What is the worst await us after the onset of the Apocalypse? A crowd of exciting hungry zombies? Militative mutants with shotgun in mutilated hands? Or, perhaps, mountains of lifeless bodies, picturesquely flashing along the empty streets?
No, these are all trifles. Over time, the gaze ceases to linger on all this, and the brain begins to perceive such a landscape as given.
Really scares only loneliness. Ringing silence. Pressing hopeless longing, enveloping everything denser and harder every day. Do not hide from them, do not hide, do not run away. The only salvation is death.
Direct and resurrect
► Visually the game is emphasized ascetic. Artists draw the forest with simple wide strokes of pastel colors. And it turns out great!
Behind my back is an insurmountable mountain slope. Ahead – wooden gazebo on stilts. I run inside, examine the corners. Cedar firewood! Wonderful. Emergency newspaper! Better yet, come in handy for kindling. Where now – left, right? Blacks a dead whiteness snowy forest looks the same from all sides. Okay, decent girls do not go to the left.
Grinning this flat severity, I step on the right. Yeah, a frozen lake, and on the ice of the booths for fishermen. I run into the one that is closer, rummaging the cabinets. Nothing useful. I'm already trying to go out … Father, wolf! The beast rummages around the bush, but it does not dare to climb inside. However, I am now in a trap, with my bare hands of gray I can’t defeat.
There is nothing to do-in the hope that he will leave, I put the fire in the stove-stove, but only hunger is not aunt. I throw firewood, spread a sleeping bag ..
… and die in a dream from food poisoning. All over again.
► stove, bed, workbench. In fact, a person is not so much necessary for life.
In the distance, something turns black. Rails! Great, the railway will definitely take somewhere. The sun is shining, there are still a lot of strength, you can go through. I stumble upon upside down old cars. In one of them, a gnawed human corpse, and a gun is lying nearby – unheard of luck!
But it was worth moving a couple of meters, a hoarse breath and a roar were heard behind him. I now have a gun, but the cartridges?..
The third attempt.
Halfway to the former observation tower of the disappeared forester, and now my temporary shelter, the weather deteriorates sharply. The blizzard notice everything around, the sharp wind penetrates through and through, and already two meters ahead. I'm going out of the way, trying to go blindly, but I fall and tut up my leg. You have to tear off the only hat and gloves on bandages. Need to warm up!
Drilling fire among the trees is prevented by the wind. Somehow daring to the cliff, I'm trying to repeat the trick with the bonfire. The first attempt. The second. Third … ten attempts, and all to no avail. On my frozen corpse, other survivors, if any, will find a supply of firewood and two remaining matches. Someone is lucky. And again I am an failure, and one frozen corpse in the forest becomes more.
► Wind, snow and fog – the most murderous combination of weather conditions. It is better to stay in the house and finish the spoiled dog food.
I start again. This time everything seems to be not bad: I find myself right in front of the entrance to an abandoned hydroelectric power station. Inside, cunning frozen units, which have long been inactive. But the main thing is a hundred lockers and drawers with all sorts of saving junk! I wrap up my neck found by a scarf, change gloves to warm mittens, have a snack with hubby dried beef ..
And a minute later, a frantic wolf is already trying to bite me, but who was getting into a control cabin. It is possible to fight back this time, but there is nothing to treat wounds. Blood poisoning. Death.
What will you do!
Hello, Zimushka-winter
These were four typical sketches from the stalker regime, in which it will have to die to indecent often. The Long Dark – The debut game of the newly -made Canadian studio Hinterland Inc. However, her backbone is the veterans of the industry. So, for example, behind the shoulders of Rafael Van Lirop, a leading creative director of the project, work in Relic and Ubisoft Montreal. The portfolio of other employees have Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Star Wars: Knights of the Olds, Company of Heroes, Far Cry 3, Mass Effect and a dozen more iconic games.
► The wolf attack is scary. And not only because they struggled for the textures for him.
By the way, about Mass Effect : In the new game, we will hear the voices of the world of the world and Jennifer Hale, familiar to us primarily by the role of Shepard (both sexes). And David Hatier, who gave his voice from a Snake from the voice acting Metal Gear Solid. So far, however, it is not clear who exactly these wonderful people will voice, because in the world The Long Dark Almost everyone died.
One unlucky day, a bright flash lit up the sky above the Canadian forest, and after a moment impenetrable darkness fell on the world. At first, the geomagnetic storm did not harm those who were in the anomaly zone. But she turned all the mechanisms created by man into useless ice sculptures.
Later it turned out that the misfortunes did not end there and the flash also affected the local fauna. It was as if the demon got into the wolves, they are no longer afraid to leave the forest to hunt people. Many trying to escape from their fangs. Those who decided to stay and try to rectify the situation, there was a slow fading away from hunger and cold – anomalous frosts were established after the emission of energy and endless winter reigned. The strangest thing is – no one from the outside is even trying to come to the rescue, the world seemed to forget about several square kilometers of land.
