Release Date: March 6, 2020
An experimental adventure that combines point-and-click game with idle games mechanics. In The Longing, as a faithful servant of a sleeping king we have to wait 400 days in real time. We can explore the vast system of caves and read full editions of real books.
The Longing is an unusual game combining point-and-click adventure with idle games (also called clickers). This is another work of independent Studio Seufz, which is mainly involved in creating short animated films. However, the German developer also has a few simple free games like Murder, which have been tested by tens of millions of players. Apllication Systems Heidelberg is responsible for the release of The Longing.
The Longing takes place in an unnamed world, more specifically in the underground system of caves, where the stone king rules. However, recently his power weakened and the ruler decides to fall into a long, four-hundred day's sleep in his palace to regain strength. He leaves a single Shade to guard, the last of his servants, who is to stay with the ruler until he wakes up.
According to the plot, the player's task is to guide the Shade until the stone king wakes up. However, unlike most games, in The Longing the days go by in real time, so it takes more than a year to complete a single run from start to finish. The game can end earlier and the adventure can be completed in several ways. Time can also be speeded up by performing certain activities (including lighting a bonfire with coal found in the caves), but this does not significantly affect the pace of the game. What's important is that the seconds run out even when we're not in the game or turn off the hardware with The Longing installed. So we can leave the hero alone or order him to go to a specific location and return to the game when the Shade arrives.
The basics of the game do not deviate from the scheme known from classic point-and-click adventure games. So we explore more places, collect items and solve puzzles. However, all these elements are based on actual time lapse. The hero cannot run, forcing us to march, and many actions can only be performed at a later date, for example when a decaying stalactite finally falls and creates a transition to a previously unavailable location.
In The Longing, we have no pre-established goal except to wait four hundred days for the King to awaken, so all the activities come down to taking time for us or the Hero. We can make the waiting more pleasant by searching for new secrets, playing on instruments made of collected elements, hanging pictures found here and there, etc. In addition, the authors have included full editions of many books, such as Homer's Illiad, Herman Melville's Moby Dick or Friedrich Niestchze's works. There is also no shortage of texts in the game itself, although they come down mainly to monologues and Shade commentaries, either spoken aloud or written down in a diary.
Due to the nature of the game, The Longing does not offer any multiplayer mode.
The developers of The Longing decided to use a two-dimensional, hand-drawn graphics. The graphics resemble the visual setting of classic animations, although the whole thing is kept in dark colours. The atmosphere of the game is further emphasized by a frugal, synthetic soundtrack.
Platforms:
PC Windows March 6, 2020
Android December 18, 2023
Apple iOS December 18, 2023
Nintendo Switch April 14, 2021
Developer: Studio Seufz
Publisher: Application Systems Heidelberg
Age restrictions: none
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System Requirements for The Longing Video Game:
PC / Windows
Minimum System Requirements:
Dual Core 1.2 GHz, 4 GB RAM, graphic card 1 GB GeForce GTX 460 or better, 5 GB HDD, Windows 7.
Game Ratings for The Longing Video Game.
Cubed3: 9 / 10 by Luke Hemming
Never has a game felt so divisive when scoring. For many The Longing is going to feel like one of the most ill-conceived video game notions in history. For others what is delivered is one of the most intriguing and addictive pursuits ever created for home media. With plenty to do, or not as the case may be, the freedom of choice is intoxicating. With so much time to kill also, every decision never feels like the wrong one. If things don't go exactly as hoped on day 1, there's still 399 days to set things right. Relax into that cosy armchair, grab a book, and watch that sand in that hourglass slip away.
Vamers: by Edward Swardt
The Longing’s strongest aspect is how it encourages exploration while encouraging meditation and introspection. Most players will undoubtedly turn the game into a habitual pick-up, while playing other games. However, once they truly immerse themselves into this fantastically sombre world of the shade, the reflection will come naturally, almost willingly. It is very rare for a game to test the waters of what is considered modern-day video gaming, and even more rare for it to succeed. The Longing is exemplary in this regard; masterfully immersing players into the shade’s world as it spends 400 days in solitude. It is, without a doubt, an exceptional experience.
KeenGamer: 8.1 / 10 by Ben Johnson
The Longing is a game about waiting for time to pass. It may not sound appealing, but the game comes with lots of tricks up its sleeve, resulting in a melancholy meditation on silence and loneliness. Find out whether it's worth the wait.
Average score from votes.
![[1:20] launch trailer](https://cdn.gracza.pl/galeria/filmy/640x360/192289812.jpg)
