The Long Dark

Episode 4 was genuinely some of the worst story gameplay I've ever had to slog through. Besides being narratively all over the place, obsessing over one character who they are gassing up to be hitler, and STILL NOT EXPLAINING ANY STORY, the actual gameplay is just so horrifically bad it felt like a chore to beat it. I really enjoyed the first three episodes since it gave you actual freedom to roam and explore mechanics of the game, but here comes chapter 4 with 8 canyons forcing you to take a bridge and stay on the path marked on the maps otherwise have fun either save scumming or finding the mountaineering ropes that are randomly placed on the map. If I wanted to sit around and get ♥♥♥♥ on for what felt like 30 hours I would just tell someone to step on my balls with stilettos and be done with it. I think the devs and writers took inspiration from the worst part of chapter 3 (plane section) and decided to base the entirety of chapter 4 around it and it really shows. I can't imagine that the survival mode is any better either as surviving in the story was not difficult whatsoever.

last chapter is a garbage. developers wasted years for ♥♥♥♥♥♥ locations. geolocation sucks. if you stay on the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ rock it's a fragile ice, fcking unskipable cutscenes, scripted bear. Try to play your own game. I wish I could refund. You were in early access for years and still it feels like you don't event know how physics works.

I played Survival mode and Wintermute chapters 1-4 with enjoyment. Difficult, but a good, challenging survival game. The story made it feel more real and gave surviving purpose. I was looking forward to the Long Dark 2.0 which had been announced by the time I finished chapter 4 and I was chomping at the bit for chapter 5. Then Chapter 5 came out after a long wait. I've never been so bored and annoyed at the same time. Ridiculous dialog and story beats... so bad it was comical, from "we need to split up" at a time where working together would be essential to "let's stand out in the open and discuss it while people are shooting at us". Boring, trivial game mechanics - turning on lights, cranking wheels, and little else. Not being able to rest up before the next big thing which requires rest because no beds are usable. Inventory resetting between sections - end a section fully equipped, start the next one without a weapon. Losing hours of progress loading an old save because you don't realize you've done something irreversibly out of order until it's too late. The 30-minute lore dump near the end broke my spirit. I only continued out of pride and stubbornness. This is what happens when you move your best folks to the new project and let the interns and new-hires finish up the previous one without adult supervision.

Maybe I don't understand this but I played it for 3 hours it was extremely bored. It's like a walking simulator mixed with open world hardcore survival and it's as horrible as that sounds

The game tries to be realistic, but fails for several reasons; 1. The resource management/survival elements are completely out of whack - ◦ The human body can go up to 72 hours without water, but your character’s thirst meter depletes **way** faster than that. ◦ The human body can survive much longer without food, albeit it varies significantly depending on the conditions. This depletes almost just as fast as your thirst meter. 2. The world is weirdly barren, even places like the towns that used to have people. If everyone died suddenly, there should be way more food, weapons, clothing, and other resources, but nearly every building is empty except for the occasional can of soup or box of matches. 3. The lack of weapons. Look, I know this takes place in Canada, but surveys indicate about 37.3% of small-town residents owning firearms. The game only has 4 weapons, one of which is a spear you have to make & has a crappy mini game attached to it, and the other is a flare gun which is completely optional. Meanwhile there are several items that should be able to be used as weapons, like the hatchet, but you just… can’t. 4. Literally the entire plot of Wintermute. If you want to have a game be difficult because you’re claiming it’s “realistic”, don’t have the entire reason why it’s difficult be because of some supernatural force or whatever.

So this is a split decision. I've spent hundreds of hours in the survival mode and played since Early Access. I don't think the game even has all my actual hours logged. I love the survival mode, it's got a great vibe to it and they've continually added a LOT to it for years. The price is worth the survival mode alone. The story mode, on the other hand, ended up being a huge idiotic waste of time. The final episode just blows the whole effort. Putting aside the many and significant flaws, like the rules on the wildlife being changed to force conflict and the VERY linear experience, the story conclusion is flatly horrible. Without getting into spoilers, the devs nonsensically retconned in a pile of hostiles to force a truly terrible narrative conclusion that makes flatly no sense whatsoever. Even worse, there are multiple instances in the cutscenes where characters ignore all common sense possible in order to force the narrative to have conflicts down the road. It's wild that I've waited years for this story to finish only to yell at the ending cutscene multiple times for characters not doing the obvious or making the most insane ridiculous decisions possible. Buying this for just the survival mode is worth it. But unfortunately, just don't waste your time on the Story mode. The ending sours the entire experience, and the experience has plenty of rough spots as well.

Leaving negative review for the story mode. The most incoherent and stupid, cheesy and predictable story. Game making you work for equipment only to take all away five minutes later. The writer should be fired for such crappy writing, but I guess you cant really fire ChatGPT. Survival mode is still dope though.

12 years for this? Episode 5 has got to be some of the worst storytelling I have every experienced. The voice acting, choreography, or action in the latest season was so bad I thought a sweatshop worker wrote it. Astrid is completely insufferable "oh i LOVE you MACKENZIE"!!! (divorced after kid died omegalul) I didn't bother to loot basically anything the last episode, and I'm glad I didn't, because your loot is reset actually 5 times. Episodes 1-3, pretty darned good, 4 and 5 are a joke. Canadian tax dollars for this btw.

很无聊，玩起来最晕最无法忍受的一款3d游戏。冰原本来内容物就少，主角还虚跑几步就喘气，玩法也是收集消耗收集消耗重复重复再重复，画风粗糙幼稚体现不出什么孤独感，探索热情就这样被消耗，越玩越感觉在浪费时间。

I highly recommend the survival mode and the first three seasons of the campaign (Wintermute). Because I disliked the fifth season's story so much I'm going to say spoilers. I really want to recommend this game but the fourth and fifth (finale) seasons are so very poorly written and downright stupid at times in the cutscenes and decision making of the characters (especially their handling of the game's villain, Mathis and his cringe henchman). MacKenzie has SO MANY opportunities to save the innocent people of Great Bear from horrible deaths, torture, and destruction by justifiably killing Mathis and his henchmen (a homicidal, diabolical prisoner who takes over a penitentiary and gleefully burns down a schoolhouse full of innocent men, women, and children). Even some of the other "good" characters have this opportunity, but the game creators are removed so far from the reality of what has to be done in a world where justice now relies on the ability of good men who must commit deadly violence on those who would kill the innocent. The ending was the final nail in the coffin that left me annoyed. Mackenzie joins the bad guys' gang after a stupid scene where the guys demand a place in the bunker. To save the others (who were armed and easily could've killed Mathis yet again), MacKenzie tells them to close the doors (which they do) and Mathis, who was intent on killing MacKenzie if he didn't get his way, then decides "you're part of my gang now" and Mackenzie just accepts that.....wut? Gameplay itself is great, the various survival modes are SUPER FUN and engaging loose storylines, the brutal unforgiving force of nature makes a great challenge, the artwork of the game is downright amazing, awesome soundtrack that breathes so much life into the game, amazing voice actors who did incredibly well with a terrible script, resource gathering and crafting gives me goals to work toward, the amount of terrain to explore is immense, and I love those serene moments of sitting next to campfire under the Aurora Sky. If you play don't bother with the main story and you'll love everything else about this game.