Gamers who own The Long Dark could be forgiven for stepping away or not keeping up with the content coming down the line. The Long Dark has been available on Steam since 2014, taking about three years to release the first two episodes of Wintermute, its story mode, in 2017. Now, more than two years later, The Long Dark has released its third episode, Crossroads Elegy.
While it may seem like Hinterland has taken a long time to work through Wintermute, there’s more to the story than slow development. The Long Dark has been continuously updated with additions to the main mode in the game, Survival. Since 2017 when the first two episodes of Wintermute came out, Survival has seen the addition of a new region in Hushed River Valley, an overhaul to the way cooking works, a Revolver to complement the Rifle and Bow, as well as changes to the sprain system and shooting.
Wintermute hasn’t been ignored, either. The first two episodes were a hot topic among players when they released, with complaints about dialogue not being voiced, bugs, fetch quests, and more. In response to this, Hinterland reworked both episodes and released them again with Redux versions. The changes to the episodes are so vast they’re barely the same experience.
This brings us to yesterday when Hinterland released The Long Dark Episode 3: Crossroads Elegy. The third episode follows Astrid this time and takes place in Pleasant Valley.
“Continue the story of Wintermute, brave the wilds of Pleasant Valley, uncover local mysteries and rescue lost survivors as you navigate treacherous blizzards and face devious Timberwolves, always while searching for signs of Mackenzie and the route to Perseverance Mills.”
Anyone who owns The Long Dark is given access to all updates for free, but even those who don’t own it might want to jump in. The game is 50 percent off right now on Steam, and at that price, you’re getting so much content for your dollar; it’s ridiculous.