The Long Dark has provided to me both entertainment and well needed occupational therapy. It helps me slow down and find my center as if I was in nature, while being unable to physically get there. Providing the benefits of not actually getting frostbite or mauled by a bear, and yet so real I need to refrain from screaming every time I am surprised and attacked. Some of the inventory and nuances of the game take a little bit of getting used to, but in the grand scheme of things, it is totally worth it. This game provides years of game play, challenges and I'm still checking every. single. day. for episode 5. Wintermute introduces characters that get you invested in their story, wanting to push through whatever obstacles there might be, to get them where they are going. I'm in too deep - we all need to know what happens. With The Long Dark 2 announcement my obsession has just grown stronger. If you play Wintermute just know there is so much more to see in Survival - it is your own story...
The Long Dark
- Release Date:
- Aug 1, 2017
- Developer:
- Hinterland Studio Inc.
- Publisher:
- Hinterland Studio Inc.
- Platforms:
- Windows Mac Linux
Game Tags
About This Game


Bright lights flare across the night sky. The wind rages outside the thin walls of your wooden cabin. A wolf howls in the distance. You look at the meager supplies in your pack, and wish for the days before the power mysteriously went out. How much longer will you survive?
Welcome to THE LONG DARK, the innovative exploration-survival experience Wired magazine calls "the pinnacle of an entire genre".
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THE LONG DARK is a thoughtful, exploration-survival experience that challenges solo players to think for themselves as they explore an expansive frozen wilderness in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. There are no zombies -- only you, the cold, and all the threats Mother Nature can muster.
In THE LONG DARK, you are getting both the genre-defining Survival Mode, honed after years of open development and frequent updates, and the award-winning episodic narrative mode, WINTERMUTE.

THE LONG DARK: SURVIVAL MODE brings you the genre-defining Survival Mode, honed after years of open development and frequent updates. Widely considered the paramount Survival game of all time, SURVIVAL MODE gives you pure focus on THE LONG DARK’s Survival Sandbox -- the experience that started it all!
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Included with both THE LONG DARK: SURVIVAL MODE and THE LONG DARK, Survival Mode is the free-form, non-narrative Survival Sandbox that has defined the genre since launching on Steam in 2014. After years of open development and dozens of major updates, THE LONG DARK now stands at the pinnacle of the entire genre. Survival is your only goal, and death your only end. Make your own survival story with every game.
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The game that defined death for the survival genre. When you die in Survival, your save is deleted. Every decision matters.
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The game challenges players to think for themselves by providing the information but never the answers. You have to earn the right to survive.
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Monitor your Hunger, Thirst, Fatigue, and Cold as you struggle to balance resources with the energy needed to obtain them. Every action costs Calories, and time is your most precious resource. Choose your path carefully.
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Over 100 gear items including Tools, Light Sources, Weapons, First Aid supplies, Clothing, and more.
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Explore a 50+ square kilometer Northern Canadian wilderness spanning 12 major regions and all the zones that connect them in search of life-saving supplies. Distant mountains, coastal towns, mines, farmlands, and a huge expanse of brutal winter wilderness to test your survival mettle.
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Hunt, fish, trap, climb, map, search for life-saving food and gear items, and try to avoid dying from the hostile wildlife, succumbing to hypothermia, frostbite, or dysentery (amongst other uncomfortable afflictions), find and maintain your life-saving gear. Hunt and be hunted by: Wolves, Bears, Moose, Rabbits, Deers, Crows, and more to come in future updates.
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Four distinct Experience Modes let you find a challenge level you are comfortable with, such as Pilgrim Mode, which is meant to be quiet and pensive, all the way to Interloper Mode, where only the most experienced survivors have a chance to last a week. If none of the four Experiences suits you, use Custom Mode settings to tailor your Survival Mode game to your specific tastes.
Features the music of Sascha Dikiciyan.

