The Long Dark

Hinterland has given its survival sim’s story an overhaul.

- Andy Kelly​​​​​​​

Set in a brutal, freezing Canadian wilderness, The Long Dark is quietly one of the best survival games on PC. Set in the aftermath of a bizarre geomagnetic storm that plunged the world into darkness and rendered all technology useless, you have to battle nature to stay alive. A task made difficult by the wolves, blizzards and inhospitable terrain surrounding you.

The Long Dark left Early Access in August, 2017 and it was here we got our first taste of Wintermute, its episodic story mode. Previously the game was limited to an open-ended sandbox, but now there was a story to follow, characters to meet, and a goal to strive for. Wintermute still has more episodes to go, so the story is still steeped in mystery, but a mysterious locked briefcase seems to be at the heart of it.

The problem was: Wintermute wasn’t great. It was a nice way to learn the game’s many survival systems, but it just wasn’t as compelling as making your own stories in the sandbox, and it suffered from forcing you to do too much busywork. That could’ve been the end of the story, but developer Hinterland listened to the feedback of reviewers and players alike and revamped Wintermute in response. The core of the story is still there, but the flow is more streamlined, making it a less frustrating experience—but retaining that feeling of always being on the edge of death.