Errant Pilgrim - Review

[Azdrawee]

I think it's pretty clear to say that this is one of the best updates to The Long Dark in a long time. It adds multiple features that seem interesting at first, but also really make sense from a development perspective when you think about them: the As the Dead Sleep challenge and Bleak Inlet region (along with ammunition crafting) provide a huge expansion to the gameplay and extend the playtime quite a lot. I really enjoy that Bleak Inlet and ammunition crafting create a goal you have to work for, which is something that hasn't been in TLD before.
Timberwolves are a good mechanic on paper, but still need a lot of work. They are definitely the weakest point of Errant Pilgrim in my opinion. Not because they're badly designed, but it feels like Hinterland has not done almost any testing on them. Their movement is sloppy and glitchy, they never give up even if you're in a closed place they can't get to, and they can be really annoying at times. Some small things scare them off, some huge things (like firing the rifle and missing) has no effect whatsoever, which is really weird. However, I enjoy that they provide a challenge even for very experienced survivors - I was actually afraid of dying many times, which is something I haven't experienced in TLD (on Stalker and lower difficulties) in a long time. I also like their design - the animation and design team at Hinterland did a fantastic job at making them very cute but incredibly terrifying at the same time. I love it.
Ammunition crafting is very well done. Levelling up the skill is easy, so with good preparation, survivors should be able to craft perfect ammunition in a few days. The puzzle to get to the cannery is also very enjoyable, it requires a lot of planning and exploring before survivors manage to get inside. Bleak Inlet overall is a great region with a lot of unique buildings. I fell in love with it.
Along with these big features, Errant Pilgrim also provides two very important quality of life improvements: breaking campfires and snow shelters. They're something the community has been asking for for a very long time and they're so nice to have in the game. Long-term players will appreciate them especially.
Overall, I really like the update. It's well designed, the features make sense and they're done well. I just really wish Hinterland did more testing, because the update still feels really buggy - especially Timberwolves, as mentioned earlier. My overall rating is 9/10.

[odium]

interesting read!  from reading these forums and steam, i get the impression most people weren't very happy with this update.  it doesnt do much for interloper players and it also introduced seemingly quite a few bugs in animal behavior.  personally I am always excited for a new location, but was disappointed seeing more improvements to the gun system, which i am not interested in (even as a voyageur player).  i would love to see the improvised crafting get a closer look in the future, and in my opinion, we need a lot more to do with the hoard of animal pelts we pile up.  crafting is what keeps the long game interesting to me, and id love to see loftier goals added, even items that take a week or longer to craft

[Azdrawee]

1 hour ago, odium said:

interesting read!  from reading these forums and steam, i get the impression most people weren't very happy with this update.  it doesnt do much for interloper players and it also introduced seemingly quite a few bugs in animal behavior.  personally I am always excited for a new location, but was disappointed seeing more improvements to the gun system, which i am not interested in (even as a voyageur player).  i would love to see the improvised crafting get a closer look in the future, and in my opinion, we need a lot more to do with the hoard of animal pelts we pile up.  crafting is what keeps the long game interesting to me, and id love to see loftier goals added, even items that take a week or longer to craft

I think these are all fair points and not all people will be happy with this update. Animal behaviour is a bit of a controversial subject in the The Long Dark community now - some people really like it, some hate it. I appreciate the direction Hinterland's taking it, but they really need to do a lot of testing. Especially on Timberwolves. The whole game just feels much buggier than it did two years ago, which isn't ideal development.

While I really liked the update overall and had a great time, I understand what you're saying. I think your ideas are great.

[wizard03]

I have to agree, I love the whole ordeal and can't keep out of BI on any setting besides interloper.  

Even on interloper setting, Im so tempted to go and take a look around for the revolver and such, but I feel like it wouldn't be worth the danger. If I knew a box of 25-30 rounds of ammo was waiting for me, id do it, but with the current few casings sprinkled here and there, Im not really excited to try quite yet.....Maybe one day, maybe just a couple "throw runs", but no serious runs. At least not yet, and probably without the flare gun. Just the marine flares and nothing else.

My only real complaints is that on my xbox x, I am experiencing 10-15 frames per second at time, and less than 10 when the timber wolves are involved. Oh, and the random bear and wolf spawn underneath the ground. But Im sure those details can get ironed out with some adjustments and optimizations. 

Edited January 12, 2020 by wizard03

[Dan_]

15 hours ago, Azdrawee said:

... The whole game just feels much buggier than it did two years ago, which isn't ideal development.

To me this is my only pet peeve with the update, It's been great content-wise but some of the bugs introduced take a lot of the polish and enjoyment of the game for me. I appreciate Hinterland's willingness to publish the update before the holidays, so I can live with the little rough spots here and there until they eventually fix them.

Also agree on T-wolves needing more refinement, B.I. is limited to me only after a survivor got archery five and can snipe those doggos safely. If not that, I'm expecting them to make their hide truly unique, and enable us to craft better clothing or gear with it, like Jeremiah's T-wolf cowl, for instance and turn the table on the risk-reward ratio for facing them.

[Azdrawee]

52 minutes ago, Dan_ said:

I'm expecting them to make their hide truly unique, and enable us to craft better clothing or gear with it, like Jeremiah's T-wolf cowl, for instance and turn the table on the risk-reward ratio for facing them.

Yeah, that would be amazing.

[SteveP]

Which "bugs" do you refer to? No one has reported problems with Timber Wolves in our online community, the long dark community on Facebook.

The Long Dark Community on Facebook

Steve