Several standalone Challenge Modes offer objective-based experiences designed to last 1-3 hours each, such as Whiteout -- the race to gather enough supplies to prepare for a monster blizzard. Or Hunted, where you need to escape a murderous Bear. Complete them to unlock Feats that provide long-term gameplay benefits in Survival Mode. Additional Challenges include: Hopeless Rescue, Nomad, Archivist, As the Dead Sleep, and Escape the Darkwalker.
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Included in THE LONG DARK The episodic story-mode for THE LONG DARK, WINTERMUTE, includes four of the five episodes that form WINTERMUTE. Episode Five is in development, and is slated for release at a later date. This will bring the WINTERMUTE storyline to its conclusion.
The first four episodes of WINTERMUTE represent approximately 30 hours of gameplay. Episode Five is included in the price of the game, and will be unlocked for free when it is released.

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Bush pilot Will Mackenzie (player character) and Dr. Astrid Greenwood are separated after their plane crashes deep in the Northern Canadian wilderness in the aftermath of a mysterious flash of light in the sky. Struggling to survive as he desperately searches for Astrid, Mackenzie comes across the small town of Milton, where he begins to understand the scope of this quiet apocalypse.
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Mackenzie’s search for Astrid takes him deeper into the savage Winter wilderness. A mysterious trapper may be the key to finding Astrid, but can he be trusted?
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In the aftermath of events in Milton, an enigmatic stranger rescues Dr. Astrid Greenwood (player character) from near death. Facing the blizzards of Pleasant Valley, Astrid must bring all her skills as a doctor to bear on the survivors she encounters. But will she find Mackenzie, and get closer to the mystery that's taking them to Perseverance Mills?
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A murderous gang of convicts has captured Mackenzie. Desperate to escape one of the darkest corners of Great Bear Island, he must somehow survive his fiercest enemy yet. Can Mackenzie recover the Hardcase, continue his search for Astrid, and also save the innocents caught up in this deadly confrontation?
NOTE: Unlike Survival Mode, WINTERMUTE does not feature permadeath. You can save your progress as you play.
Features performances by Jennifer Hale, Mark Meer, David Hayter, and Elias Toufexis (Episode Three), and the music of Cris Velasco.
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In addition to releasing the remaining episode of WINTERMUTE, we intend to continue updating Survival Mode with limited free updates alongside our paid DLC Expansion Pass, TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY. This is on top of the over 100 updates we have made to the game over the past 8 years of open development. Keep in mind that your purchase of THE LONG DARK entitles you to all five episodes of WINTERMUTE without extra charge. For more information about the free updates coming to Survival Mode, please visit the Expansion Pass roadmap via our "Visit the website" link on the right of the page.


