<s>
The	B-Application
Long	I-Application
Dark	I-Application
is	O
a	O
first-person	O
survival	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Hinterland	O
Studios	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
assumes	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
crash-landed	O
bush	O
pilot	O
Will	O
Mackenzie	O
who	O
must	O
survive	B-Application
the	O
frigid	O
Canadian	O
wilderness	O
after	O
a	O
geomagnetic	O
storm	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
alpha	O
version	O
was	O
later	O
launched	O
on	O
the	B-Device
Xbox	I-Device
One	I-Device
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
two	O
launch	O
titles	O
associated	O
with	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
Game	O
Preview	O
Program	O
in	O
June	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
officially	O
released	O
on	O
all	O
aforementioned	O
platforms	O
on	O
August	O
1	O
,	O
2017	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
for	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
that	O
a	O
film	O
adaptation	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Long	I-Application
Dark	I-Application
was	O
in	O
the	O
works	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
17	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
would	O
be	O
coming	O
to	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
later	O
that	O
same	O
day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Long	I-Application
Dark	I-Application
is	O
a	O
survival	B-Application
game	I-Application
which	O
takes	O
place	O
in	O
the	O
frigid	O
Canadian	O
wilderness	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
played	O
from	O
a	O
first-person	O
perspective	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
gameplay	O
is	O
stated	O
by	O
the	O
developers	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
"	O
survival	B-Application
simulation	O
that	O
accounts	O
for	O
body	O
temperature	O
,	O
caloric	O
intake	O
,	O
hunger/thirst	O
,	O
fatigue	O
,	O
wind-chill	O
,	O
wildlife	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
host	O
of	O
other	O
environmental	O
factors.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Long	I-Application
Dark	I-Application
has	O
three	O
game	O
modes	O
available	O
to	O
the	O
player	O
,	O
"	O
Story	O
mode	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
Survival	B-Application
mode	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
"	O
Challenge	O
mode	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Survival	B-Application
mode	O
is	O
set	O
in	O
an	O
open	O
world	O
environment	O
where	O
the	O
player	O
can	O
choose	O
the	O
region	O
they	O
wish	O
to	O
spawn	O
in	O
,	O
and	O
may	O
access	O
any	O
region	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
objective	O
is	O
for	O
the	O
player	O
to	O
survive	B-Application
as	O
long	O
as	O
possible	O
by	O
scavenging	O
and	O
utilizing	O
whatever	O
resources	O
they	O
may	O
find	O
within	O
the	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Long	I-Application
Dark	I-Application
simulates	O
a	O
full	O
day/night	O
cycle	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
a	O
fundamental	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
easiest	O
mode	O
,	O
"	O
Pilgrim	O
"	O
,	O
is	O
for	O
players	O
looking	O
for	O
a	O
more	O
exploratory	O
experience	O
,	O
"	O
Voyageur	O
"	O
is	O
a	O
middle	O
ground	O
and	O
the	O
most	O
well	O
rounded	O
with	O
regard	O
to	O
exploration	O
and	O
survival	B-Application
,	O
"	O
Stalker	O
"	O
offers	O
a	O
more	O
hardcore	O
survival	B-Application
experience	O
,	O
and	O
"	O
Interloper	O
"	O
is	O
for	O
players	O
looking	O
for	O
a	O
punishing	O
,	O
difficult	O
experience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
only	O
possible	O
ending	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
player	B-Application
death	I-Application
,	O
with	O
no	O
way	O
to	O
"	O
beat	O
"	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
Survival	B-Application
mode	O
,	O
Story	O
mode	O
(	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
Wintermute	O
"	O
)	O
is	O
an	O
episodic	O
adventure	O
game	O
,	O
with	O
survival	B-Application
elements	O
,	O
and	O
does	O
not	O
have	O
a	O
permadeath	B-Application
feature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Wintermute	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
assumes	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
a	O
crash-landed	O
pilot	O
struggling	O
to	O
survive	B-Application
after	O
a	O
geomagnetic	O
storm	O
and	O
cannot	O
freely	O
travel	O
across	O
the	O
game	O
world	O
,	O
being	O
restricted	O
to	O
certain	O
geographic	O
regions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
completion	O
of	O
his	O
work	O
as	O
director	O
on	O
Warhammer	B-Application
40,000	I-Application
:	I-Application
Space	I-Application
Marine	I-Application
,	O
Raphael	O
van	O
Lierop	O
left	O
Relic	O
Entertainment	O
to	O
work	O
on	O
projects	O
which	O
he	O
felt	O
were	O
"	O
more	O
personal	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
more	O
representative	O
of	O
 [ his ] 	O
values	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inspired	O
by	O
these	O
new	O
surroundings	O
,	O
he	O
formed	O
Hinterland	O
and	O
began	O
