Hinterland - Thank You!

[Larkid]

It's been a while since I've been on these forums but I needed to come back just to say "Thank you" to the team at Hinterland.

I've been playing TLD off and on since I first bought it (nearly two years ago!) - the sandbox has become my little personal escape from a hectic urban life filled with noise and people.   For me it's been a sort of meditation:  survive, stockpile, move on and start again.

The release of the story mode has brought a new element into my little solitary wilderness - other humans.   And where there are humans there are emotions, and that's really what this post is about.

There was a brief few years at the end of the 1990's which saw a lot of games coming out which wound up affecting me on an emotional level.  Story and writing and voice acting were key elements to these games and the length of time spent in these worlds developed a deeper connection than you'd normally get in a 2 hour film.  Off the top of my head, I'm talking about games like Planescape: Torment, the original Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid (also my first introduction to Jennifer Hale and David Hayter who both bring so much to TLD), Deus Ex and System Shock 2.  In the years since then I've started to feel like that emotional depth got lost under an increasing glut of multiplayer deathmatch-focused titles and throwaway single-player experiences.

The Long Dark has brought all of those old feelings back.   The new title screen music is a true masterpiece.  I've just started Chapter 2 but the human elements to the story are top notch.  The Grey Mother and Mackenzie's shared personal tragedies were elegantly scripted and voiced.   These feel like real people; deeply flawed and scared and alone; and I find myself feeling for them and feeling with them.

 

So thank you for all of your efforts.  It's been worth the long wait.

[Fuarian]

Funny how so many people disagree with you. I, slightly do. But for the most part I very much agree.