Why do we love TLD?

[Wallachian Wolf]

I'd like to hear your reasons and discuss about it.For me personally idk for sure,i like the atmosphere of the game,the loneliness,the uncertainty and relaxing feel.It doesn't have the best graphics or the most innovative gameplay but something still makes us love it and i would like you hear your opinion.
Happy Holidays everyone!

[lorddrakenwode]

I used to live in a place reminiscent of The Long Dark's setting, but I don't any more. One of the reasons I keep coming back to it is that it takes me back, and lets me wander around and explore and just be, in a place I miss.

[woodchipperexists]

I enjoy the apocalypse feel without the constant combat. Don't get me wrong, I love zombie games, but I like to just survive sometimes, y'know? If a game is just survival without the apocalypse, they tend to take place in a jungle or somewhere that never had human interaction, which is good too!... But I like rummaging and hoping someone before me left something useful while raiding uncannily quiet houses and towns.
I also like trying to survive winter in video games. A lot of survival games don't have a season mechanic so you never really have to balance indoor/outdoor activity for any reason other than hiding. I usually like winter rolling around to test how well I prepared but I mostly look forward to having the extra challenge of temperature. So, even though TLD doesn't have seasons, I still get my serotonin.
There's also a sense of safety in buildings that most survival games don't seem to give. I like the constant pressure of surviving but it's nice to chill sometimes too.

Sorry for the wall of text but I really like this game! I'd like to hear some other people's opinions too. It's always nice to have a variety of views. Happy holidays!

[verlorensquirrel]

For me it's the exploration and the thrill of a good find, be it a very needful item like a weapon or valuable piece of clothing, or a desperately needed or extravagant shelter (the latter makes me sad I'm so familiar with the regions now so there's little other than the occasional cabin I'm likely to find now). I understand why the regions are mostly static and handcrafted but I do kind of wish there was a mode which randomized the world more so it's new every time.

But whether it's an unexpected find when you need it most or finding the exact thing you hoped you would after a long journey there, that's probably what does it for me.

[AnAngelOfDeath]

Every play through is different as you write your own story, that's a big thing that makes TLD so great. The immersion in this game is unreal good, from the unique art style to the fantastic music and audio. TLD is one of a kind in the gaming world.

[Scotvince]

It's a survival game, but I can take the time to do nothing related to survival. Staring the sky near a warm fire, listening the world and/or the ambient music.
Lenght day x2 is particulary adequate for that.

[Stevcorp]

For me, it's the moment of dawning terror when you've realised you've f-ed up very badly and you'll be lucky if your 50-day + character makes it to the nearest safe area.

That is survival horror.

[Misery1ndex]

No matter how many days you survive in this game, you never feel over-prepared for whatever comes your way. Most survival games get boring because you got billions of resources stockpiled to the point where you dont even need to do anything to survive. Don't Starve does this quite well too, but nothing compared to TLD especially on interloper difficulty.

Sure having all the best clothing in the game, minimizing the effects of the cold sure makes it easier. But 1 dumb mistake and it'll cost you dearly.

[SirunSong]

For some reason, I play it every winter.

[{O|G} Erik the Red]

I've had this game since Thanksgiving 2016. Through all the various updates the game has had (I love how each has those creative names, too), I've played 1000+ hours, and still have more content to explore because (...contrary to what most people might think, the game updates faster than I have time to spend for...) I've yet to play all the maps, and to their fullest, always something new to learn. It's like the Camp Office note says, "we blew our wishes to the sky. Always to come back. Always"

And each time there is something new, but regardless of that, its the game I come back to to discover something again for myself; It's my "Figure out what to do next" game; the elegance of its beauty and design is that you bring your story with you, and let it run, struggle, and/or survive in the wilds of Great Bear Island and of your mind. Whether that is simply the futility of living through another day, planning out an epic journey, climbing / exploring the fringes of the world, or pondering in awe at the ravages of the forces of time and nature on the fragility of human society and civilization, or just finding solace, peace, and beauty in the moment, something poetic, perhaps. A raging blizzard. A moonless night, the starry sky. A bright aurora. A warm fire. Boiling coffee. The memory and taste of pancakes. The Mountain, in the distance. The views from it.

You come into the world with just a few quotations in support and whatever else you bring from your mind. You begin a rational survivor, discovering your dire circumstances. You take care of your needs to prolong the inevitable. Maybe you have time to observe the world around you, to record a journal, to question why? Maybe these begin as scientific questions, the answers of which might help pass the time, but eventually I find the world itself bears down in your head, and suddenly you've found your own gods, have your own rituals, and you're not the same survivor you were when you started this run, oh so long ago. "This has all happened before"...


It's a game world where you're always dying. But its also a world you will discover how to live. Or die, and live again.


Edit: Can't believe I forgot the mountain bit, lol. Also, this is my review now, about time I had one, right?

[rmesch2014]

I like TLD for a lot of things, but the most important one is, that the game attracts people I like. Makes me hope that the majority of humans are still decent.

[Painman]

For me it's the aesthetics, which are very stripped back, restrained colour palette, and the way that combines with the emptiness. And then there's the way a choice, or a lazy, risky decision punishes you. Somehow they work together very well. The absence of busyness makes for a great game, full of beauty and tension. Hate the game-breaking bugs of course but they seem to have been excised for the most part.

[Scotvince]

I found a magnificent synthesis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNbKW1M-wVc&list=PL5XO-u7m-15DI05Z50hn8DerRKLpOpf3W&index=86&ab_channel=JitWire

[James]

There are so many things in TLD that checks my boxes, but instead of listing them (guess they are all included above), I think one of the most outstanding points, and never mentioned directly, is something that we rarely find in games today - the mechanics of patience - how many games use that as a selling point nowadays?

It blends the virtue of patience into a core mechanics that rewards you. Not just by "sitting around idling" but making you win utilizing patience in the right way. Similar to what the early Silent Hunter games did. So, just to say something different, the woven in patience factor is what makes me love it! 😁 (talking about survival here)

Beyond that, my review points out the rest: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197999920542/recommended/305620?snr=1_5_9__402

[Tribute]

Best game, Best community, Best dev named Raph.

[r4nd0m]

For me, I’m 40 something. Helped me bond with my sons, they both love the outdoors and this game so it’s been in our lives for a while. We challenge each other at it. I spent a lot of time in the woods growing up, boys followed suit going Army. TLD is a good learning tool to help teach people to think ahead from a young age. My boys always go for a s*** ton of firewood now when we start setting up fish camps IRL