Review for The Long Dark. Game for PlayStation Network, PC, Steam, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Linux, the video game was released on 01/08/2017
You may remember that period, about three years ago, during which almost every week we could see the birth of a new Survival-themed Early Access on Steam. The topics covered were the most disparate but the modalities were all similar. Some of these titles have been successful, others have been total failures. Almost all of them were united by the now classic gameplay perfected in Minecraft, a real training ship for this type of games, until the recent Impact Winter. You had to gather resources, feed yourself, create better equipment and fight with the numerous threats. Very often these Early Accesss were copies of each other, soulless and immediately boring. From the beginning, however, The Long Dark he posed differently.
Today the developers of Hinterland studio Inc. they describe their work like this:
"There are no zombies, just you, the cold and everything Mother Nature can muster."
We assure you that that is enough.
Cover up… it's cold outside
The Long Dark is a very immersive survival simulation that will push your efforts to the limit. Following a plane crash, found in the wilds of an unspecified area of Canada. A geomagnetic natural catastrophe drags the Earth into desolation.
The electricity is out and apparently no one has survived. You are alone in the snow, you have to find shelter as soon as possible and think about how to resist day after day.
The Long Dark provokes you, anything can kill you but the main enemy is definitely the cold. The weather is unpredictable, a storm can blow your plans and block you for days in your shelter. The resource-rich zone you observed the day before could be a wolf haunt the next day. Your clothes could get wet and lead to hypothermia. The wound you got in a bad fall yesterday could get infected today and without medicine or improvised natural remedies you won't get very far. The food you have collected could go bad quickly and that damn fire won't want to ignite if you don't find good fuel.
If you vaguely understand the idea, it will become clear to you that The Long Dark is tough and pure survival. No frills: you and nature, survive or die.
A merit goes to the crafting system and objects in general. Every part of your equipment can deteriorate, be damaged and repaired. This applies to both tools and clothes, a real heat shield against the deadly cold that will envelop your days. An object found outside can be frozen and become useless if you do not first take it to the shelter for a certain amount of time. Animal carcasses can feed you but you have to cook the food to avoid disease. Just lighting a fire can become a problem without the right materials. All the operations you want to carry out have variable chances of success, depending on what you will use and your ability. Each skill can be enhanced with experience or through the study of manuals found in your wanderings.
Good morning starts in the morning
The search for new resources is a central part of the experience offered by The Long Dark. Abandoned human settlements are rare and often betray hopes. You are forced to choose which path to follow but the hours of daylight are not infinite. Being away from a safe haven at nightfall is one of the worst things that can happen to you. The exploration of the numerous and vast areas is really successful: you have to orient yourself thanks to the signs of nature, in fact you have no map or reference points.
We were pleasantly struck by the maturity of this adventure, the general atmosphere of desolation is perfectly rendered. The game view is mostly empty, with no interface menus, health bars or anything else. This helps a lot in focusing your attention on which direction to take based on sight or hearing. In fact, the sound sector is an integral part of the gaming experience and it can often make a difference to hear a danger in time or notice a potential resource.
Graphically The Long Dark is a phenomenal cel-shading work that works great. The visual effects of light are as engaging as few video games have been able to do. The settings are varied enough without forgetting, however, that a wasteland can repeat itself for many kilometers, contributing to the general sense of disorientation.
I had a small house in Canada
Upon the announcement of the release of The Long Dark, a game in the game was unexpectedly revealed, an episodic adventure called Wintermute. Currently, the first two episodes are available where, in the role of pilot Will Mackenzie, you must survive and try to find your traveling companion Astrid, now missing. We do not spoilers, but you can see below the video of the launch trailer that can give a general idea of what awaits you in this adventure.
Wintermute is not the heart of The Long Dark but its mechanics are very similar and can act as a tutorial for those approaching this game for the first time. It will not be easy to learn the tricks to survive.
After over three years of Early Access we are happy to have retraced the steps that led to the release of The Long Dark. Early access games often experience delays or hasty developments that finally pack a shoddy product: The Long Dark was long in coming, but it was worth the wait. A mature title, beautiful to see and listen to. Difficult at the right point and that also adds an episodic adventure as a pleasant diversion from the interesting and engaging challenge that the Survival mode offers.
► The Long Dark is a Survival-type game developed and published by Hinterland Studios for PlayStation Network, PC, Steam, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Linux, the video game was released on 01/08/2017
