Ex Tenebris Ad Astra.

The Long Dark is one of my favourite gaming experiences, and I'm eager to see how Blackfrost, the followup to the original, will build on the strong foundation that it has built.  But, in a way, I'm also  disappointed by the decision by the game's indie developer Hinterland to do a sequel.  

I realize the attraction of telling more stories in a world you've already created, lord knows I've seen enough trilogies, sequels, series and spin-offs that were created for that very reason, but in this case I was hoping that Hinterland might decide to do something that was a complete departure from their previous work.

I've always been impressed by the combination of thoughtful creativity and hard work that went into The Long Dark - the attention to detail, the quality of the artwork, the fantastic range of lighting conditions, the incredibly accurate sound effects, the constantly evolving and changing weather, the geographic complexity of the various maps, all the bits and pieces that make it such a playable experience. 

I'd love to see the same people apply the same approach to developing something completely different, like an asteroid belt exploration game for example, something that would take advantage of their experience with survival programming but expanding into a whole new area - resource mining, cargo shuttles, trading posts, space stations, claim jumpers, iceteroids, meteor storms, alien artifacts, the whole catalogue of possibility for what life - and possibly death - in the Belt would be like. Let's face it, there must be some people at the studio who would enjoy a change from animating trees, ptarmigan and blizzards at this point.

What do you say, Hinterland - maybe it's time to shoot for the stars?

- Sid

P.S. In the incredibly unlikely event that Raphael van Lierop, the founder and CEO of Hinterland, should happen to read this and thinks that an asteroid belt game is a good idea, please get in touch, I would LOVE to talk about it.  I work just around the corner past Gastown, we could do lunch.  

On the other hand, maybe it's too much like No Man's Sky.*

* Which may just be the survival version of The Outer Worlds, which is perhaps the poor man's Starfield, which could be considered to be Fallout in space. It's such a slippery slope.

Blackfrost.

Hinterland, the Vancouver-based indie game developers behind the survival masterpiece The Long Dark, recently announced their next game: Blackfrost, a sequel to the original game which takes place a year after the original geomagnetic event that crippled electrical devices and brought a threatening new aurora to the skies.

 

The sequel is set in the northern industrial town of Harmont, and will offer a new set of survival challenges and opportunities.  There are some fascinating hints as to what might take place in the game -  life in an urban environment, the prospect of being able to ride a horse, and most of all the possibility of a functioning nuclear reactor.  The Contamination Zone map in the original Long Dark introduced a variety of dangers related to industrial waste, I can only imagine what a radioactive power source might bring to the table.  There are also some more practical upgrades, such as the scoped rifle in one of the sample screens - that would certainly provide some much needed distance in dealing with predators. (There are also some images featuring a hockey stick, which isn't something that was on my wish list but which will certainly blend in well with the general Canadian feel of the environment.)

The concept artwork and trailer animation show an obvious connection to the look and feel of the original game, but it also shows how much the creative team has learned over the last ten years as they've fine-tuned the game and added onto the gaming experience. 

Although I'm not sure whether it would be a part of survival versus narrative gameplay, the new game will add NPCs to the mix, which, if added to the Survival mode, would certainly give more depth to the story.  There will also be a new co-op feature, an option that would enormously enhance the gaming experience: imagine having allies when being attacked by a pack of timberwolves!  (Hopefully there won't be a PvP option, that would somehow seem to be inappropriate for the survival environment.)  On the other hand, they could add the option of playing as an escaped prisoner from Blackrock Prison - which could well be a feature, it sounds as if there will also be enhanced options in terms of customizing your survival character in terms of skills and traits.

Blackfrost is scheduled to be available in Early Access mode sometime in 2026.  As with the development process for The Long Dark, Hinterland will be involving its gaming community as early as possible - I've already added the Early Access version to my wish list on Steam.

And now we wait.  2026 feels like a long way away, but fortunately, anyone who plays The Long Dark understands patience.

- Sid