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Hinterland is an independent video game developer and IP creator headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Established in 2012 by game director & writer, Raphael van Lierop, Hinterland is a multi-ethnic, international team united around a singular goal: to create thought-provoking, story-rich entertainment experiences set in compelling original worlds.
Our fictional settings -- our IP -- are conceived from the ground up to exist across multiple mediums. We believe that when people love a world, they want to experience it across as many platforms as possible.
Hinterland's first IP, THE LONG DARK, first launched on Steam Early Access on September 2014. The game's multi-platform 1.0 launched on August 2017. Today, THE LONG DARK has more than 10-million players around the world.
We aim for our games to foster a sense of social awareness, and we aspire to provide immersive, sophisticated worlds for anyone seeking a mature entertainment experience.
Join us on our journey.
Screenshots
User Reviews
Changing the review over many years. No finished story and no mod support yet. This game is almost 10 years old... While publishing a new DLC. Bad business practice.
Game is a lot of fun and if you're into endless survival games it's worth checking out, but as someone who prefers the narrative part of the game, I can't recommend it. The release of the final story chapter has been delayed multiple times with little meaningful communication from devs. The previous chapter released in October of 2021, it has been almost 4 years with no story conclusion.
SO. SLOW! Everything in this game takes an eternity. You can barely sprint and it’s still slow, walking is slow, you can’t jump, dialogue is slow, everything is just so, painfully slow. I understand that not every game needs to be an ultra fast paced rapid fire experience, but there’s a difference between chill and taking your time and forcing the game to take forever.
This criminally underrated masterpiece of a game taught me a lot about myself. The premise of The Long Dark is one of letting go. So many other survival games make you focus on the grind. You run around collecting things, and soon enough they stack up at your base. The Long Dark is different, in that it forces you to keep exploring. The best way to play this game is to not have a home base, but rather carry just enough on your back to get to the next town. The next landmark. The next cave. It teaches you that the journey is the joy, not the destination. This game will punish you for carelessness, and reward you for focus. I highly recommend anyone who plays this doesn't do so lightly, as you will have an uncomfortable experience. If you are able to find how the devs designed this game to be played, you will never forget the hours spent in this world.
been playing this game for over 10 years then they introduce cougar...part 2, cause they screwed up the first time then part 2 cougar comes into my cave and attacks me doesn't kill me (wearing ballistic vest) it walks out of cave then immediately attacks me again (not able to pick up my "dropped" weapon fast enough repeat for 12 attacks and I die from blood loss Run of about 550 days wiped clean given the option to cheat death...but so disgusted with this addition, I think it's time to move on (btw...I know I can play w/o cougar, but Hinterland put it in there for a reason, so I trusted them)
This game tends to every part of my personality. If you love the idea of looting your way through lonely 80's Style Canadian places this is it. Lonelyish i should say because the wildlife will keep you company. Besides all the glory it's not worth it I guess. The bug's are getting to me. Loosing a 50+ hours run because you slip into nowhere after a loading screen one run after the other takes the charm big time.
The Long Dark is a fantastic game to play if you've either had a bad day, and need to relax, or just chill by a warm cuppa tea. TLD is one of the BEST survival games out there, and for a reason. It's slow, sure, but that's it's main appeal. It's not Boring, there's always aspects to discover and enjoy, you get dopamine from the smallest things and successes, going hunting for the first time, truly a lovable experiance. Now waiting for Blackfrost <3
An incredible game if you enjoy exploration. Visually stunning and has good hardcore survival elements. Everything in this game feels handcrafted. The survival mode has crazy replay value and has only gotten better the longer I've played it. Good development for the game over the years and I trust the sequel is going to be epic
Wonderfully crafted game but I really wish co op was included, at least up to 6 peeps.
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System Requirements
Minimum
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS *: Windows 8
- Processor: Dual-Core Intel i5 CPU @ 2GHz+
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Intel 4xxx Series w/ 512MB VRAM or better
- Storage: 7 GB available space
- Sound Card: Any on-board chip will work.
Recommended
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel i7 CPU @ 2.6GHz or higher
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: nVidia GTX 555 w/ 1GB VRAM or better
- Storage: 7 GB available space
- Sound Card: Ideally, something with Surround capabilities.
FAQ
How much does The Long Dark cost?
The Long Dark costs $12.99. Currently 50% off!
What are the system requirements for The Long Dark?
Minimum: Minimum: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS *: Windows 8 Processor: Dual-Core Intel i5 CPU @ 2GHz+ Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: Intel 4xxx Series w/ 512MB VRAM or better Storage: 7 GB available space Sound Card: Any on-board chip will work. Recommended: Recommended: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 Processor: Intel i7 CPU @ 2.6GHz or higher Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: nVidia GTX 555 w/ 1GB VRAM or better Storage: 7 GB available space Sound Card: Ideally, something with Surround capabilities.
What platforms is The Long Dark available on?
The Long Dark is available on Windows PC, macOS, Linux.
Is The Long Dark worth buying?
The Long Dark has 88% positive reviews from 100 players.
When was The Long Dark released?
The Long Dark was released on Aug 1, 2017.
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