The Long Dark’s mountainous Survival Mode expansion beckons in December

Frosty survival game The Long Dark is releasing the first part of its paid expansion, Tales From The Far Territory, in December. The expansion is part of devs Hinterland Studio’s efforts to make further improvements to the game’s Survival Mode, and will be split into multiple releases over twelve months. I’m getting a Stranger Things season four vibe from what’s been shown so far. You can see for yourself by watching the short, and quite dark, teaser trailer below.

It’s been quite a while since we last heard anything about The Long Dark’s paid expansion, first announced back in spring. Now called Tales From The Far Territory, it’ll take you to some big-ass mountains on the game’s Great Bear Island. These peaks are known as the Far Range, “an imposing wall of rock that stands vigilant over Great Bear’s priceless resource riches”, according to Hinterland.

“Over the decades, many have tried, few have succeeded to crack open the wealth within these rocks,” Hinterland’s founder Raphael van Lierop said in a new dev diary. “And mysteries abound. Dark stories told around campfires, about abandoned mines and remote airfields that hold many secrets.” Forsaken Airfield is the first of three new regions coming with the expansion pass, all splitting off from a hub region.

There’ll also be three “Tales”, or story challenges, that reveal more about the Far Territory, along with new music and systems such as safehouse customisation, trading, and more complex recipes for cooking. Hinterland say the price of the expansion will go up by $5 halfway through the year of updates, and another $5 at the end of 2023, to reflect all the added stuff. There’ll also be some free updates including a global loot and wildlife refresh and a Thermos flask coming to Survival Mode. You can read more about The Long Dark’s expansion here.

The Long Dark: Tales From The Far Territory heads to Steam and the Epic Games Store in December for £18/$20/€20. The base game is available on Steam, Epic Games Store other Microsoft Store for £28/$35/€30.