The Long Dark Review (Mushyheaded)
Initially, I didn't care for the cartoonish graphics. I grinded through Wintermute to learn the fundamentals, before diving into Survival mode.
I quickly became immersed. The game's mechanics are relatively simple. The crafting system is not complicated. After so much time, wildlife becomes predictable. Certain animals can only spawn in certain locations. Some days you just get stuck inside breaking down boxes and shelves to collect extra resources, hoping to find a couple extra cans of dog food. And yet, I was never bored.
I managed to fully explore several locations. I built up an arsenal, learned to use weapons, mastered my strategy. Finally, after 150 in-game days, I took on a black bear and a moose--I killed both without getting a scratch. I decided to harvest the corpses on the spot, rather than quartering. After 3 days I still hadn't gotten all the meat back to base, and I took a lot of condition loss spending too much time in the cold.
I had become confident and greedy. A wolf took me by surprise right outside my front door. I started bleeding out, and wouldn't you know it? I had harvested all of the cloth from my base and transported it elsewhere. I had one piece left in my inventory, but not enough time to make bandages. I completely forgot about the emergency stim I had been carrying throughout the entire game... And just like that, a run that lasted over 100 real hours came to an abrupt end.
Here I am, laughing as I write this, and gearing up for a more challenging run.
I'm picky about games. I don't play many of them. The ones I do play, though, I play religiously. I played other survival crafting games. But this one is different. You're not fighting zombies, raiding bases, building bases, farming or collecting loot for the sake of it. It doesn't feel cheap in that way.
It's man versus nature. Your biggest obstacle is yourself. Some resources are finite and scarce, and thus used strictly for emergencies. Often, you are faced with tough choices, none of which are appealing. Wolves are d*cks, but even they are not the real nemesis here. The wildlife is not really out to get you. You can almost always avoid a direct conflict, if you tread carefully. No, in the end it is the cold that will come for you--the incessant, unforgiving cold, constantly chipping away at you.
There are no monsters here, and yet you must remain vigilant at all times... In The Long Dark, you're always one mistake from game over.
If you enjoy immersive, realistic, challenging single-player survival experiences, you should try this game.