The long-delayed fifth and final episode of the Wintermute story for The Long Dark, entitled The Light at the End of All Things, has finally been released on Steam and the Epic Games Store for the PC, and it’s also on consoles. Given that people got to enjoy the first episode way back in 2015, the finale and the answers about what was really happening in Wintermute’s frozen world were a long time coming. But the final episode of this unique story really comes through with a perspective swapping adventure that is filled with danger, excitement and (maybe most importantly) closure for those who invested quite a bit of time over the past decade exploring The Long Dark’s vast winter kingdom.
The development of the story side of The Long Dark has not been ideal. Far from it. The first episode easily earned four out of five GiN Gems in our review when it released back in 2015. Environmental survival titles were rare back then, with those centered around snowy wastelands even more so. Plus we got a compelling story involving a divorced couple, Mackenzie and Astrid, flying (and crashing) their small airplane in a massive snowstorm while trying to deliver a mysterious locked hardcase (Astrid never tells us what is in it) to someone living at the edge of the world. Playing as Mackenzie, we treated our wounds, learned to scavenge and hunt for food, sewed up our clothing, fought and ran from wolves, and did many other things in an attempt to survive and reunite with Astrid, who goes missing soon after the crash.
Everything was off to a great start, and players anticipated that more episodes would be released soon, maybe in a few months. But that did not happen. Episode 2 was delayed for a long time, and when it finally released there was one core element involving repeated bear fights at key points on the new map that made it really unplayable for a lot of people. Developer Hinterland Studio basically had to rework and re-release that episode (and they redid the first one too for good measure), which delayed things by another year. Then at some point, the developer decided to split their efforts between the Wintermute story and the newly created Long Dark open world survival side of the game. For those who were looking forward to finishing the story, this was another kick that further delayed the release of new story elements.
The third episode, Crossroads Elegy, did not release until 2019 but was well received. It earned four and a half GiN Gems out of 5 in our review, beating the original two episodes. We also got to play Astrid in that episode for the first time, although the survival mechanics were similar. The plot involved a commercial plane crash (nobody should fly up north, I guess) and had players rescuing survivors and defending them against wolves using new weapons like a powerful revolver and a versatile hunting bow.
The fourth episode entitled Fury, Then Silence was released in 2021 and had us back playing Mackenzie. It introduced a sort of uber villain to the series, an escaped convict named Mathis who is voiced by none other than Deus Ex superstar Elias Toufexis. That episode took some chances with action sequences that we had not experienced before, and not all of them were amazing. Even so, the episode was a lot of fun and earned 4.5 GiN Gems in our review.
If you are playing Episode 5, then hopefully you have also experienced the other four episodes. Basically, both Mackenzie and Astrid are eventually directed to the town of Perseverance Mills and the surrounding area, where everything comes together and the story ends. In case you forgot everything, the development team put together a movie to help you remember.
We have played both Mackenzie and Astrid before in different episodes, but in Episode 5, players get to play both of them multiple times as they work on different goals. While the constant perspective shifts can be a little jarring at times, they also let the episode break the gameplay into distinct segments that emphasize very different strengths. For example, at one point you are forced into a timed survival run as Mackenzie where you have to complete objectives very quickly, using military stims to stay awake while fighting packs of wolves across a large map. In another section, Astrid gets to drive an old steam engine down rickety tracks in an adventure that sort of reminded me of the vehicle sections of Metro Exodus or even Half-life. Switching between characters lets the game cleanly reset the rules and objectives.
Players start the adventure with Mackenzie and his new friend Jace from Episode 4 having escaped the prison where Mathis had them held. Now out in the wilderness with limited supplies and not much warm clothing, it reminded me of the first episode again where building fires kept you from freezing and hunting rabbits with rocks was one of the only ways to get food beyond farming cattail stalks. It was fun to be back at the baseline for survival once more. Mathis and his gang are still chasing you, and eventually Mac and Jace end up in an abandoned mine that has quite a few puzzle elements to it as you slowly find your way through a mountain.
Then we snap back to Astid who has finally made it to her friend’s house in Perseverance Mills, which we learn was the goal of the entire adventure. Her friend has a sick daughter that Astrid can heal, but only if she gets that rugged briefcase which Mac still has somewhere out in the world. While waiting for Mac, she dives into several mysteries around town including the case of several missing townspeople, or those who died under mysterious circumstances. The cool thing here is that Astrid is a doctor and as such, you get to do medical things like perform autopsies on corpses and do field work looking for missing people (who she hopes to also examine).
