The survival sandbox of The Long Dark has been given a host of new content as the latest update – titled Tireless Menace – is now available through Steam. The update comes with an accompanying trailer, demonstrating a streamlined experience and some gruelling new challenges.
The first of the updates to The Long Dark is a new radial menu system that streamlines the inventory access and replaces the previous action panels with one and two button clicks for a smoother experience. This also introduces a subset of items that can be crafted on the fly, without the need for a workbench.
Tireless Menace also brings challenge modes to the sandbox, providing a more objective-based feel to this part of the game. For now, these include “Hunted, Part One,” where you have to escape a murderous bear stalking you from Pleasant Valley to Mystery Lake, with only the Distress Pistol for protection. There’s also “Hopeless Rescue,” where you have to get from the Trapper’s Cabin, to the top of Timberwolf Mountain, and then over to fire a signal flare from the Lighthouse in Desolation Point, within seven days.
There’s also been overhauls for the decay and rest systems, as well as the introduction of a new affliction in the form of cabin fever. This adds a whole new angle to the quest for survival in the game, and can shake-up even the most established of strategies.
You can read the full patch notes including lists of the gameplay fixes and enhancements over at the game’s Steam page.