to see why a game from 2017 is still receiving semi-regular updates & has a large community.
It is one of my favorite games, which I regularly get the urge to play.
You may or may not know this about me, but I quite enjoy hiking.
Unfortunately I rarely have the time to actually go Hiking.
So, I do it vicariously through this game.
It isn’t the same, but it’s the closest I’m going to get.
It is, the most realistic Survival Game I’ve ever played, after all.
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