The Long Dark

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
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  1. COGconnected
    Aug 16, 2017
    90
    Using time as an enemy in such an ingenious fashion only makes the game more fun and the challenge more dangerous, and I can’t get enough of it.
  2. Vgames
    Sep 10, 2017
    87
    The Long Dark is a beautiful game that brings an almost perfect mix of gameplay, sound and design. The survival aspect of the game is one, if not the most advance there is today in any game. The first two episode of the first season does not attract the player so much, but they show the potential in the future episodes. In The Long Dark you get an unique player experience that give you many moments of frustration and satisfaction, and epic personal survival stories. The Long Dark gives you the survival experience that you won't get anywhere else.
  3. PSX Extreme
    Sep 13, 2017
    85
    The Long Dark is a satisfying experience of survival that is both realistic and has good game mechanics. It’s very unforgiving and can be frustrating but gets better the longer you play and learn.
  5. God is a Geek
    Aug 16, 2017
    85
    In a genre which is suffocating, The Long Dark stands out among the crowd as perhaps the best. Brutal, unforgiving survival wrapped up in a very plausible scenario where beauty kills.
  6. CGMagazine
    Sep 24, 2017
    80
    The Long Dark is the perfect survival game for Canadian kids who grew up with frozen toes and winter camping.
  7. Everyeye.it
    Sep 14, 2017
    80
    The interactive and digital representation of an extraordinary ecosystem and of the decisive cultural and historical value that the authors wanted to allow all to explore, satisfying our playful and interactive needs, but always obliging us to live it deeply, with the dignity it deserves.
  8. PlaySense
    Aug 25, 2017
    80
    Technically, The Long Dark isn't exactly flawless, but what's here is done well enough to keep armchair adventurers busy for a long time to come.
  9. PlayStation Universe
    Aug 7, 2017
    80
    The Long Dark is a shot in the arm for the survival game. The story mode is a decent addition, adding some mystique to the cold wilds, yet it currently doesn’t trump the personal stories you create outside of it in survival mode, where joy, hope, dread, terror, and despair come in unpredictable waves. The game’s harsh, grounded style will divide opinion, but it truly feels like a fresh perspective that incorporates the risks and rewards of survival and exploration.
  10. Push Square
    Aug 4, 2017
    80
    The Long Dark is a strong survival title, possibly even the strongest of the entire genre. A beautiful but dangerous Canadian wilderness provides the backdrop to a challenging but largely satisfying fight for survival. While micromanaging every facet of your well-being while trying to survive might sound tedious in description, it actually ends up being fun, satisfying, and even tense. With three more episodes to come for this title's story mode, there's already tons of content to chow down on. Just watch out for the wolves.
  11. 4P.de
    Aug 18, 2017
    78
    In its best moments The Long Dark makes you think of the tragic moments of lonesome wanderers best described by Jack London’s Stories of the North. But in its worst you curse at the incoherent direction. In free or challenge modes though, you’ll find a decent survival adventure.
  12. Game Informer
    Aug 14, 2017
    73
    With its stellar survival mechanics, The Long Dark makes for a brutal experience that requires patience and micromanaging to fully appreciate. However, it’s brought down by some bugs and a story mode that leaves much to be desired. It’s nonetheless a satisfying test of survival in a gorgeous setting – as long as you can brave the frigid cold.
  13. Metro GameCentral
    Aug 14, 2017
    70
    A pleasingly complex and realistic survival simulator, accompanied by a story mode that so far fails to be anywhere near as compelling.
  14. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Aug 4, 2017
    65
    If it sounds as if I’m overly frustrated with The Long Dark, it’s because I am. The sheer number of times that it hints at being a special game that entirely dominates every single survival-based title that has come before it is staggering. But for every one of those times, there’s another time where it’s broken, bugged, or just plain poorly thought-out.
  15. PlayStation Country
    Aug 13, 2017
    60
    The Long Dark manages to fine-tune its survival aspects over a long development into something very compelling. With some great audio and visual work, the basic act of living alone out in a frigid, desolate landscape becomes an intriguing undertaking. I'm saddened the new narrative content falls flat, though. The pacing feels inconsistent with the objectives devolving into an elongated, brutal fetch quest. I'm growing into it but the real fun is in the sandbox rather than the tailor-made adventure.
  16. TheSixthAxis
    Aug 9, 2017
    60
    I really, really, wanted to love The Long Dark, but a myriad of poor design choices and bugs teamed with a complete lack of instruction made it one of the most frustrating games I have ever played.
  17. GameCritics
    Aug 8, 2017
    60
    I’ve been passionate about the development of The Long Dark since its announcement in 2013, and when it works, it’s at the absolute top of the hardcore survival genre. The world is expansive and detailed, demanding to be explored. Mastering the systems provides concrete rewards, truly giving players the sense that they’re learning to survive, and becoming more successful because of it. It’s too bad that the game is so unstable at the moment — when it’s actually finished, The Long Dark will probably be an incredible survival experience. Right now on the PS4? It’s too buggy and hostile to recommend.

Awards & Rankings

96
#96 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017

User Reviews

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User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 84 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 48 out of 84
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 84
  3. Negative: 21 out of 84
  1. OneUpGames
    Aug 4, 2017
    2
    I will begin my saying that sandbox is one of the best gaming experiences I've had, but story mode undoes everything that was great about TheI will begin my saying that sandbox is one of the best gaming experiences I've had, but story mode undoes everything that was great about The Long Dark. Where to begin? This title was delayed for years as the developers promised a unique experience and story like nothing we've seen before. What we received is bland and unoriginal. There are no new ideas in this story, just a lot of rehashed ideas all very poorly executed.

