Summary
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Pilgrim is an easy difficulty level tailored to explore the stress of loss.
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Voyageur offers tense survival balanced with exploration.
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Stalker is a brutal, survival-focused challenge for veteran players
Developed by Hinterland Studio and released in 2017, The long darkness pits players against Mother Nature's icy cold. Face blinding blizzards, vicious wildlife and starvation on a bleak island of eternal winter, where one wrong move can result in death. This game is a must for all survival fans, especially those looking for a more realistic take on the genre.

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The long darkness gives players five difficulty modes to choose from and tailor their gaming experience: Pilgrim, Voyageur, Stalker, Interloper and Misery. Each difficulty offers unique characteristics and challenges, from Pilgrim's (mostly) passive wildlife to the relentless and resource-hungry Interloper difficulty.
This article does not contain content from Tales From The Far Territory, Part Six.
Once a difficulty is selected, it cannot be changed in-game. Choose wisely.
1
Pilgrim
An exploration-focused experience
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Corresponds to easy difficulty level.
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Wild animals do not attack unless provoked.
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Plenty of loot.
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Needs are easily managed.
The easiest difficulty in The long darknessPilgrim frees players from many dangers: looting buildings provides plenty of resources, and encounters with wild animals are rare. Aggression by wild animals is turned off in most cases, wolves, bears and moose usually run away when they are near the player. However, approaching provoked wildlife, usually triggered by the player attacking them, will result in an animal attack and a significant stamina loss. The condition lost from these fights is much lower than any other difficulty.
Pilgrim is ideal for players looking for a forgiving yet visually realistic survival experience with a focus on exploration and storytelling. Adventure through the breathtaking regions of Bear Island, including frozen marshes, waterfall-filled valleys and rugged coastlines, while piecing together the history of this land. This difficulty also gives players a relaxed way to learn some of the game's core mechanics. However, avoiding aggressive wildlife is an important skill, leaving players who upgrade to higher difficulties still with a lot to learn if they hope to survive.
2
Voyageur
The standard experience
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Equivalent to normal difficulty.
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Wild animals will attack, even if unprovoked.
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Plenty of loot
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Exploration is balanced with survival.
Voyageur is a significant step up in difficulty from Pilgrim, as wolves and bears will now actively stalk and hunt players. Although wolves have a small chance to escape from an approaching player, this cannot be relied upon by any means. A wolf that gets too close will attack. Players are thrown into the middle of the food chain, forcing them to learn how to navigate wildlife encounters along with exploration, looting, and needs management. Every trip from the house carries a risk of death. After all, a bear can lurk around any corner.
Voyageur is the perfect difficulty for new players who want a realistic survival experience to learn the mechanics of the game. Mistakes will be made, but Voyageur is more forgiving than harder difficulties. This difficulty is also ideal for players looking for an experience that is equal parts survival and exploration. There are plenty of resources, helping players explore the full list of items and regions The long darkness has to offer. Wildlife is also sparse, allowing players to explore large areas before facing the challenge of navigating past aggressive wildlife.
3
Stalker
A brutal survival experience
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Corresponds to hard difficulty.
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Aggressive and abundant wildlife.
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Hardly a change.
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Survival focused experience.
Veteran players looking for a more punishing survival experience will love the Stalker mode. Whether it's the weather, wildlife, or need, death can strike at any time. Exploration is no longer a choice but a necessity, with a lack of resources forcing players to be constantly on the move. Customization is everything in this difficulty, as players navigate a variety of locations, each with unique building distribution, wildlife patrol routes, and item spawns. Failure to adapt will mean a grizzly end.
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Stalker's real challenge lies in the player's ability to take calculated risks. With the threat of starvation upon them, players must learn when to play, whether venturing into inclement weather, traveling at night, or running past a pack of wolves. However, be warned that gambling can turn into fatal mistakes in an instant. With a wilderness teeming with aggressive wildlife, every journey away from home becomes a pulsating battle between risk and reward.
4
Interlopers
The ultimate test of survival
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Equivalent to expert difficulty.
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Aggressive and abundant wildlife.
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Lean prey.
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Most tools and no weapons play.
For the players who said Stalker wasn't challenging enough, Hinterland Studio made Interloper: an exceptionally punishing fight for survival. This difficulty is not fair. Throwing players into the middle of a resource-poor and aggressive world rich in wildlife, players must use all the skills and luck at their disposal. Forget establishing a base, hunting wolves or conquering the wilderness: keeping alive is the best even the most seasoned player can hope for.
More horrors await for players who survive the first few weeks. Since no tools raise this difficulty, players have longer harvest times, cannot harvest certain items, and only have the poorest weapons to use in wolf fights. Players can create tools, but it is a laborious and dangerous process. The absence of weapons further increases the game's difficulty, as players can neither hunt prey nor thin out predators until they've established an arc, forcing them to live off the meager pickings of small animals and looted resources for weeks at a time.
5
Misery
Death is guaranteed
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Equivalent to insanity difficulties.
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Aggressive and abundant wildlife.
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Permanent unique ailments.
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Cheat death is disabled.
Only the most daring would dare to take on the grueling survival challenge that is Misery. In this apocalyptic wasteland, the only certainty is death. The latest addition to The Long Dark's difficulty, players must contend with the brutality of Interloper mode along with new permanent ailments that evolve periodically. These afflictions cannot be prevented or cured. Well, it is other than through death. Each ailment brings players closer to the edge, where any mistake is fatal.
Players start with the least resources in the most hostile world. These are the last times; Mother Nature is determined to see the player perish. Misery is also the only difficulty where the cheat death feature is disabled. There really aren't any do-overs or second chances in Misery, just the chilly embrace of The long darkness.

- Released
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August 1, 2017
- Developer
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Hinterland Studio
- OpenCritic Rating
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Strong