The Long Dark Review (Austin96)
Survive Against Mother Nature
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.
About
Description
💾Graphics
The Long Dark has a pretty unique art style. It’s more of a cartoonish style which can be a good or bad thing. It mainly depends on the person’s preference. Personally I really enjoyed the style. Granted the style isn’t visually impressive, but I do enjoy a unique take in graphics. Don’t expect a realistic style game here. The lighting and colors are really good. The sunset and objects have a pretty good vibrant color palette. Also the lighting is really impressive. The UI system is really good as well. It’s convenient with little to no issues.
🎮Gameplay
This is a pretty hardcore survival game. Now not hardcore as in enemies, but the pure ruthlessness of mother nature and the cold. You, as the player, have to keep into account body temperature, caloric intake, hunger/thirst, fatigue, wind-chill, wildlife, and a host of other environmental factors. It’s a cruel world in The Long Dark. Hunting for food alone can be a great challenge. Hunting plays a huge role, but be careful of some dangerous predators out there that will hunt and kill you. You can craft, find weapons and ammo (but really scarce), and build a shelter preferably inside a building. One cool quality of life they have here is the Journal. The Journal keeps track of your skills, stats, collections, notes, and even your daily log. Your daily log is a day by day checklist of how many calories you burnt, locations discovered, injuries sustained, and much more. Survival mode is fantastic, providing many cool locations that can add some ease, or some challenge depending on where you go. The survival mode has 4 different difficulties. You may also create your own difficulty if you want (huge plus here!). Another great touch is the ability to complete feats and challenges. The feats do grant some benefits into your playthrough which is a huge plus and can help your fight for survival feel a bit easier. The Long Dark also has some challenge modes. These will give you badges but can be really difficult to achieve. They may not grant much, but if you plan on getting all the achievements, then you have to do these.
📜Story
The story is actually pretty solid. There are some intense moments and the plot was overall quite decent. I’m not sure if I’d replay it, but for one time playthrough it’s really good. The story mode and sandbox locations are connected, so this can actually help you get familiar with some areas before playing on Sandbox mode. Sadly the story mode is not included with the base game so if you want to experience a story here, you will have to pay extra.
🕛Playtime
You can add many hours into this game. The loot is random each time you play so you never know what you will get on another playthrough early on. You have many locations and with the addiction of challenge modes and even a custom sandbox difficulty, you will add tons of hours here.
🎧Sound
The sound design is really impressive. Hearing the wind and blizzard from inside a dark cabin is actually pretty spooky. A cool attention to detail is when you had more items into your backpack, the heavier you sound. The music is really good too. I enjoyed many soundtracks in the game. I don’t really keep music on while playing these kinds of games, but the soundtrack really compliments the atmosphere. The voice acting is pretty good too (especially if you play the story mode). Even the sounds of animals in the distance are pretty good.
❗Bugs❗
There are some bugs that are noticeable. Sometimes I get stuck on some surfaces which can get annoying. Sometimes clothes won’t dry when standing next to a fire, and other odd bugs here and there. Now nothing really game breaking, but you may come across some bugs so do keep that in mind.
🔅Performance
Performance is really good. I played on Ultra settings and got a solid 60fps on my rig. I mean I would hope so since the graphics are not that demanding at all. I had no crashes or stutters either. The game was really smooth all across the board.
✔️Pro’s
Incredible soundtrack
Amazing atmosphere
Good weather system
Fantastic first aid system
Sense of progression/learning
Challenging survival mechanics
Graphics are unique and look pretty good
Hunting is important and feels rewarding
In Depth journal (daily log, notes, stats, skills, etc)
Immersive HUD (meaning almost no HUD except for little indicators for when you're getting cold or hungry)
❌Con’s
Story mode not included in base game
Some of the game mechanics can be confusing to beginners
🏆Rating
9/10
Wait for a sale for around 50% (If you plan on buying the DLC’s)
🔗Conclusion
The Long Dark is a unique survival game that can really test your skills. Mother nature does not give you a chance and will not go easy on you. Prepare for a fight for survival and keep your eyes open as you are not alone in the woods. The game is a fantastic survival game that is challenging, engaging, unique, and immersive. If you are a fan of survival games, then this is a must buy!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/305620/The_Long_Dark/
Links to help you in The Long Dark:
The Ultimate Beginner's Manual
Maps for The Long Dark - With DLC
Detailed Region Maps
Specs for Review:
GPU: ASUS GeForce GTX 1070 8GB ROG Strix
CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.9 GHz
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR4 3200MHz