The Long Dark

Hinterland has some big news for their survival game The Long Dark. In an April Dev Diary post, soon-to-be-former Project Lead Raphael van Lierop (he is handing over the reigns to  Katie Sorrell, another Hinterland OG), discussed the game’s long road of development and progression. The Long Dark has truly come a long way since it was originally announced on Kickstarter back in 2013, before getting an early — and admittedly pretty rough — initial release through the Steam Early Access program

The Long Dark has changed quite a bit along its journey, starting off as a sandbox survival game and slowly transforming into basically two distinct game modes once the story-focused campaign eventually surfaced.

As the fifth and final chapter to the Wintermute story looms on the not-too-distant horizon, Hinterland’s promise to deliver free content to the fanbase has been more than fulfilled. And that means they can finally justify asking for more money for future DLC. Although my wording probably makes that prospect sound glib, or perhaps even a bit sinister, I for one am actually quite excited to see what form this DLC might take.

As they get closer to wrapping up the Wintermute campaign, the team at Hinterland is also working hard to effectively separate the two game modes, which are currently very much intertwined. This will hopefully make it easier and more feasible to make significant changes to one mode without either having to then update the other mode or risk breaking it entirely. This gives me hope that the team has plans to focus more on the survival mode, which is the far better experience in my opinion. 

The Long Dark

Unlike really any other game I have played prior, The Long Dark’s take on survival perpetually draws me in and keeps me in its wintery embrace, refusing to let go. And although the game is near the top of my greatest of all time list, there are still areas that could use refining, and a number of possible tweaks or flourishes that could make an already great game even greater. 

“How great can The Long Dark really be?”, you might be asking yourself. I mean, if you are familiar with my contributions to Half-Glass Gaming, you will no doubt by now know my affinity for this game. If this is your first time reading anything that I wrote about The Long Dark, I will simply say that there are games that come along that tick every possible box, and this is one of those rare games for me. Hell, I’ve bought The Long Dark three times now; originally on my PS4, again on PC, and the charmed third time when it released on The Nintendo Switch. And I would have probably bought it on my Xbox, but considering I rarely play on that thing, let alone look to play games in the bedroom where that console is currently stationed, I have yet to pull the trigger on numero quatro. That alone should tell you this game is special to me.

But even though I’ve supported The Long Dark more so than the average player, I absolutely adore this game and will more than likely continue to go back to and enjoy until it is pried from my cold dead hands. I have no doubt that Hinterland will bring meaningful content to the table for a reasonable price.

The Long Dark

Hinterland has done right by its user base over the last almost decade, and I don’t foresee that changing in the future. I only hope that, in addition to adding new items or areas or whatever else this proposed paid DLC will entail, the base game will still continue to receive free updates and quality-of-life tweaks to give players a reason to continue to play and engage in this game and its community, even if they aren’t looking to buy into additional supplemental content.

So, are you interested in paid DLC for The Long Dark? What would you hope to see and how much would you be comfortable paying? Hinterland mentioned the option to buy each DLC piecemeal or in a season pass model, so do you think you will buy in sight unseen or wait to see what’s on offer and only buy the ones that speak to you the most? Feel free to comment below and let’s discuss.

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Steadfast
Steadfast
1 year ago

I was also a big fan, have it since 2014, 1000 hours online and way above that playing it offline but i do not believe they are pricing it at a reasonable price.

So now they separate the game into -Survival- and -Wintermute (incomplete)- plus the new (incomplete) DLC -Tales from the Far Territory- but they put all in the same price level of 19,50€?
And state that the DLC will increase price in 5€ with each update? Making the DLC more expensive then the others or maybe they will also increase their price?

For you to understand why i am speaking of unfair price i paid for The Division 1 (2016) and 2 (2019) in promo for less then 17€.. That was the 2 games total, so less then 9 euros each game..

Why would i pay 19,50€ for an incomplete DLC when i can buy huge newer full games?
And many other wonderful full games from after 2014 that are that price or much much cheaper?
I am still waiting for Wintermute final episode. Almost 10 years.
I would have supported them if the price was really fair but it just felt extortion when they changed all prices into that level for a 2014 game.. I think the success went into their heads and they became delusional and greedy.

If you have the money to spare or throw away go ahead but if you have to think twice in what is more worth to buy would you not choose one or two full games then pay for an incomplete DLC from an older game? For that price?

And yes, i do love The Long Dark, but i am not blind or like to feel someone is taking advantage of me just because i am a fan and i love the game…

Last edited 1 year ago by Steadfast
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