Banter: The Long Dark – Wintermute, an intense and immersive survival journey
Developed and published by Hinterland Studio, The Long Dark is a super immersive and difficult survival game. I personally enjoy any type of survival game, so I found The Long Dark to be quite a treat. What stood out most about it, in particular, were its unique story woven into the survival aspect, the deeply immersive gameplay, and the stunning visuals which contributed greatly to the survival mood of the game.
The story for The Long Dark is episodic, which means they will be releasing more parts, or episodes, in the future. This review is covering the first episode.
STORY
The Long Dark has perhaps the best story I’ve seen in a survival game. In a nutshell, you are a bush pilot who just crashed in a bizarre blizzard and now you must survive and find your missing passenger. The game combines a complex narrative with survival mechanics seamlessly, where normally survival games will focus too heavily on one or the other.
GAMEPLAY
This game is extremely difficult, and that’s a good thing. You have to keep a close eye on your hunger, thirst, temperature, and exhaustion. If any of those gauges drop all the way, you will be punished with a corresponding affliction. For example, if your temperature drops all the way, you will eventually get hypothermia and slowly die. Also, you have to be on a lookout for wolves at all times because they can mess you up. I really enjoyed how intricate the gameplay is. Any mistake you make could be your last, and if you’re playing a survival game would you want it any other way?
VISUALS
I always love to see unique visuals. The Long Dark has all the charm of Firewatch, but on a completely different side of the spectrum. Instead of warm and comforting colors, this game utilizes cold and gloomy colors with occasional splashes of vibrant color. One moment you’re suffocating in a blizzard surrounded by nothing but white; the next, you are staring up at the northern lights with a warm torch in your hand. Good visuals are pretty to look at, great visuals take you to a different world. The Long Dark definitely achieves the latter.
Overall, I’d give the first episode of The Long Dark 5 hammers out of 5. You should definitely check this game out if you want to try a whole new survival experience.
