The Long Dark

First-person survival sandbox against cold, hunger, and wildlife

Hinterland Studio Inc. · Released Aug 1, 2017

Reviews: Very Positive; 89% of 124K
Recent reviews: Mostly Positive; 79% of 556 in 30 days
Playing now: 1,894; right now
Steam Deck: Verified
Last update: 5 months ago; Apr 23, 2026

What is The Long Dark?

The Long Dark is a first-person, single-player survival game set in the frozen Northern Canadian wilderness after a geomagnetic disaster. Its open-world Survival Mode has you explore, scavenge, craft, and manage hunger, thirst, fatigue, and cold, with your save deleted on death. A separate narrative mode, WINTERMUTE, tells an episodic story.

For you if...

+you prefer slow, methodical survival and careful resource planning
+you enjoy quiet exploration in an isolated winter setting
+you want a permadeath sandbox built around natural threats

Not for you if...

−you dislike losing your survival save when you die
−you want fast-paced action or frequent combat
−you prioritize story over open-ended survival

What players say

89% of 123,858 reviews are positive · 79% of 556 in the last 30 days

Players most often praise Survival Mode's quiet isolation, harsh atmosphere, exploration, and demand for careful planning. Recent complaints focus on WINTERMUTE's final episode, especially its writing, long unskippable dialogue and cutscenes, and reported softlocks or broken mechanics.

Screenshots and trailer

The Long Dark system requirements

As published by the developer.

Minimum

OS: Windows 8
Processor: Dual-Core Intel i5 CPU @ 2GHz+
Graphics: Intel 4xxx Series w/ 512MB VRAM or better
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Storage: 7 GB available space

PC version details

DRM, required accounts, controller support and Steam features.

DRM: None declared on Steam
Controller: Full controller support
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
Achievements: 87
Steam features: Cloud saves, Family Sharing, Trading cards

Steam Deck: Verified

All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
Shows Steam Deck controller icons
In-game text is legible on Steam Deck
Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck

Multiplayer and co-op

Single-player

Languages

Full audio: English. Text only: German, Russian, French, Spanish - Spain, Finnish, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese - Portugal, Simplified Chinese, Swedish, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Portuguese - Brazil, Dutch, Italian, Polish, Ukrainian.