Survival sim The Long Dark sounds too good to be true

I guess there were more of Us

Is “the long dark” a euphemism for the color grey? Because this new indie game developed by industry vets reads a lot like the surprisingly excellent Liam Neeson film The Grey. Post plane crash, the protagonist must survive the coolly indifferent Pacific Northwest and not be eaten by wolves. That’s just the appetizer. The plane went down in a mystical event that rendered all of our technology useless, so The Long Dark becomes not about survival until rescue, but plain survival.

Simulations require a greater degree of investment and determination on the part of a player than, say, a more scripted linear experience. We’re asking you to think. The Long Dark will not spoon-feed you content. You will have to go out into the world and to a large degree, figure it out. There is no manual. But, our goal is to create a compelling environment to be in so that investing time and energy into the game will return the reward of player mastery and a sense of accomplishment.

This is a lot of high-concept being bandied about in the Kickstarter video, but it’s my kind of high-concept. Add in the fact that the team is comprised of talent that has worked on some of the industry’s biggest games (God of War, Mass Effect, Far Cry 3, League of Legends, etc), I’m willing to expect the team to deliver. We certainly won’t be left in the dark. A recent update delves deeper into the survival sim systems.

The Kickstarter notes, “combat is rare, and highly lethal,” calling The Long Dark “a game of careful exploration.” It seems a bit like The Last of Us with less cinematic flair and no monsters; or, an expanded version of The Grey. I’ve long asked for cool survival games and recent years have been surprisingly good about delivering — I still need to play Sir, You Are Being Hunted. I’m excited about this project. Are you?