It's not like we're struggling for survival games. Between old reliables like The Forest and Rust, and more recent upstarts such as Bellwright and Pacific Drive, if you want a pseudo simulation of hunting, crafting, and struggling for your supper, you're spoiled for choice lately. Originally released back in 2017, The Long Dark is about to reach its end – Wintermute episode five is coming, as well as The Long Dark 2, also known as Blackfrost. But even after eight years and all this new competition, Hinterland's outdoors epic continues to stand out, and it's just reached a new high.
With The Long Dark 2 on the way, Hinterland is preparing to bring its The Long Dark. Further updates will arrive, including quality-of-life changes and visual enhancements, but Hinterland says the finale of the game's story mode also represents "the end" of The Long Dark, with attention shifting onto the sequel. The studio has also cut the price of The Long Dark by 90%. In response to the discount, and with Wintermute soon to wrap up, the game has exploded on Steam.
On Sunday April 27, The Long Dark hit a new all-time concurrent player count high: 14,707 people logged onto Steam to play the game simultaneously. According to Steam DB, The Long Dark's previous Steam player peak was back in 2017, just after it was released, and drew in 14,433 players, meaning it's beaten its own record by a slim margin.
And even after eight years and more than 95,000 player reviews, The Long Dark's rating is 'very positive' – 91% of player responses on Steam are favorable. If you want to try it for yourself, The Long Dark is still on sale for $3.49 / £2.79, until Thursday May 1. You can get it right here.
Otherwise, with Blackfrost on the way, check out some of the other best best zombie games available right now.
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