to	O
work	O
on	O
The	B-Application
Long	I-Application
Dark	I-Application
,	O
a	O
game	O
about	O
surviving	O
the	O
Canadian	O
wilderness	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hinterland	O
wanted	O
to	O
explore	O
a	O
post	O
apocalyptic	O
world	O
from	O
the	O
fringes	O
,	O
away	O
from	O
the	O
urban	O
apocalypse	O
,	O
which	O
"	O
we	O
've	O
all	O
seen	O
a	O
million	O
times	O
"	O
and	O
away	O
from	O
"	O
B-movie	O
cliches	O
like	O
zombies	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
year	O
later	O
,	O
they	O
were	O
joined	O
by	O
Ken	O
Rolston	O
,	O
the	O
lead	O
designer	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Elder	I-Application
Scrolls	I-Application
III	I-Application
:	I-Application
Morrowind	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hinterland	O
obtained	O
seed	O
funding	O
from	O
the	O
Canada	O
Media	O
Fund	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
September	O
2013	O
,	O
launched	O
a	O
Kickstarter	O
campaign	O
for	O
The	B-Application
Long	I-Application
Dark	I-Application
to	O
raise	O
C$	O
200,000	O
and	O
build	O
a	O
community	O
around	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hinterland	O
announced	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
voice	O
cast	O
during	O
the	O
Kickstarter	O
campaign	O
,	O
allowing	O
The	B-Application
Long	I-Application
Dark	I-Application
to	O
capitalise	O
on	O
the	O
actors	O
 '	O
individual	O
fan	O
bases	O
;	O
the	O
cast	O
announced	O
were	O
Mark	O
Meer	O
,	O
Elias	O
Toufexis	O
,	O
Jennifer	O
Hale	O
and	O
David	O
Hayter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Van	O
Lierop	O
spoke	O
of	O
the	O
differing	O
play	O
styles	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
audience	O
;	O
though	O
players	O
that	O
preferred	O
a	O
"	O
hardcore	O
survival	B-Application
"	O
experience	O
were	O
in	O
the	O
minority	O
,	O
they	O
were	O
most	O
vocal	O
in	O
the	O
player	O
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2020	O
,	O
the	O
developers	O
asked	O
Nvidia	O
to	O
remove	O
The	B-Application
Long	I-Application
Dark	I-Application
from	O
GeForce	O
Now	O
,	O
a	O
cloud	O
streaming	O
service	O
,	O
shortly	O
after	O
the	O
service	O
exited	O
beta	O
and	O
went	O
"	O
live	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
a	O
period	O
of	O
alpha	O
access	O
exclusive	O
to	O
backers	O
of	O
the	O
crowdfunding	O
campaign	O
,	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
featuring	O
only	O
its	O
sandbox-style	O
survival	B-Application
mode	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
Steam	O
Early	O
Access	O
in	O
September	O
2014	O
for	O
Windows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
later	O
arrived	O
on	O
Linux	B-Application
in	O
November	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kelly	O
felt	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
"	O
focus	O
on	O
atmosphere	O
and	O
environmental	O
survival	B-Application
"	O
made	O
it	O
"[stand]	O
out	O
in	O
an	O
increasingly	O
crowded	O
genre	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
at	O
PC	O
Gamer	O
Martin	O
Musgrave	O
wrote	O
that	O
The	B-Application
Long	I-Application
Dark	I-Application
made	O
for	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
greatest	O
survival	B-Application
games	I-Application
to	O
date	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
GameSpot	O
,	O
Shaun	O
McInnis	O
had	O
similar	O
thoughts	O
,	O
seeing	O
that	O
while	O
the	O
survival	B-Application
genre	O
was	O
becoming	O
ever	O
more	O
crowded	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Long	I-Application
Dark	I-Application
was	O
"	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
few	O
games	O
in	O
this	O
genre	O
focused	O
on	O
capturing	O
the	O
solitary	O
wonder	O
of	O
fighting	O
to	O
staying	O
alive	O
in	O
the	O
brutal	O
wilderness	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wired	O
writer	O
Matt	O
Peckham	O
labelled	O
The	B-Application
Long	I-Application
Dark	I-Application
a	O
"	O
troubling	O
yet	O
beautiful	O
gem	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
joined	O
IGN	O
columnist	O
Lucy	O
O'Brien	O
in	O
recognizing	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
beautiful	O
artistic	O
vision	O
,	O
with	O
O'Brien	O
noting	O
that	O
"	O
Developer	O
Hinterland	O
has	O
gone	O
to	O
great	O
lengths	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
world	O
itself	O
a	O
beautiful	O
place	O
to	O
explore	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
2015	O
interview	O
with	O
Creative	O
Director	O
Raphael	O
van	O
Lierop	O
about	O
The	B-Application
Long	I-Application
Darks	I-Application
launch	O
on	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
,	O
Gameranx	O
's	O
Holly	O
Green	O
addressed	O
the	O
unique	O
nature	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
survival	B-Application
mechanics	O
,	O
writing	O
it	O
was	O
"	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
pure	O
survival	B-Application
games	I-Application
on	O
console	O
,	O
separating	O
the	O
genre	O
from	O
its	O
horror	O
roots	O
and	O
taking	O
its	O
themes	O
of	O
minimalist	O
resource	O
management	O
to	O
their	O
most	O
logical	O
conclusion	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
