Survival games are without a doubt some of the most stressful types of video games out there, and The Long Dark may just take the cake. Players are dropped in the middle of the Canadian Wilderness with their only goal being to survive as long as physically possible. There is no end goal here and definitely, no way to escape, players just must continue playing until they eventually die.
This makes for an extremely stressful yet deeply rewarding experience for players though. Making it through the first few days in The Long Dark is a huge accomplishment, and learning the intricacies of survival in this game is a lot of fun. In order to do well though players need to be able to know how to explore their environment and navigate the many dangers that will be presented by the world around them. This guide gives some tips and tricks for surviving in The Long Dark.
The Long Dark - A Beginner's Survival Guide
Set Up A Home Base - The very first thing that players will need to do in this game is find a place to set up a temporary home base. It can be incredibly stressful to navigate the world right after being dropped into it, so players will want to find somewhere to launch expeditions from. If there is a nearby cave with only one entrance or an old building then the player will want to go there. This will allow them to get out of the elements and warm the whole area up with a fire.
Fires Will Save Your Life - The next big point to keep in mind during this game is that fire is probably the most important thing imaginable. It is always cold in The Long Dark, but once the sun goes down the temperature drops to a ridiculous degree. Without a good fire to sit by the player will quickly die from hypothermia. On top of this though fires are also useful for other things as well. The player can use them to boil water and make it drinkable as well as cook food or create medicines to ward off infections.
Explore Towns Whenever Possible - In the early moments of the game players will want to fully explore any towns they come across. This is because any houses, shops, and cars in the area will be full of several types of resources that the player can use for their survival. Players will be able to go through kitchens and freezers to discover canned foods and meat, open up the backs of toilets in order to have access to clean water, and even break apart things like chairs to use as wood in fires. On top of this players may also find tools like hatchets and knives that will be useful for completing certain actions in the world.
Manage Time Wisely - One of the biggest mistakes that a player can make while playing The Long Dark is standing around doing nothing while they wait to warm up by a fire. Time is a very prominent resource in this game, and so while standing by a fire players should instead use that time to cook food, make drinkable water, or craft other items that will be useful during the player's journey. This will ensure that the player is almost always double tasking, which is necessary to survive.
Don't Stress About Food - When the player's hunger status bar completely runs out they may get a little worried that they may die very quickly. The thing to keep in mind though is that the hunger effect is the one that players should worry least about. Even once the bar is at zero it so slowly drains the player's health that they can actually survive several in-game days before dying from a lack of food. This means that if the player is hungry but suffering from another status effect then they should focus on the other one first.
Only Travel With The Essentials - It is a very good idea to only travel around with essential materials at any given time. This is because the more inventory space that is taken up the slower the player will move and the more prone to injury they will be. On top of this carrying around things like food is a bad idea because it will attract animals to the player's location. Everything except for a small amount of water, a snack, and important tools should be left at the home base unless leaving it permanently.
Avoid Predatory Animals Whenever Possible - Unless the player is heavily armed and very experienced at the game they should one hundred percent avoid any and all predatory animals that they encounter. Wolves and Bears are both extremely dangerous creatures that will quickly decimate any players that get in their path. Anytime that a player sees these creatures they should either go around them or find a way to distract them. Hunting them really isn't worth the effort or risk.
Know Your Status Conditions and Afflictions - There are a huge amount of status conditions and afflictions that players can suffer from throughout The Long Dark, and it is incredibly important that players know what these conditions can mean for them. For example, when being out in the cold will cause players to receive the freezing status condition. If the player does not go inside or start a fire they will eventually be afflicted with Hypothermia or Frostbite which impact their health negatively. Not paying attention to these things is a surefire way to get killed.
The Silent Killer is Lack of Sleep - While cold or lack of water are more obvious and overt killers in The Long Dark, probably the most dangerous problem that players will encounter during their journey is forgetting to sleep. If the player does not sleep when they need to they will eventually become exhausted and their health will start dropping very fast. The issue though is that you can't just sleep anywhere you want and doing so when other conditions are low is a recipe for disaster. The best thing for players to do is try and look for beds inside houses to sleep inside, and if that is not possible they should make sure that they have a hot fire going. On top of this they should also make sure they aren't starving or particularly thirsty before going to sleep.
Exhaust All Scavengable Resources Before Crafting More - The final piece of advice that players should keep in mind during the course of The Long Dark is that they shouldn't just start immediately cooking food or making drinkable water at fires unless they are desperate. Instead it is a better idea to go to use up all of the prepackaged and already drinkable water that players are able to find inside houses and other shelters. This is because players won't have to waste their time hunting and sitting around fires and can instead focus on scavenging and exploring the world around them.
The Long Dark can be played on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.