This part of the adventure is also a little bit spooky as the mystery of what is happening in the town continues to deepen. Eventually, Astrid learns of a distress call from a mysterious ship way outside of town and decides to adventure there in hopes of finding more answers about what is going on. Some of that is kind of scary. I got real Call of Cthulhu: Prisoner of Ice vibes as Astrid climbs aboard that ghost ship. There is even a little bit of a shout out to H.P. Lovecraft in a later chapter when Mac says that he feels like he is wandering through mountains of madness.
After that, players end up as Mac again and start working for a scientist at the radio telescope station that Jace knows. The new scientist agrees to finally tell Mac (and the players) what the heck is going on, but only after you activate the geothermal power plants for the facility. That requires pulling three levers at different stations scattered across the map. Oh, and if you take too long (you have one single in-game day), then the plants will explode, and it’s game over. To make matters worse, wolves patrol all around the area and are hyper aggressive thanks to the anomaly in the sky, running halfway across the map to attack you. Thankfully, you are given a new weapon, a shotgun, which is pretty powerful and can one hit kill wolves if you do it right. You also have a revolver, which was the standout weapon introduced in the third episode, as backup.
That timed sequence with Mac running all over the map is unique for the series and also challenging. If you take too long, the game simply ends. It seems to know if you get to the point where you can’t finish the run in time and just ends the game, which prevents you from getting soft locked at the end of your run. If you get killed for time, you can reload a nearby save and just start running to make up some ground. Of course, the wolves will slow you down, but the ultimate predator of the whole series, the cougar (which was only recently added) also makes a scripted appearance near the end of that mission. I chose to scare it off and run past it rather than engage in a fight with the beast, although it’s not invincible. I was just out of time at that point and needed to move on quickly.
Oh, and yes, players do find out what Wintermute means and why the world is ending. It’s all explained in a much too long cut scene where you just sit back and listen to a story that starts back in the 1800s. It’s kind of dull, and it’s definitely longer than it needs to be but at least players finally get their answers.
Then players are back to playing Astrid in Perseverance Mills and our friend Elias, er I mean, Mathis shows up with his convict gang and takes over the entire town. His son is badly injured, and he orders Astrid to save him, but she can’t without a trauma kit (with the only one being located at a search and rescue station on the other side of the map.) Mathis makes you go get it by saying that he will kill everyone in town if his son dies. But instead of walking, you are able to get an old steam engine working and can ride it all the way to the station.
The train sequence for me was a lot of fun. You have to feed the engine piles of coal, which can be scavenged at rail yards along the way, although those spots are normally guarded by wolves. There is also a mechanic where the train can ram obstacles on the track if it is going fast enough, so you need to speed up right before you hit something to obliterate. However, you can’t run at full speed all the time because it drains too much heat and coal from the engine. So, it’s a bit of a balancing act keeping the ancient beast running smoothly.
There are also little mazes of railroad switches at different points on your journey that need to be manipulated in order to get the train on the right track. And yes, they are often guarded by angry packs of wolves too. All in all, I really enjoyed the train ride as it added a new dimension to playing the game. My only complaint is that the train really needs a storage box for coal inside the engine compartment. Otherwise, it’s too cumbersome to carry hundreds of lumps of coal around, especially given how quickly the locomotive devours them.
After that, things wrap up pretty quickly. There is a little stealth sequence you need to complete as Mac and then a lot of cutscenes, but players have pretty much reached the end of the road for Wintermute and The Long Dark’s main story at that point. The ending itself has a few little surprises, and definitely seems to set up the next game, Blackfrost: The Long Dark 2, which Hinterland Studio is currently working on. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait another decade to see how that one turns out.
Episode 5 may not be flawless, but it absolutely earns its place as the conclusion to Wintermute. With strong survival gameplay, memorable set pieces and the long-promised answers finally on the table, The Long Dark closes out its story in a way that should satisfy most players who stuck with it through the long wait. That makes this finale not just an ending, but a reward for everyone who kept the fires burning for the Wintermute story all these years.
Platforms: Epic Games Store, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Steam, Xbox One