question What is your favorite memory from The Long Dark in Survival Mode?

[PurpleWolf13]

I have been playing The Long Dark for exactly a month now, and one of the things I love about is the memories I've gotten from it. So I'm curious, what is your favorite memory (or memories) from The Long Dark? I have quite a few, but one of the top ones has to be seeing the Aurora for the first time. 

[past caring]

Probably today.

I'm pretty awful at the game and I keep on dying. My previous 'best runs' have all ended when I have let my guard down and then died in entirely avoidable ways (freezing to death next to a fire outdoors because the fire blew out I forgot to sleep in 3 hour increments). This run is the first where I've survived long enough to craft arrowheads and make hunting with the bow a viable option. So killed my first deer with the bow today and when I got back to PVF the bear was hanging about so I tried for him too. OK, I did it the easy way and popped him from inside the porch, but I still had to hit him - and prior to today I couldn't hit a bus side on.

[Alruhn]

I like the question!

I think for me it was when I first went to Desolation point, and basically followed the notes left behind by the two students (I think it was students?) who had been caught in the Long Dark. When I finally got to the lighthouse, I read the last note and it just made Desolation Point feel so much more desolate. So much so, that I actually stopped playing for a few weeks. It was dang depressing, but it's a favorite because I love how just the worldbuilding alone got to me (this was way before story mode).

The first time seeing the aurora is definitely pretty high up there too though.

 

[PurpleWolf13]

28 minutes ago, past caring said:

Probably today.

I'm pretty awful at the game and I keep on dying. My previous 'best runs' have all ended when I have let my guard down and then died in entirely avoidable ways (freezing to death next to a fire outdoors because the fire blew out I forgot to sleep in 3 hour increments). This run is the first where I've survived long enough to craft arrowheads and make hunting with the bow a viable option. So killed my first deer with the bow today and when I got back to PVF the bear was hanging about so I tried for him too. OK, I did it the easy way and popped him from inside the porch, but I still had to hit him - and prior to today I couldn't hit a bus side on.

Cool! It's satisfying when you improve and learn in The Long Dark, and it's a pretty memorable moment when you successfully strike a predator with a weapon for the first time! Keep on playing and you'll be great at the game

[PurpleWolf13]

3 minutes ago, Alruhn said:

I like the question!

I think for me it was when I first went to Desolation point, and basically followed the notes left behind by the two students (I think it was students?) who had been caught in the Long Dark. When I finally got to the lighthouse, I read the last note and it just made Desolation Point feel so much more desolate. So much so, that I actually stopped playing for a few weeks. It was dang depressing, but it's a favorite because I love how just the worldbuilding alone got to me (this was way before story mode).

The first time seeing the aurora is definitely pretty high up there too though.

 

Oh, that last note hit me pretty hard too Thanks for sharing! 

[atomic]

My favourite memory is surviving 😀

Breaking through ice in FM, suddenly incoming storm, barely made it to the tunnel to ML, starting a fire there, warming up and making it back to camp office. And the sunrise at Spence's in FM was sooo wonderful, I never thought it would become such a tight journey back to camp office...

[PurpleWolf13]

8 minutes ago, atomic said:

My favourite memory is surviving 😀

Breaking through ice in FM, suddenly incoming storm, barely made it to the tunnel to ML, starting a fire there, warming up and making it back to camp office. And the sunrise at Spence's in FM was sooo wonderful, I never thought it would become such a tight journey back to camp office...

Yeah, I've had a couple of those perilous adventures and expeditions with me coming inches to death. And surviving them is certainly something to remember!

[PrincessAutumn]

I have too many to list here but I'd have to say my favorite memory is when I first bought the game back in early to mid 2016, I was brand new to the game, I had no idea how to play and I died over and over but I kept going and learned by trial and error. I never watched any video guides as I wanted to learn on my own in true spirit of "no hand holding"  

[PurpleWolf13]

20 hours ago, PrincessAutumn said:

I have too many to list here but I'd have to say my favorite memory is when I first bought the game back in early to mid 2016, I was brand new to the game, I had no idea how to play and I died over and over but I kept going and learned by trial and error. I never watched any video guides as I wanted to learn on my own in true spirit of "no hand holding"  

Yeah, it is such a apprehensive yet exciting time when you first play The Long Dark and have to learn the ropes of surviving!

[manolitode]

I sometimes listen to audiobooks while playing. Every now and then emotional content from books are glued to the The Long Dark environment. So my favorite memories are when a certain location invoke a clear mental image of a certain passage of a book that moved me. 

[darkscaryforest]

2 hours ago, manolitode said:

I sometimes listen to audiobooks while playing. Every now and then emotional content from books are glued to the The Long Dark environment. So my favorite memories are when a certain location invoke a clear mental image of a certain passage of a book that moved me. 

That's interesting, do you have any examples that lined up well? (e.g. a passage about surviving the elements or something profound about life while you were traveling somewhere?)

 

SPOILERS

For me my favorite memory was trying to get into the Cannery at Bleak Inlet.  I didn't know anything about the map, and luckily went to the radio tower and found the note first. On the way to the cannery, I had 2 encounters with timber wolves..the second being fatal.  Apparently a marine flare doesn't make you invincible if you go right up to the wolf, but they were blocking my way at the entrance so I got desperate.  On another save, I went back, but foolishly skipped visiting the control tower. I reasoned that I remembered the code and would enter it manually.  This time I made it to the door, but since I didn't get the note, found my character doesn't know the code so I couldn't get in!

Edited June 26, 2020 by darkscaryforest

[PurpleWolf13]

4 hours ago, manolitode said:

I sometimes listen to audiobooks while playing. Every now and then emotional content from books are glued to the The Long Dark environment. So my favorite memories are when a certain location invoke a clear mental image of a certain passage of a book that moved me. 

That's such a unique and interesting answer! I am like in that, too, where emotional stuff from other things are brought up by something in a game, movie, or book. Thanks for sharing

[PurpleWolf13]

2 hours ago, darkscaryforest said:

That's interesting, do you have any examples that lined up well? (e.g. a passage about surviving the elements or something profound about life while you were traveling somewhere?)

 

SPOILERS

For me my favorite memory was trying to get into the Cannery at Bleak Inlet.  I didn't know anything about the map, and luckily went to the radio tower and found the note first. On the way to the cannery, I had 2 encounters with timber wolves..the second being fatal.  Apparently a marine flare doesn't make you invincible if you go right up to the wolf, but they were blocking my way at the entrance so I got desperate.  On another save, I went back, but foolishly skipped visiting the control tower. I reasoned that I remembered the code and would enter it manually.  This time I made it to the door, but since I didn't get the note, found my character doesn't know the code so I couldn't get in!

Yeah, we all had have those epic fails whilst playing The Long Dark (trying to get somewhere, defeat a predator or just survive) Fortunately these fails do give us better knowledge for next time and some memories