The Attic: The Long Dark

LongDark01

Welcome to The Attic, how long can you survive?

The Long Dark is a pretty unique game, and one I have been obsessively playing for days. As of writing this article, it is still in early access on Steam, but don’t let that stop you from purchasing this fantastic game. It is being developed by Hinterland Games (The Long Dark is their first release), and is being financially backed by Steam’s early access system, Canada media fund, and about 7,000 people on a kickstarter page. There are two different modes you can play, but only one is available for now; sandbox. Hinterland’s website states that the story mode will be released near the end of 2015, which I am really looking forward to.

Let me start off by discussing the sandbox mode, as I have about 15 hours of experience with that one. First you get to select what difficulty you want to play with; pilgrim, voyager, and stalker. In pilgrim, the animals (wolves, bears) won’t attack you unless provoked. The weather is a bit easier on you, and you start off with more gear on hand. With voyager, the weather is harsher. Storms are more frequent and the standard temp is much lower. Your character requires more food and water and will fatigue quicker. Now with stalker, the wolves’ attacks are much more brutal, the weather is severely more unforgiving, and while searching huts and cabins you find very little loot. I started my first play through on voyager, and found it a bit too difficult after dying on my first or second day (in-game) so I moved down to pilgrim. I usually hate going to any form of “easy” on a game, but since this felt like a new experience I wanted to focus on getting the hang of it all first before worrying about wolves attacking me all the time. Speaking of wolves attacking… this is a note that they leave you with at the beginning of the game:

As the result of the geomagnetic disaster which servers as part of the fictional foundation of the game, we have taken liberties with the portrayal of wildlife behaviour. This geomagnetic disaster will be explained in the Story mode. We are not attempting to create “realistic” wildlife behaviour in the game. We know that Wolves do not typically attack people.”

Sometimes, even during the day, visibility is cut way down. Seek shelter and warmth anywhere you can!

Sometimes, even during the day, visibility is cut way down. Seek shelter and warmth anywhere you can!

Next, you get to select male or female protagonist. The voices here are both very well known and appreciated by the gaming community: Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale. Or, as they are probably best known: “broshep” and “femshep” in the Mass Effect series. In the sandbox mode you don’t hear them a lot, as there are no other humans to be found. Occasionally, you’ll hear a “I think I could use this” or “what have we here?” when they find goods. They will both be featured more during the story mode, but more on that below…

Lastly, you see a list of the different areas you can go to, but the game makes you start off in Mystery Lake and make your way through each map to get to the next. I have always been a huge fan of sandbox mode for the exploration aspect alone. I love the feeling of going out and having no idea what I’ll find or what kind of dangers I may run into. You must, at all times, think ahead to how much food, water, clothing, logs/tinder for fires, crafting materials, weapons, and first aid items you have on hand. Your backpack is limited to 66 lbs, so you must choose wisely. You are allowed to carry more, but exceeding this limit will greatly slow your character down. While trying to make it from cabin to cabin in a snowstorm where you can barely see, this can be the difference of life or death.

The start menu lets you view your inventory, health, start a fire, use your bedroll to sleep anywhere, and your log of activities

The start menu lets you view your inventory, health, start a fire, use your bedroll to sleep anywhere, and read your log of activities

The reason I wanted to feature The Long Dark in an Attic article is because there is something truly scary about this game. No, it is not horror, and it’s not “scary” in a conventional way. There are no ghosts, monsters or zombies here. However, the first time I almost died, but miraculously lived, was the first time it hit me that this form of survival simulator can be just as scary and nerve-wracking as any survival horror game. Believe me, when a bear decides to charge at you, you will cringe and squeal the same way as when a monster in any horror game comes at you. Fear is fear, and fighting to stay alive each day is terrifying. This is also a great game for anyone that is interested in survival games, but isn’t a fan of horror.

Finding a good spot to settle in as often as possible is key

In The Long Dark, finding a good spot to settle in as often as possible is key

Now onto story mode. One thing I’m really looking forward to is interacting with other survivors. In sandbox, everything you come across is yours for the taking, and there is no one to interact with. Every human you come across is a frozen corpse, and let me tell you… After days of that, you find yourself wanting to befriend a volleyball. But of course, with other survivors comes moral choices. Will you be kind to them or kill them, steal their goods and be on your way? The key question here is: how far will you go to survive?

The story mode will also flesh out your character’s life and current situation. Mark Meer will voice the main protagonist here, William Mackenzie. Will is a pilot whose plane crash lands in the Northern Canadian wilderness and is forced to survive on his own. All he knows is that, just before losing power in his small aircraft, he spotted mysterious lights flashing in the sky. No this isn’t UFOs, but a large-scale geomagnetic anomaly which cuts off all form of electricity in the world around him. I mentioned Jennifer Hale earlier too, but it is not yet confirmed who she will voice in the story mode. I’m personally thinking it may be the love interest of Will Mackenzie, Anna, but we’ll all find out soon enough. The story mode will also feature another heavy-hitter in the VA world: Elias Toufexis (aka Adam Jensen of the Deus Ex series). This actor has been in many, many TV shows and video games, so it really makes me excited to see this game’s story flesh out with such talent behind it.

Enjoy beautiful scenery on one of the rare days that the weather is calm

Enjoy beautiful scenery on one of the rare days that the weather is calm

Created using the Unity engine, The Long Dark is quite beautiful in a unique way. Now, the graphics aren’t anything to write home about, but I have a feeling they’ll kick those up once the game is finished. Personally, I couldn’t care less if they improve or not. The style of the game is one I am really loving, and crisp, lifelike images isn’t something I necessarily need in a game like this. Before you know it, you are so caught up in surviving that you forget the graphics could be better. This is a prime example of a game where content can matter so much more than its beauty.

The Long Dark is currently available on Steam and Xbox. While still in alpha, this game promises to deliver a beautiful experience once it is complete. Hell, I love it now! It is more than worth the $20 it’ll cost you to buy in now.

Stay scared,
Dark Princess

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