The open world first-person survival simulation game The Long Dark has just revealed several new locations in their story mode update. First released for through Steam Early Access as an alpha version back on September 2014, Canadian studio Hinterland has been developing and updating it ever since. One of the additions developers promised to release was the Story Mode edition, which was scheduled to launch way back in 2014, after the alpha version came out. But developers weren’t ready t release it just yet, so they pushed it back to the end of 2015. Yet again, they delayed it to spring of 2016, and when spring came, they delayed it and it’s now TBA. According to PCgamer, this is partly due to developers trying to live up to player’s expectations.
Many of the exterior updates – like more detailed rocks, better grass, trees, etc. – will be gradually released in Sandbox updates, most of the interiors – places like the Carter Dam, the Camp Office, Pleasant Valley Farm, etc. – have been updated with much more detailed interiors. Those interiors will be released when we launch Story Mode, so even the fans who are a lot more focused on Sandbox will get something new to enjoy.
In The Long Dark players assume the role of a pilot who’s crash-landed on his plane on the frigid Canadian Wilderness. The global disaster that plagues the world outside is only the beginning of your worries as you struggle to stay alive for as long as possible. That includes utilizing all the resources you can get your hands on within the wild: food, water, firewood; weapons, clothes, and medicine are difficult to come by but extremely necessary.
Will you journey your way the dense wilderness alone you ask? Well this is where the new Story Mode update kicks in, adding a “story” to the game. Two characters, Will Mackenzie, bush pilot, and Astrid Greenwood. Players can alternate between the two, viewing the story from the perspective of either one. This does not, however, mean the end of The Long Dark Sandbox. Raphael Van Lierop, the studio’s founder, stated that Sandbox offers too rich of an experience for them to end it. They plan to continue to update it but their main focus as of now is to finish Story Mode. Below is a teaser trailer Hinterlands released at the end of last year:
The team behind the game’s development at Hinterland has announced two new locations, one of which is completely finished and the other, as a result of minor changes to the game for story and missions, is not yet completed. According to their forum posted online, one of the new regions will set the tone for what the world looked like before the global disaster – simply known as “the event” – took place. They’re also adding new clothing, improved first-person presence, and the Aurora, which is hinted at below:
Episode One of Story Mode is apparently out to play but it’s still being play tested for fine tuning before it’s launched for imminent release.