    Do you like meaningless fetch quests with questionable character motivation? Then this is the game for you.
    Do you like experiencing AI out of a game from 2001? Then this is for you.

    Yes they are a small developer, but this is one of the worst executed stories I've ever seen in a game. It isn't worth a second of your time.

    I haven't touched on the technical problems, and there are many. This game crashed on me 16 times in two days. It keeps crashing after patches! Was this rushed out as an unfinished product even after years of delays? Must've been, unless the developers are just that incompetent. There's a litany of other bugs to discuss, but there are so many it's unbelievable. Games usually launch with a few issues that need to be fixed but nearly every aspect of this game is broken.

    I'm shocked, appalled, and very sad about a game with so much potential that became so underwhelming.    … Full Review »
  2. MarsCorialanus
    Oct 18, 2017
    10
    Wow. I loved this game. I had no idea about it, but saw it in the Playstation store one morning, and decided to download it. I was hookedWow. I loved this game. I had no idea about it, but saw it in the Playstation store one morning, and decided to download it. I was hooked immediately. I spent two hours playing survival mode before I was killed by a pack of wolves. I ended up showing it to all my friends, giving them each a shot in the game. My brother loved it, and, I think he's still alive to this day in his play through. Admittedly I have not played the story yet, just been having fun in the survival mode, competing with friends to see who can outlast who.
    As a Canadian, I also feel quite proud playing the game. When you wade through a blizzard, freezing in the middle of the night (again game time) and you just see that maple leaf waving in the wind... its strangely inspiring. Its not very often I get to see my home in video games.
    Anyway, I thought the game was really thoughtfully done. The survival mode feels huge. You can find entrances and exits to other maps, so there is a profound sense of exploration. Go grab it! Its not even that expensive.    … Full Review »
  3. SuperkenGaming
    Aug 1, 2017
    6
    The Long Dark
    Fun until it breaks
    Your plane crashes and you’re in Canada The snows falling, there’s flames everywhere, you need shelter    The Long Dark
    Fun until it breaks
    Your plane crashes and you’re in Canada
    The snows falling, there’s flames everywhere, you need shelter from the storm and need to prepare as you set out to find your lady Anna who was in the crash with you
    This is a survival based game and a story mode that is set to have 5 episode from both of these characters perspectives..
    Strangely enough though this game has a platinum trophy and no trophies for the 3 missing episodes...
    You’ve got about 8 hours of story with Will in the first 2 with the remaining to be released later as I’m guessing dlc...
    The Long Dark took me a while to get an understanding of what exactly to do as it has probably one of the worst tutorials I’ve ever played through..
    you sort of have to mash buttons to figure out what button does what unless you pull up a manual like its 2002
    The game also doesn’t really walk you through how to use its systems, for example it tells you fire melts snow..
    Thanks for that… I would’ve never known
    but it doesn’t tell you you don’t have to actually collect snow so I wasted a good amount of time looking for something to collect snow with... I went to google and thankfully I’m not alone in this...
    So a lack of a proper tutorial is definitely an issue...
    but after messing around with everything and understanding the game I really started having a lot of fun with this misison based story mode, gathering materials for fire, fetch questing for information,, swapping out my old duds for new fresh gear, making sure I had food, water and medicine incase I got hurt..
    The game starts with a very linear feel as it teaches you the basics of surviving, but eventually opens up into a larger map...
    and this is when surviving gets more challenging as youre dealing with dangerous wild life like wolves and later a bear
    Wolves here are probably the most annoying thing about this game..
    Food is the hardest thing to come by, luckily you’re able to stun bunnies and cringe while you snap their necks for food, but you’re also able to take the meat from freshly killed deer or wolves, 99% of the time though those bodies will have wolves on them that will attack you and will injure you to a point that you might as well just let them kill you and restart from a check point trying your best to avoid them..
    Even though they’ll randomly just attack you as you leave a building sometimes...
    They can be scared by fire...
    but encounters with them are stil lalways terrifying because they pose a real threat, I found them to be just a little too frequent though, I never really caught a break when it came to food besides the occasional food on shelves in the multiple houses youll come across..
    Which brings me to my biggest issue with this game...
    Crashes...
    The PlayStation 4 version of this game has a 50% chance of crashing every single time you leave a building...
    I counted 14 crashes just from the first episode alone…
    One crash actually stopped me from playing the game completely while in episode 2…
    After finishing episode 1,, watching the credits, I continue my game to play episode 2, the game crashes while it loads, I retry, this time the game freezes,,,
    When I reloaded the game my save was gone.. The game still knew I’ve completed episode 1...
    But everything I collected from that play through was gone...
    I didn’t fine it too much of a big deal having to recollect supplies...
    until about 30 minutes into this episode when I realized all of my tools for collecting essential materials are gone too..
    The game has no fail saves for potential problems like this...
    Outside of the story mode there is a straight up survival mode where you see how long you can last in one of 7 maps if youre into that sort of thing as well as challenges such as making it to a location without dying after just being attacked by a bear..
    I personally enjoyed this game the most delivered through its story mode...
    it’s just a shame its bugs stopped that enjoyment...
    The Long Dark is a really good, really fun, and really solid survival game…
    But id hold out on the game to actually be finished and patched before picking it up...
    Without its current problems I would score this game higher, but in its current state
    I Give the Long Dark
    a 6/10    … Full Review »
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