Irish comedian Dara O Briain has commented on the fact that computer games, unique among all other art forms, reward or punish you by restricting your access to the entire game depending on your performance. As he points out, a book does not demand that you demonstrate an understanding of the major themes of the story in order to be allowed to finish the novel, nor do albums require that you show how good your dancing is before it plays the rest of the songs.
I've run up against this unique problem a couple of times in my gaming career, and unless there's a handy cheat code available, you're kind of stuck. As much as I enjoy The Long Dark as a game, it was a nuisance that after the mystical bear captured me and dragged me to its cave, I just couldn't for the life of me (no pun intended) figure out how find the magical spear, use it to kill the bear and finish the level, to the point where I just gave up and played in straight Survival mode.
However, after recently receiving a poll from game developers Hinterland regarding the conclusion of the game's narrative, I decided to give it another shot. I revisited the bear cave with fresh eyes, found the spear, managed to kill the bear, and completed that chapter and the next one in short order. (To be honest, it makes it a lot easier if you've explored the environment a lot.)
Following
the disturbing final image of the third episode, I'm on hold for the
next update, and I'm also eagerly looking forward to whatever Hinterland does
next in terms of gaming development.
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