Every Difficulty In The Long Dark, Explained

Summary

Pilgrim is an easy difficulty tailored for loss-stress exploration.
Voyageur offers tense survival balanced with exploration.
Stalker is a brutal, survival-focused challenge for veteran players

Developed by Hinterland Studio and released in 2017, The Long Dark pits players against the frigid cold of Mother Nature. Face off against blinding blizzards, vicious wildlife, and starvation on a bleak island of perpetual winter, where one wrong step could end in death. This game is a must-play for any survival fan, especially those looking for a more realistic take on the genre.

Feature Image Showcasing Images From The Long Dark, Project Zomboid, And Grounded

8 Survival Games For Players Who Love The Long Dark

If you’re craving a similar experience to the survival challenges of The Long Dark, you’ll want to check out these similar survival game experiences.

The Long Dark gives players five difficulty modes to choose from and tailor their gameplay experience around: Pilgrim, Voyageur, Stalker, Interloper, and Misery. Each difficulty offers unique features and challenges, from the (mostly) passive wildlife of Pilgrim to the relentless and resource-scarce Interloper difficulty.

This article does not include content from Tales From The Far Territory, Part Six.

Once a difficulty is chosen, it cannot be changed in-game. Choose wisely.

1

Pilgrim

An Exploration-Focused Experience

Equivalent to easy difficulty.
Wildlife does not attack unless provoked.
Plentiful loot.
Needs are easily managed.

The easiest difficulty in The Long Dark, Pilgrim frees players from many dangers: looting buildings provides ample resources, and wildlife encounters are infrequent. Wildlife aggression is turned off in most circumstances, with wolves, bears, and moose generally fleeing when within proximity of the player. Approaching provoked wildlife, usually triggered by the player attacking them, will, however, result in an animal attack and a significant loss of condition. The condition lost from these struggles is much lower than any other difficulty.

Pilgrim is ideal for players looking for a forgiving but visually realistic survival experience focusing on exploration and storytelling. Adventure through the breathtaking regions of Bear Island, including frozen marshes, waterfall-filled valleys, and barren coastlines, all the while piecing together the story of this land. This difficulty also gives players a relaxed way to learn some of the game’s core mechanics. Avoiding aggressive wildlife is, however, a vital skill, leaving players who graduate to higher difficulties still with much to learn if they hope to survive.

2

Voyageur

The Standard Experience

Equivalent to normal difficulty.
Wildlife will attack, even if unprovoked.
Plentiful loot
Exploration is balanced with survival.

Voyageur is a significant step up in difficulty from Pilgrim, as wolves and bears will now actively stalk and hunt players. While wolves have a slight chance of fleeing from an approaching player, this cannot by any means be relied upon. A wolf that gets too close will attack. Players are thrust into the middle of the food chain, forcing them to learn how to navigate wildlife encounters alongside exploration, looting, and needs management. Every journey from the house carries a risk of death. After all, a bear could be lurking around any corner.

Voyageur is the perfect difficulty for new players who want a realistic survival experience in which to learn the game’s mechanics. Mistakes will be made, but Voyageur is more forgiving than harder difficulties. This difficulty is also ideal for players looking for an experience that is equal parts survival and exploration. Resources are plentiful, helping players explore the full roster of items and regions The Long Dark has to offer. Wildlife is also sparse, allowing players to explore large areas before facing the challenge of navigating past aggressive wildlife.

3

Stalker

A Brutal Survival Experience

Equivalent to hard difficulty.
Aggressive and plentiful wildlife.
Scarce loot.
Survival-focused experience.

Veteran players looking for a more punishing survival experience will love Stalker mode. Whether it be the weather, wildlife, or needs, death can strike at any moment. Exploration is no longer a choice but a necessity, with resource scarcity forcing players to be on the move constantly. Adaption is everything in this difficulty, as players navigate an array of locations, all with unique building distribution, wildlife patrol routes, and item spawns. Failure to adapt will spell a grizzly end.

2:12

The Long Dark 2: Blackfrost announcement

A popular survival game from 2017 gets a sequel announcement, and the developer has given gamers a first look at what it will look like.

The real challenge of Stalker comes in the player’s ability to take calculated risks. With the threat of starvation looming over them, players must learn when to gamble, whether venturing outside in poor weather, traveling at night, or running past a pack of wolves. Be warned though, that gambles can become deadly mistakes in an instant. With a wilderness full of aggressive wildlife, every voyage from home becomes a heart-pounding battle of risk versus reward.

4

Interloper

The Ultimate Test Of Survival

Equivalent to expert difficulty.
Aggressive and plentiful wildlife.
Meager loot.
Most tools and no guns spawn.

For the players who said Stalker wasn’t challenging enough, Hinterland Studio made Interloper: an exceptionally punishing battle for survival. This difficulty isn’t fair. Throwing players into the midst of a resource-scarce and aggressive wildlife-rich world, players must utilize all the skills and luck at their disposal. Forget about establishing a base, hunting wolves, or conquering the wilderness: keeping their life is the best even the most seasoned player can hope for.

More horrors await for players who survive the first few weeks. As no tools spawn in this difficulty, players have longer harvesting times, cannot harvest some items, and have only the poorest weapons to use in wolf struggles. Players can craft tools, but it is an arduous and dangerous process. The absence of guns further increases the game’s difficulty, as players can neither hunt prey nor thin out predators until they craft a bow, forcing them to live off the meager pickings of small animals and looted resources for weeks at a time.

5

Misery

Death Is Guaranteed

Equivalent to insanity difficulty.
Aggressive and plentiful wildlife.
Permanent unique afflictions.
Cheat death is disabled.

Only the most daring would dare to take on the grueling survival challenge that is Misery. In this apocalyptic wasteland, the only certainty is death. The newest addition to The Long Dark’s difficulties, players must struggle against the brutality of Interloper mode alongside new permanent afflictions that develop periodically. These afflictions cannot be prevented or cured. Well, that is other than through death. Every affliction brings players closer to the edge, where any misstep is lethal.

Players start with the most minimal resources in the most hostile world. These are the end times; Mother Nature is determined to see the player perish. Misery is also the only difficulty where the cheat death feature is disabled. There truly are no do-overs or second chances in Misery, only the chilling embrace of The Long Dark.