The Long Dark update brings challenge modes and cabin fever

The Long Dark has a great survival sandbox mode, but if you've been playing since 2014 then you might have grown tired of just surviving. Thankfully Hinterland has just rolled out a major patch introducing challenge modes, as well as a few updates to the traditional game. Concerning the latter, among the most interesting developments is cabin fever. Yes, now you can go stir crazy if you stay indoors for too long, which raises the stakes quite a bit.

"We feel that these changes will go a long way towards keeping the game more interesting for long-term players, add another layer of strategic decision-making and resource management around where and when you Rest, and increase the challenge for those who’ve embraced long-term hibernation techniques," a studio spokesperson wrote in the patch notes.

The other big addition is Challenge Modes, which add clear, morsel-sized objectives to the current sandbox mode. The video above has some footage of these, but the current patch introduces two in the form of "Hunted, Part One" and "Hopeless Rescue". There's a lot more to chew over, including major UI changes and a new radial menu system, so you might as well check out the full patch notes over here.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.