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

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.

Developer
Hinterland Studio Inc.
Publisher
Hinterland Studio Inc.
Franchise
—
Release date
Aug 1, 2017
Store page updated
Jul 30, 2026
Price
$19.99 · Steam store ↗

Review Analysis Score

54.5/ 100

Based on 442 reviews from the past 1 year

Steam User Rating
Recent 🙂 Mostly Positive 79% of 537
All time 😄 Very Positive 89% of 123,798
“played endlessly, cried from joy, exactly as fun as imagined, highly recommended”
我还记得第一次看见这款游戏是刚读本科的时候，那会就是不停的看b站各大主播完这个游戏。可能我看这个游戏的时长，已经超过一千多个小时了。那个时候配得感很低，好像自己不值得买一个真的喜欢的游戏，身边的人也很优秀，和大家一起卷绩点卷科研，后面连steam都没打开过了。晚上就是看着主播们的小卖部，把一个个瓶瓶罐罐的摆好，觉得很羡慕。 去年借了点钱出来留学，读完硕士之后，在等phd的offer。太煎熬了，真的太煎熬了，实在是想找点东西排解一下，突然就看到了这个在愿望清单里躺了好几年好几年的游戏，正好打折，就35块。平时会干点兼职，英文授课留学生们，赚的也挺多，平时花钱也很大手大脚。就是不知道为什么，这个35块我像是神经病一样要纠结那么久。那会好像不是在问自己有没有35块，而是在问自己真的能买一个自己确实很喜欢的游戏吗，在当下的境况里，我能够把自己沉浸在这个游戏里不去听外界的声音吗。总之是买了，一直玩，没日没夜的玩。在玩的过程中，phd的offer也下来了，拿到了奖学金，我现在也是海外top学校里面有名字的phd了。其实现在回想起来，还是不明白当时的自己为什么就是不愿给自己买真的能开心很久的东西。感觉如果再做一次决定的话，说不定还是要纠结很久，但我最后肯定会买的。 评价一个这个游戏吧。跟我想象中的一样好玩。我不看网上的地图，没有用mod，就这样到处跑地图，耐心一点真的非常好玩。刚开始看到场景的时

How it holds up

−50+5
Gameplay
-0.35
Difficulty +1.45
“world understanding and knowledge-based survival creates satisfying challenge and growth” (18)
[h1]サバイバルクラフトのある種の終着点「進歩すると退化する」[/h1] 多くのサバイバルクラフト系のゲームは、斧→弓→銃→農場→自動化→大量生産…というような進歩史を前提にしていると思う。 裸同然から始まったプレイヤーがいつしか大農場と弾薬工場に囲まれて最強へと成り上がり、みたいな。 [h2]しかしTheLongDarkは違う。[/h2] プレイヤーは農場の主ではなく工場長でもなく国家の首長でもなくひとりのサバイバーに過ぎない。 銃や弾丸は強力だが有限、擦り切れてなくなるようなもの。 缶詰を漁った廃墟の棚に再び食べ物を入れてくれる人はいない。 そしていつか廃墟漁りは終わり、銃を置き、弓を取り、罠をはり、天候を読む。 [b]ゲームが最終盤になると本物のサバイバーとして原始回帰していくのはサバイバルクラフトとしては非常に稀有な存在だと思う。[/b] そして圧倒的な自然の厳しさのなかで生きていくには防寒具の分厚さだけでなく知識が重要だと思い知らされる。はじめは空腹や凍傷でどうしようもないが、吹雪のときはどうするべきかや天気が良いうちに何をすべきかが少しずつ体に染みついてきて世界を理解していく感覚があり、「今日は無理をせず嵐をやり過ごせた」という何もなかった１日さえ成功体験として記憶に残る。 [b]物で満たされることではなく世界を理解して賢くしぶとくなることがこのゲームの成長要素。[/

🔒 5 more indicators

Story & World
-0.39
Story -2.75
“nonsensical ending and one of the worst stories ever” (143)

🔒 2 more indicators

Content Volume
+0.63
Variety -2.25
“eventually becomes boring as environment is too comfortable” (16)

🔒 2 more indicators

Visuals & Sound
+2.76
Visuals +2.45
“beautiful art style and enjoyable story mechanics” (17)

🔒 1 more indicators

Multiplayer
-1.32

Not enough data — only 7% of reviews mention this.

Community -2.18

🔒 1 more indicators

Fairness
-2.31
Monetization -1.32

🔒 3 more indicators

Tech & Ops
-2.49
Developer support -2.74
“missed deadlines, delays, overpromises, and poor communication for over a decade” (50)

🔒 3 more indicators

Scores are the average of reviews that mention each category (−5 to +5). Fainter bars were mentioned by fewer reviews; grey means too few to trust. Tap a category ▾ to see what drives it.

Steam review activity

% positive over time
since launch, by month · major update DLC
50%60%70%80%90%100%
Sep 2014Sep 2026
Reviews
per day · 523 reviews, peak 26/day
02550
Aug 19Sep 16

Steam only gives daily counts for the last 30 days; longer ranges are by month. Months with fewer than 10 reviews are left out of % positive. "Show updates" marks major updates and DLC the developer posted on Steam (since about 2020) — hover a column to see % positive the month before and after.

Review languages

Languages of the 441 reviews we analyzed from the past year — not all Steam reviews.

  • English36%
  • Russian25%
  • Chinese15%
  • Turkish5%
  • Spanish4%
  • Portuguese4%
  • Other11%

🔒 Scores broken down by language — how Russian or Chinese players rate each category — are in the paid dashboard.

Recommended games

Games players rate highly for
Tech & Ops
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All 25 indicators, 3-month and 6-month trends, and per-language breakdowns — in the dashboard.

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