The Long Dark Review

FPS (FIRST PERSON SURVIVAL)

Heal your wounds, find your food, beware of what you drink and eat. Wake up next to a fire that frostbitten hands created while watching out for wolves and danger. This survival game is what we needed. If RPG is your thing than this game screams play me! The story draws you in wanting more. It is a fantastic conjure of an adventure.

Key to Your Survival

You wake up to a faint voice, whisper and can barely make it out. After gaining consciousness you call out a name, Astrid! In front of you are multiple fires of what was once your plane. A cave lies ahead in the distance, you slowly make your way to it. Your breath forming in the cold winter night. If you look around you will see some of your belongings, get them. They are key to your survival. Once in the cave your very first mission for staying alive and bringing your body temp up is making a fire. So, you head back outside to collect sticks, branches and cedar. You will need tinder and other items to make this fire that is needed to survive. Directly after your achievement, you pass out.

Day 2

Waking up after a rough night, your body needs to be hydrated. In my game I noticed blood on the stone of the cave and the snow on the ground. With this I took to LB and went to first aid. I applied bandages to my right hand and my knee. I stopped the blood loss, for now. Go outside and find everything that you can. Wood is the most important the first couple of nights because you need to keep your fire going, it will go out without enough wood. You can build your fire to last a long time. Minutes at first then hours to last through the night. In the far-left corner by your once plane wing, you will find a container with and MRE in it. Eat it before you die. After that, water. You will find a tin can and with that can you will build a fire and fill the can with snow and place it on the hot stone surrounding the fire to boil it. Before you go, find everything such as cloth, newspaper, antiseptic, matches and fire accelerant. After a couple attempts, what I found that worked to start my fire was bark. I threw reclaimed wood, cedar and sticks on the fire and from a time limit of 10 mins, I got 5 hrs. very important to have a long burning fire and high temp fire to boil water. Back in to LB and go to CAMPCRAFT to fetch a tin can and put snow in it. It will tell you how long the water has to boil, which was 9 minutes for me. You have the choice to wait and go explore or click on the can and press the option to pass time but be careful not to die of frostbite or many other ways. This is a process, do not drink the water before it is done, or you could end up getting sick from an infection or by catching a parasite. After drinking the water that is not fully boiled and take the antiseptic to cure the infection before it spreads. Then take a well needed rest.

Day 3

You are moving faster and feeling better, though you are not out of the woods yet. This is where firewood is needed in abundance. There is a storm outside and you need this fire to last all night. 9 hours to be exact. I found if you walk into the fire, well that is another injury you have to cure. Be careful because some burns and injuries do not heal at once and if you do not take care of them they will cause infections that can and will kill you. LB is your survival guide. You will find your Temperature, Rest, Thirst and Food/Hunger. Make that fire, get your Temp up and Rest.

Day 4

Food. Your ears are a part of survival also. Listen for a murder of Crows. You may find them circling an animal carcass or maybe even a dead body! Cool huh? By now all of your "4 Needs" should be close to being good besides your Hunger. Go find that carcass. You can now see a big tree that has been blown over after the storm. Walk across and you will find Astrid's case and your coat. After you pick the case up a cut scene will start. Long story short a lady walks into your delivery service. You have a yellow airplane outside, so I gathered he is in a remote place and delivers whatever people asks him to by plane. Phone rings and in walks "Astrid" from the tension in the air you can tell they have a past and an argument arises as Astrid tries to ask Will for a ride to deliver something in a metal briefcase. In the end you agree. Apply the coat by pressing Y and then LT to go over to your clothing and select Torso. Equipped. Don't you feel much better? Soon after you will see a wall that when looked at, you say I think I can climb that. Go about climbing and about three strokes you grab a branch and you fall. It will tell you that you have an infliction. Rose Hips. Mix them with water to numb pain, they have healing properties. There are a lot of Rose Hip bushes around, stock up on them. Go back to your humble abode and place your venison on one of the stones near around the fire. Eat two of them and then back to resting.

Day 5

Let's get out of this Ravine! You hand is healed and is well enough to climb, lets go back and try where we once failed and climb up that wall. Only one way to go, up! Rose Hips are everywhere, collect them. When you make it to the top, you will find your plane, at least the cockpit and what is left of it. More of your belongings will be scattered, collect. Get all the sticks and wood again, fire materials go quicker than liquor at a Frat house on a Saturday night, or any night for that matter. You'll need all you can get. I just noticed, while your walking you can hear the things you have collected clinging and jingling, very nice touch. You'll come into a big opening and you will now be able to pick up a stone and throw it at a rabbit. Stun the rabbit and you can kill it and eat it. Build the fire in the abandoned pit that has recently been used by someone and get to stunning those rabbits.

End of My Description

I am ending my tale of the story line here. I cannot go on any longer and expect that you couldn't find out what happens next if you yourself can go out and get this game or download it digitally. I will tell you this, where I ended, a lot of exciting things start to take place. Wolves, caves, flares, dead bodies and loot!

Graphics

Like something off a drawing pad, the characters and the land around you look like paper, only like a poor comic. This is an Awesome experience and is a game that I am playing all the way through. This makes me feel like I am going on a journey. Games do not have to be so realistic to enjoy them. Quite the opposite. These graphics are magical. 

Sound Quality

You have to use your ears to find corpses of animal, or maybe you will hear a wolf's growl, that is the que to look around and avoid the deadly animal. While walking you can hear the things that you have in your items like clinging pots. It has some great quality.

Conclusion

Very well played Hinterland Studio well played. This game made me feel very content indeed. I play all sorts of games for reviewing purposes and not all of them do I like or describe as adventurous or mysterious. Mysterious as in you cannot wait to see what is around the next corner or cave. The ability to literally take care of your injuries and heal yourself by a fire while waiting to warm up just does something to this gamer. There are way too many fast-paced games out now that people rave about, but when you play the game so much it becomes monotonous and boring. I think a slow and steady game is good for the soul. Love this game. Take your mind off your worries and jump into The Long Dark.