The Longing is a meditative, hauntingly slow-paced indie adventure that challenges nearly every convention of modern game design. Developed by Studio Seufz, this title blends solitude, real-time progression, and existential storytelling into a highly original experience that has more in common with philosophy and patience than with traditional gameplay loops. On its surface, it presents a deceptively simple premise: you are a Shade, a small, melancholy servant of a subterranean king who has fallen into a deep slumber, set to awaken in 400 days. Until that moment, you are left alone in a vast, crumbling underground kingdom, with nothing to do but wait. But that 400-day countdown is not symbolic or game-time—it is literal. The timer continues ticking even when you’re not playing. Whether the game is running or closed, the days pass in real time. From the very beginning, The Longing makes it clear that its pacing is not something to be conquered or gamified; it is something to be end...

Contrary to the games "You have to play for the full 400 days premise" it really only takes a couple months if you fill your room with collectables and pictures as they boost the time when you wait in your room, I had enough stuff in my room to boost the timer by 30 seconds for every 1 second that passes. I think I spent the first 3 hours of the game in the Endless Hallway picking up paper for drawings, the 2 carpets, drapes and horse head. I played for the true ending but if I ever play it again I'll try to do the other 4 ending, the 2nd longest would have to be The Wonder ending which I could have done a couple days ago but decided otherwise.

It takes patience, strategy and planning, but this is certainly a departure from the conventional games I've played. Great to have this running in the background during study or work sessions, like ASMR or brown noise.

Don't use the game as an e-reader for your textbooks, all of a sudden you're not waiting very long anymore

A game so nice I bought it twice (on Switch first, then Steam). It's hard to convey exactly what it's like. This game is cute, sad, meditative, contemplative, bittersweet, entrancing, peaceful, heart-wrenching, sweet, interesting, endearing, and a practice in patience and acceptance. I don't know what the word for this is, but it instantly made me completely emotionally invested in the Shade and his time. Look stuff up as little as possible, it's best to just experience it as it goes. I highly recommend this game, be patient and enjoy the time.

I'm normally fine with an experiment, but in the end, this game doesn't say enough to really be worth the meditation. I didn't explicitly try to make time pass quickly, nor did I think the ending justified the weeks of logging off. It's merely adequate

Congratulations on this game dear developer.

I really liked this game, it's such a cool concept

Complete anti-game. -sincerely Uel

This game is different than anything I've played before. Patience is necessary, but I sort of feel that its what makes this game interesting. I love the aesthetics and the little dude you play. I started this game during the pandemic - felt appropriate. Im going to restart it now and see how I feel about it years later.