The Long Dark
Search a frozen wilderness for food and equipment while balancing cold, hunger, thirst and fatigue; every action consumes calories, making the cost of obtaining supplies part of survival.
- AI score · out of 10
- 7.8 / 10
About this game
Explore the wilderness and search for the food and equipment needed to stay alive. Hunger, thirst, fatigue and cold require attention, and actions consume calories. Gathering another useful item therefore sits alongside the need to preserve the resources that let you obtain it. Changing weather and time of day form part of the environment you must navigate. Survival Mode leaves you to pursue survival in a free-form sandbox without an authored narrative progression. WINTERMUTE offers a different structure, following Will Mackenzie and Astrid Greenwood after their plane crashes on Great Bear Island. Both modes belong to the base game; Tales from the Far Territory is a separately sold expansion.
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Nintendo Switch
AI review
AI reviews are subjective assessments, not player ratings. See each review for its evidence and limitations.Published date:
Best aligned with players who enjoy making ordinary survival decisions consequential.
The calorie cost of actions could turn supply gathering into a meaningful judgment about needs and expenditure. The contrast between an open survival sandbox and WINTERMUTE's story structure lets players choose between self-directed survival and a narrative framework.
Strengths
- Interdependent needs and action costs could make even a supply search worth planning.
- Separate sandbox and story structures accommodate different preferences for direction.
Weaknesses
- Survival Mode's lack of authored narrative progression may feel aimless if story objectives are your main motivation.
Who it is for: Players who like weighing resources against immediate needs and deciding their own priorities in a wilderness setting.
Play notes: Tales from the Far Territory is separate expansion content, rather than part of the base-game coverage here.
View scoring basis
| Dimension | Review state | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimension The sandbox asks you to supply your own survival goals, whereas WINTERMUTE provides a story framework; their appeal depends on how much direction you want. | Reviewed | 7.5 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Spending calories to obtain supplies creates a tradeoff that could reward attention to current needs rather than indiscriminate collecting. | Reviewed | 8.0 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Changing weather and daylight could connect the wilderness setting to the practical pressure of managing cold and supplies. | Reviewed | 8.4 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Status arrows could help prioritize urgent needs by showing their direction and rate of change. | Reviewed | 7.2 / 10 | Not provided |
Review sources
Not provided
Core information
- Developer
- Hinterland Studio
- Publisher
- Hinterland Studio
- Release date
- Sep 17, 2020
- Platforms
- Nintendo Switch
- Content kind
- Game
- Release state
- Released
- Region
- Worldwide
- Official website
- Not provided
- Offline minimum players
- Not provided
- Offline maximum players
- Not provided
- Online minimum players
- Not provided
- Online maximum players
- Not provided
- Categories
- Adventure · Primary genre
- Tags
- Puzzle SolvingThird PersonStory-drivenLinear Levels3D GraphicsSlow BurnSolo-friendlyMain Story 10–20 HoursInvestigationExploration
- Supported game languages
- Not provided
- Requires base game
- Not provided
- Standalone
- Not provided
- Age ratings
- Not provided
- Play modes
- Single player
- Perspectives
- First person
Release editions
- Nintendo SwitchWorldwideSep 17, 2020
Game gallery
Sources
- www.nintendo.comSource revision: 1
- www.nintendo.com