The Long Dark
Survive the Canadian wilderness after a geomagnetic storm.
The Long Dark is a survival game released in 2017, created and published by Hinterland. Players take on the roles of Will Mackenzie, a bush pilot who crash-lands, and Astrid Greenwood, a medical doctor, as they try to endure the harsh Canadian wilderness following a geomagnetic storm. The project got its start with seed money from the Canada Media Fund, and additional funding came from a Kickstarter campaign that succeeded in October 2013.
An alpha version hit Steam Early Access in September 2014, and later arrived on Xbox One in June 2015 as one of the first two titles in Microsoft’s Game Preview Program. Early reviews of the alpha were mostly positive, and by April 2016, the game had sold roughly 750,000 copies. The full release came on August 1, 2017, for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. A film adaptation was announced in 2017, and a Nintendo Switch port followed on September 17, 2020. On December 12, 2024, a sequel called *Blackfrost: The Long Dark 2* was announced.
**Gameplay**
The game is a first-person survival experience set in a freezing Canadian wilderness. Players must manage body temperature, calorie intake, hunger, weight, and fatigue. Three modes are available: story, survival, and challenge.
The map is divided into 12 main regions: Mystery Lake, Coastal Highway, Pleasant Valley, Forlorn Muskeg, Desolation Point, Timberwolf Mountain, Mountain Town, Broken Railroad, Hushed River Valley, Bleak Inlet, Ash Canyon, and Blackrock Mountain. There are also smaller transition regions—Crumbling Highway, Keeper’s Pass North, Keeper’s Pass South, Ravine, and Winding River—that connect the larger areas. The *Tales from the Far Territory* DLC added four more regions: Transfer Pass, Forsaken Airfield, Zone of Contamination, and Sundered Pass, plus a connecting region called the Far Range Branch Line.
**Survival Mode**
Survival mode is an open-world experience with the sole goal of lasting as long as possible. Permadeath was the only ending until the *Tales from the Far Territory* DLC introduced Cheat Death, an optional mechanic allowing up to three resurrections per save at the cost of increased difficulty. In misery mode, permadeath remains mandatory. Players must manage temperature, calories, hunger, and fatigue; avoid dangerous animals; and treat illnesses and injuries like frostbite or broken ribs. Fire is essential for warmth and cooking.
Quick Facts
- Title
- The Long Dark
- Developer
- Hinterland Studio
- Director
- Raphael van Lierop
- Designer
- Raphael van Lierop / Alan Lawrance
- Composer
- Cris Velasco / Sascha Dikiciyan
- Engine
- Unity
- Platforms
- Linux · macOS · Microsoft Windows · Nintendo Switch · PlayStation 4 · PlayStation 5 · Xbox One · Xbox Series X/S
- Released
- Linux, macOS, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One / August 1, 2017 / Nintendo Switch / September 17, 2020 / Xbox Series X/S / June 19, 2025 / PlayStation 5 / November 11, 2025
- Genre
- Survival
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Long Dark was developed by Hinterland, a studio founded by Raphael van Lierop after he left Relic Entertainment. Van Lierop moved his family to the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, drawing inspiration from the surroundings to create a game about surviving the Canadian wilderness. Hinterland operated as a virtual team with remote workers. The game's voice cast, announced during the Kickstarter campaign, included Mark Meer, Elias Toufexis, Jennifer Hale, and David Hayter. An alpha version was released through Steam Early Access in September 2014 and later on Xbox One as one of the first two launch titles for Microsoft's Game Preview Program in June 2015. The full release on August 1, 2017, included the first two episodes of the five-part story mode, Wintermute. Episodes 3 and 4 were released in 2019 and 2021 respectively, with Episode 5 released on March 30, 2026. A film adaptation was announced in 2017. A sequel, Blackfrost: The Long Dark 2, was announced on December 12, 2024.
Reader's Guide
The Long Dark is notable for its deliberate pacing and focus on realistic survival mechanics, such as managing body temperature, calorie levels, hunger, weight, and fatigue. The game's map is divided into 12 main regions and several transition regions, with additional regions added through the Tales from the Far Territory DLC. Survival mode offers five difficulty levels, including pilgrim, voyageur, stalker, interloper, and misery, as well as customizable options. The game's development was funded through a combination of seed financing from the Canada Media Fund and a Kickstarter campaign that raised over C$256,000. Hinterland's approach to early access was to stick to their original vision rather than letting the player community dictate direction. The game sold around 750,000 copies by April 2016. The Long Dark's significance lies in its Canadian identity and its rejection of urban apocalypse tropes, focusing instead on a remote, natural setting. The game's story mode, Wintermute, alternates between the two protagonists as they search for each other after the geomagnetic storm. The Tales from the Far Territory DLC introduced new regions and challenges, along with a Cheat Death mechanic that allows limited resurrection at the cost of increased difficulty.
Did You Know?
- The Long Dark's Kickstarter campaign raised C$256,617, with additional PayPal contributions pushing the total to over C$275,000.
- The game's alpha version was one of the first two launch titles for Microsoft's Game Preview Program on Xbox One in June 2015.
- A film adaptation of The Long Dark was announced in 2017.
- The game's story mode, Wintermute, was originally planned for late 2014 but was delayed multiple times before its release in August 2017.
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