Finally went on a trip of a lifetime thanks to The Long Dark

[LiamRoss]

I've been playing The Long Dark ever since it released on early access. A few dozen hours of that was on my own, but the majority of my hundreds and hundreds of hours have been with my grandpa over the years. 

I'll lug my PC over, hook it up, and we'll just sit and chat while I play. He directs me, I control the movement. He calls it his "personal survivorman show", lol. We've devoured every inch of every map we've found, and I've avoided spoiling any locations for myself and him so far (I just discovered "Hushed River Valley" the other day) and it's always been a blast. Even when I had to stream for him during COVID:

But a few months ago, he asked me something I hadn't expected. He turned and goes, "Why don't we go do this ourselves? I mean, not this. F*** that sh*t, gettin' chewed on by the wolves. But I dunno, I've been thinking maybe we go up towards the upper part of Michigan, follow the inner edge of the Canadian border. See Yellowstone, Crater Lake, whatever. Y'know? I dunno. Just something I was thinkin' about." And I put my client booking on hold and we got to prepping. And it was cold, we ran into some issues, but it was a really meaningful experience, and was full of memories I'll never forget. We went so far as Oregon, before deciding to go south and "loop" through the US - From Michigan to Washington, from Oregon to breaking down in the Nevada desert and continuing on towards the Grand Canyon before finally crossing all the way towards Texas before heading north again towards home. Every single night, I'd boot up the Steam Deck (with a custom control setup of course, the preset Hinterland defaults TANKS performance) and we'd play from dark until darker before heading to bed, every day for 20 days. My only regret was not being able to get my hands on the hatchet or some mugs back when the store existed - but I brought mine and he brought his. We made some small campfires to cook over and pan-fried potatoes and venison backstraps from last year's hunt, and I couldn't have been happier with the experience. Sipping percolated coffee and eating a plate of baked beans and toast on a rocky hillside overlooking a stretch of snowmelt-fed Yellowstone river, it was a hell of a feeling.

 

You wouldn't expect the biting cold in an absolutely hostile, rocky, nauseatingly massive mountain range and a simple warm meal to make you feel such contentedness and serenity. 
 

While he's in great shape for his age, he's not going to be around forever. You definitely start to see a decline. But I'm thankful for the memories we've made over the years - The Long Dark was a neutral ground, enabling me to connect and bond with someone wholly different from me. And it's wound up being a catalyst for something greater. 

Thank you Raph, as well as the art, music, gameplay, story, design, engine, audio, UI and QA staff for all the good times. 

- Liam

Edited November 25 by LiamRoss

[SafeAgain]

I like your gloves

[Leeanda]

That sounds and looks like an amazing trip.. gorgeous scenery too..

Thanks for sharing it😊

[mfuegemann]

What a great story! Thank You for sharing.

[Pyroxene]

If you haven't heard of the man Lars Monsen, i strongly suggest checking out his content on Norwegian TV or on YouTube. An outdoorsman, he has crossed Canada from West to East with a dog sled and walked the length of Norway with a friend.