► In an abandoned car, you can wait out a snowstorm or hide from the wolves. I wish you to listen to the radio!
The only survivor, in addition to the player himself, is a pilot of a private aircraft, which has not ended up in the sky above the damned forest. In one second, all the motors refused, and after some time William McCenzie woke up in the forest among the wreckage. He miraculously survived during the crash, but understands that he will not last long with injuries. There is nowhere to wait for help, before civilization, according to the most optimistic forecasts, a week or two on foot. Will have to learn the basics of survival. How to dilute a bonfire, having one match in your pocket and wet boxes? Where to get food and clean water among the snow? Than to bandage wounds?
But the most important question is how far a person is able to go in an effort to survive?
Eat, drink, sleep
We will have to look for the answer painfully: dying and reviving. In parallel with us, the developers themselves will try to find the answer – through the image of Mackenzie. Its story will develop during the year or even a couple of years – the authors are thinking over the episodic model of distribution. However, they do not have a hard plan on the deadlines, the developers hope to continue to work until we, players, are interested in.
https://sister-site.org/kwiff/
However, these are the matters of coming days. In the meantime, you can test yourself in the sandbox mode, the game recently appeared in the early access of Steam. Choose the floor of the character (until it affects anything except the voice) and the starting area and find ourselves in one of the random points on the map. The backpack has a sleeping bag and a dozen matches, from clothes, jeans are on top of the signs, a sweater on a naked body, a hat and gloves, and therefore long walks in the cold are obviously destructive for us. Where to run is not clear. Neither maps nor compass, the sun is not navigated, since the sky is always covered with lead clouds.
The standard of living of the character is determined by the number of calories. The supply of life -giving energy is constantly consumed: during the search for firewood, cooking in marching conditions and panting torn pants. Even during sleep, the energy is gradually exhausted. It needs to be replenished with food … if you can get it. If not, increasing hunger will lead to exhaustion and death.
► Currently at our disposal ten square kilometers. Soon this space will increase almost double.
Finding water, at first glance, is a little easier – you can scoop up from a toilet tank or simply melt the snow on fire. However, if you neglect prolonged boiling and antibacterial pills, dysentery the next day is provided.
Long walks, and even with a stuffed backpack, are also very tiring. If you do not give the character a break, sooner or later he will fall.
But your main enemy is cold. Without winter equipment, we move exclusively by leaps from shelter to shelter, constantly replenishing the precious heat supply.
Often you are forced to spend the night in the same room with a dead man – when the hero is exhausted, and a blizzard is rampant behind the window of a flimsy or an abandoned car, not up to complaints about a silent neighbor. In addition, you can always seal his pockets. Any find is valuable; skins, leather, firewood – sooner or later everything will go into business. Iron scrap is useful for repairing tools and weapons wearing in the war with the wild nature. All kinds of rags will go to patches and bandages. Wolf and deer gutted – material for fishing and home -made clothes.
The stocks of useful belongings are not replenished, and literally a couple of days later the last chair goes to firewood. The game teaches to live in a state of fierce deficiency. And gradually you get used to it. Wild animals are the only endless resource, and it is necessary to use it to the fullest so that not a single gut or a skin remains in the snow in the snow.
► Highway rests against a dead end. But this is for now.
But no matter how harsh trials throw life, sooner or later a person will adapt. If the dangerous hunt for the wolf was successful, and several rabbits came across in the sumbas located on the eve of the Silk, I really want to return to the base where someone is waiting for you and to share the joy of victory with this person.
But only an empty, frozen hut is waiting for you.
It is then that you begin to understand that there are things worse than death. Everything that remains survivor is to wait for the onset of darkness in order to go to bed with a clear conscience, because the fuel for the lantern has long been over for a long time.
* * *
Hinterland Inc plans. In the near future – to expand the list of locations and create a survival simulator in an abnormal spring, summer and autumn. Having felt the scrupulous approach of the developers, we dare to assume that even with warming the game will not be easier. The authors will find ways to test us for strength.
In addition, the team recently announced the start of work on the cooperative regime. Four players will have to learn how to share meager reserves between themselves and get used to responsibility for each other's lives. The death of one means the loss of the entire group. However, so far this is only a concept that will gain a playable form much later than the release of the first episode of a single campaign.
Success factors
Risk factors
- magnificent stylistics complemented by convincing sound;
- You may not wait for mercy from nature;
- There are almost no deliberately “game” actions, the game very accurately copies life;
- the possibilities of expanding and continuing the game are almost endless.
- The available cards are still enough for a couple of evenings of an unhurried game;
- Wolves would not recognize themselves;
- You can’t jump, but you can fall;
- It is strange when the same family portraits hang in different houses;
- History is again divided into fragments.
We will wait?
The survival system is convincing and logical. The danger is real and noticeable. It's a small thing – to give us more sense to fight for life.