The Long Dark creators Hinterlands have announced The Long Dark 2, another helping of open-ended wilderness survival. Actually titled Blackfrost: The Long Dark 2 – a travestying of naming conventions that is surely more harrowing than any post-apocalyptic winter – it’s out in early access in 2026, and introduces urban environments together with a “Will to Live” sanity system and co-op multiplayer. Here’s the trailer.
And here’s some backstory, care of the just-launched Steam page.
Experience the Quiet Apocalypse as survivors in the northern industrial city of Harmont and its vast environs. A year has passed since the Aurora first appeared in the sky, rendering all technology inert, with survivors just starting to emerge to face their new reality in its aftermath. Surrounded by a majestic, rugged wilderness, encounter the remnants of an isolated society still coming to terms with how the world has just been forever changed. How will you choose to survive?
In case the mention of co-op has you screaming, fashioning yourself a wolfskin pelt, and fleeing to the hillside caves, it looks like single-player is still the heart of the game. But you’ll potentially have a lot more company, as players must decide whether to join communities of NPC survivors. Co-op players, meanwhile, will “lean on each other and combine your skills and efforts to eke out another day of existence in the hostile environment”. I’m not sure whether this means there are unique co-op mechanics. If my co-op partner dies, can I eat them and knit their entrails into a scarf?
And then there are the new urban areas. “Cities and towns offer new opportunities, and new hazards to your survival, introducing a fresh take on the established survival formula,” the Steam page explains. “The wilds are dangerous, but sometimes the city is where the real threats lie.” I assume they’re not talking about boy racers at the traffic lights.
The new Will to Live system complicates the already-steep challenge of keeping yourself fed, watered and uninjured. It “adds elements of psychological survival to the mix, introducing Resilience and its sub-stats to the well-established mechanics,” according to the Steam page. “Manage your doubts and fears, and find comfort in the small things if you want to survive.”
You might be wondering what this “blackfrost” stuff is. It’s one of the new hazards, a radioactive substance emitted by a distant reactor complex. It’s not clear how exactly it affects you, but you’ll want to avoid it. Ditto the “Aurora Storms” and “extreme weather events”.
There’s also a new Permalife system which sounds like a narrativised respawn feature, in that it “turns every death into a new adventure”. The Steam page phrases it thusly: “Accumulate new risks and fears for your survivor as you move through the world and succumb to various hazards. Face your fears, overcome their downsides, and strengthen your Survivor’s story in the world. Make your mark.” If you don’t like the sound of this, the old Permadeath mode is still an option.
I never played much of The Long Dark. It was for me The Short Dark, in that I struggled to make it past the first hut. Perhaps I’ll fare better with the help of a friendly player in the sequel? Or perhaps, I’ll just end up padding their stomach?
The Geoffening has begun! Catch all the latest Game Awards announcements on our Game Awards 2024 hub page. You can also get the news hot from our liveblog.