The Long Dark ▶ Trailer
The Long Dark screenshot 1The Long Dark screenshot 2
AdventureIndieSimulationStrategySurvivalOpen World Survival CraftOpen WorldExplorationAtmospheric

4,002 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 5,162

Peak in the last 7 days: 6,787

The Long Dark Steam store

Game description

THE LONG DARK is a thoughtful, exploration-survival experience that challenges solo players to think for themselves as they explore an expansive frozen wilderness in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. There are no zombies -- only you, the cold, and all the threats Mother Nature can muster.

Basic info

DeveloperHinterland Studio Inc.
PublisherHinterland Studio Inc.
PlatformsWindows · macOS · Linux
Steam DeckVerified
Release dateAug 1, 2017
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows 10
ProcessorDual-Core Intel i5 CPU @ 2GHz+
Memory4 GB
GraphicsIntel 4xxx Series w/ 512MB VRAM or better
Storage7 GB
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Review Analysis Score

Based on 442 reviews from the past 1 year

71.7/ 100
Bottom 30%

Steam rating: Very Positive (89%)

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 21, 2026)

Surviving alone in a frozen wilderness is the draw of The Long Dark, which scores 71.7 from 442 analyzed reviews.

👍 Strengths

119 reviews praise the world and its immersive atmosphere, and some single out the art style, the music and the sense of solitude. 67 enjoy it deeply, and some have kept playing survival mode for years. 18 value the hard, knowledge based challenge, and some say learning the world makes each survival feel earned. Gameplay ranks 436th of 1396, and Visuals & Sound ranks 492nd of 1249.

👎 Where it falls short

Story & World ranks 922nd of 1096. 143 reviews criticize the story mode, and some call the final episode nonsensical, poorly written and unsatisfying. 50 fault developer support, and some cite years of delays, missed deadlines and poor communication. 40 report bugs, and some hit game breaking glitches in the final episode, such as soft locks or falling through the world. Tech & Support ranks 1152nd of 1399. Others still recommend survival mode while warning players to skip the story.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“the atmosphere and art style are one of the most immersive survival experiences” · 119 reviews
“played endlessly, cried from joy, exactly as fun as imagined, highly recommended” · 67 reviews
“world understanding and knowledge-based survival creates satisfying challenge and growth” · 18 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 57% of reviews · Top 40% of the games we've analyzed

Difficulty +2.24 · How hard it is, how the challenge ramps, and whether it feels fair
Positive “world understanding and knowledge-based survival creates satisfying challenge and growth” · 18 reviews
Negative “higher difficulties like Interloper and Stalker feel unfair and punishing with excessive debuffs” · 14 reviews

Progression 12% · Onboarding 11% · Freedom 25% · Strategy 13% · Controls & feel 8%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 81% of reviews · Bottom 20% of the games we've analyzed

World +3.85 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is
Positive “the atmosphere and art style are one of the most immersive survival experiences” · 119 reviews
Negative “most immersion-breaking survival game, unrealistic mechanics” · 4 reviews

Story 58% · Characters 15%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 35% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Volume +1.85 · How much there is to play, including endgame, for the price
Positive “200+ hours of atmospheric survival gameplay with excellent ambient design” · 5 reviews
Negative “glaring lack of content outside pure survival mechanics” · 7 reviews

Variety 24% · Replayability 5%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 27% of reviews · Top 40% of the games we've analyzed

Visuals +3.26 · Graphics, art style, and animation
Positive “beautiful art style and enjoyable story mechanics” · 17 reviews

Audio 12%

Playing with others, the community and servers

Not enough data — only 6% of reviews mention this.

Community -1.18 · Who you play with — how many, and how friendly

Playing together 3% · Servers & Connection 0%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 12% of reviews · Bottom 50% of the games we've analyzed

Balance -0.14 · Whether classes, weapons, and builds are evenly matched
Negative “puma is extremely unbalanced and one-shots players unfairly” · 5 reviews

Anti-cheat 0% · Pricing 9% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 35% of reviews · Bottom 20% of the games we've analyzed

Developer support -0.46 · Updates, patches, and how devs respond to players
Negative “missed deadlines, delays, overpromises, and poor communication for over a decade” · 50 reviews
Positive “company worked with me and added accessibility warning” · 7 reviews

Stability 21% · Performance 4%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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