The Long Dark is an open world ”first-person post-disaster” survival sim, which will release episodically. We’ll deal with ”mature themes” as the US is plunged into darkness.
Apparently some jerk ”geomagnetic super storm” has gone and knocked out the entire tech infrastructure of North America, so it’s up to us to save humanity, I guess.
”In the first season of this episodic series, players experience this grim new reality through the eyes of bush pilot William Mackenzie, isolated with other survivors in the Northern wilderness as a result of the event. Gameplay emphasizes exploration to gather resources and knowledge about the world, while mastering a deep survival simulation to overcome the myriad natural and man-made hazards of the new frontier,” read the release.
”Players will also face difficult moral choices that will affect the outcome of gameplay, story, and ultimately, the course of humanity’s recovery.” It sounds something akin to TV show Revolution, which is basically the world running out of electrical juice. There’s plenty of gaming veterancy now at Hinterland Studio.
Hinterland will be looking to exploit The Long Dark into all sorts of media, with the project supported by the Canada Media Fund. However the biggest financial supporter will be us as they look to Kickstarter from September 16th.
“We want to be part of the incredible crowdfunding revolution, and create a direct relationship with our players,” said van Lierop. “This new model allows us directly engage our community, to expand on our existing resources to help achieve our ultimate vision for the game. Through this additional support, we can add richness to the experience in line with our backer’s expectations, while also maintaining the creative independence that is core to our identity.”
The Long Dark is being designed for PC. A survival sim without zombies!? What a crazy bunch at Hinterland…
Features
◦ Immersive first-person exploration gameplay featuring a stunning, original art style. Players take on the role of franchise protagonist, Will Mackenzie, as he navigates the savage beauty of the Northern Wilderness and faces the hazards of the new “post-digital” frontier.
◦ Be on the lookout for potential supply caches, all the while using survival skills to overcome hazards introduced by harsh weather, wildlife, lack of food and water, other survivors, and the mysterious aurorae that add unpredictability to an already extreme situation.
◦ Deep survival simulation gameplay where every decision matters. Explore a large open world in search of resources, and balance Condition and Willpower against the needs of your daily survival.
◦ Morally challenging scenarios that push players to answer the question: “How far will you go to survive?”. Any survivor you meet in the world can be friend or foe. Will you risk your life to discover what they know and selflessly sacrifice for the common good, or live—and potentially die—by the adage, “might makes right”?
◦ Rich episodic fiction featuring dozens of locations, a cast of memorable characters, and a mature post-disaster storyline inspired by the creative risk-taking seen in many of today’s exciting television series. This isn’t the end of the world, but you can see it from here.
◦ Survival Story mode provides hours of narrative-driven exploration gameplay where you play as Will Mackenzie, struggling to understand what has happened to the world. Survival Sandbox mode provides potentially hundreds of hours of free-form survival gameplay where you push yourself and your skill to last as long as possible in a variety of survival scenarios.
Visit the official Hinterland Studio website for more.
