One of the best survival games is getting even better, with new visual upgrades for The Long Dark that are now available on PC.
As detailed by developer Hinterland Studio, this free overhaul introduces a number of graphical improvements to the harsh Canadian wilderness.
You can see an overview of the different enhancements in the video below:
This update is live on PC, Mac, and Linux, with the console version planned to follow at some point in June.
Naturally, not all of the graphical improvements are available on each platform, as newer consoles are far more capable than older hardware. Here are the new features available on each platform:
- Colored Shadows: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Linux, Mac, Luna
- Colored Fog: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Linux, Mac, Luna
- Anisotropic Filtering: Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS5, Linux, Mac, Luna
- Enhanced Draw Distances: Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS5, Linux, Mac, Luna
- Terrain Blending: Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS5, Linux, Mac, Luna
- Ambient Particle Effects: Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS5, Linux, Mac, Luna
- Improved Terrain Shadows: Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS5, Linux, Mac, Luna
- Motion Blur: PC, Linux, Mac, Luna
- Improved Anti-Aliasing: Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS5, Linux, Mac, Luna
- Improved Ambient Occlusion: Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS5, Linux, Mac, Luna
- Improved Structure Shadows: Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS5, Linux, Mac, Luna
Running all of these new features on PC makes the game more demanding. While we don't have complete specification details, the developers indicate that an RTX 3060 paired with a 3GHz CPU and 32GB of RAM should be able to run The Long Dark with all of the new settings enabled at 1440p 60 FPS.
The Long Dark has been supported for over a decade now, with the game first launching in early access on Steam in 2014 before becoming one of the first-ever games to launch through the Xbox Game Preview program on Xbox One in 2015.
The Long Dark saw a full release on Xbox, PC, and PlayStation in 2017, and has gone on to sell over 5 million copies as of 2021.
Looking ahead, Hinterland Studio is currently working on a sequel called Blackfrost: The Long Dark 2, which is slated to launch into early access in 2026.
