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The Long Dark

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.

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Guides for The Long Dark

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No guide published yet. We only publish when a game has at least three verifiable sources and three verbatim player quotes. This game is queued for review.

About this game

Developer description

Quoted from the Steam store page. Read the full description

Bright lights flare across the night sky. The wind rages outside the thin walls of your wooden cabin. A wolf howls in the distance. You look at the meager supplies in your pack, and wish for the days before the power mysteriously went out. How much longer will you survive? Welcome to THE LONG DARK, the innovative exploration-survival experience Wired magazine calls "the pinnacle of an entire genre". 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. In THE LONG DARK, you are getting both the genre-defining Survival Mode, honed after years of open development and frequent updates, and the award-winning episodic narrative mode, WINTERMUTE. THE LONG DARK: SURVIVAL MODE brings you the genre-defining Survival Mode, honed after years of open development and frequent updates.…

Player sentiment

What players actually say

All Steam reviews ↗
87%positive · Very Positive
41.2K Steam reviews · Oct 28, 2026
“Early Access Review Ok, I am in and alive for 13 days - my best game so far. I've finally made a good start. I started slowly. Gathered supplies from the coastal area, made an empty home my safehouse. Hell, I had a fridge with 40Kg of food. I had so much food I was forced to stuff Chocolate Bars and Coo…”
PaulGR

39.6h played · 3.3K helpful

Steam ↗
“I'm past my mid-seventies and whilst not very good at this or have played for long I'm just love the 'feel' of it and get immersed it as it's so real. Certainly a great way to keep my mind engaged and active. I would recommend the Long Dark to any older person like myself - it's so god.”
barrieb

186h played · 291 helpful

Steam ↗
“Early Access Review At first I was only interested for the story mode to come, but then friends kept bugging me about how amazing the sandbox was, I wasn't biting it, it's just a survival mode in which you know you WILL die, looks like a fancy score based game to me, compare inches of ♥♥♥♥ by how long you c…”
Kain

102h played · 598 helpful

Steam ↗
“A survival game... without ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ zombies. Because mother nature doesn't need monsters to be dangerous. I need more games like this.”
fairfaxians

66.6h played · 801 helpful

Steam ↗

Quotes are copied word for word and linked to the original review. We never paraphrase a player and present it as their words.

Media

Screenshots

The Long Dark screenshotThe Long Dark screenshotThe Long Dark screenshotThe Long Dark screenshotThe Long Dark screenshotThe Long Dark screenshot

Images: Hinterland Studio Inc. via Steam, shown for editorial coverage.

The Long Dark -- Episode Five: THE LIGHT AT THE END OF ALL THINGS -- Launch Trailer

Streamed via HLS from Steam · opens the store page

TALES FROM THE FAR TERRITORY -- Parts One to Six Recap

Streamed via HLS from Steam · opens the store page

Specs

System requirements

Published by the developer on Steam. Not our own benchmark.

minimum

Minimum:
  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 10
  • Processor: Dual-Core Intel i5 CPU @ 2GHz+
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Intel 4xxx Series w/ 512MB VRAM or better
  • Storage: 7 GB available space
  • Sound Card: Any on-board chip will work.

recommended

Recommended:
  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 10
  • Processor: Intel i7 CPU @ 2.6GHz or higher
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: nVidia GTX 555 w/ 1GB VRAM or better
  • Storage: 7 GB available space
  • Sound Card: Ideally, something with Surround capabilities.

FAQ

Common questions

When was The Long Dark released?＋

Steam lists the release date as Aug 1, 2017.

What platforms is The Long Dark available on?＋

Windows, macOS, Linux

How is The Long Dark reviewed on Steam?＋

Very Positive — 87% of 41.2K steam reviews are positive, captured Oct 28, 2026.