Platforms
- PCMar 5, 2020NAplayscoreNA0 Critics9.43.85K Players
- Nintendo SwitchApr 14, 2021NAplayscoreNA0 CriticsNA0 Players
11 critic reviews · 0 community reviews across all platforms
Microtransactions
This game includes in-game purchases. For more info, visit our microtransactions guide.
Critic Reviews
- The Longing is a peaceful game, to the point that it often feels meditative. The Shade moves slowly and can’t be hurried. You can set it to walk automatically to places you have remembered, but it still happens in real time.
Kirstie Summers · May 05, 2021 Reviewed on SwitchRead full review - Ultimately, The Longing is one of those video games that defies traditional scoring metrics. What kind of score would you give a game that succeeds so triumphantly at being utterly, utterly tedious? A one? A ten? It feels inadequate and somewhat trite to split the difference, but here we are.
Stuart Gipp · Apr 30, 2021 Reviewed on SwitchRead full review - The Longing is a very special game that alters how someone plays a game, what a puzzle can be, or even what a game can be. This is a fun game full of moments that are exciting, which is honestly surprising for what might be the slowest game ever made.
Joshua Robin · Apr 29, 2021 Reviewed on SwitchRead full review - The Longing uses isolation, open space and freedom of choice to send players on a year-long exploration of loneliness, identity and meaning in real time. It won’t be to everybody’s taste, but those who commit to seeing it through will find a surprising, poignant and rewarding experience unlike anything else out there.
Will Aickman · Jan 29, 2021 Reviewed on PCRead full review - The design approach taken by The Longing is bold, but it is not something everyone will appreciate. We live in an era of endless distractions, with many different forms of both work and entertainment clamouring for our time. Perhaps the developers behind The Longing have a point that it’s worth it to slow down once in a while.
Rebecca Hills-Duty · Mar 11, 2020 Reviewed on PC - 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.
Luke Hemming · Aug 28, 2021 Reviewed on SwitchRead full review - If you are the kind of gamer who likes an atmospheric, experimental style of game, then pick up The Longing. Will you be benevolent or cruel? Curious or apathetic? Loyal or untrustworthy. The choices, the discoveries, the myth, and the magic are all in your hands!
Ash Mercia · Apr 28, 2021 Reviewed on SwitchRead full review - No, THE LONGING isn't perfect. It could definitely be so much more than what it is. More specifically, for something that's supposed to last for more than an actual year, you won't exactly swim in content while playing it. On the other hand, of course, this was never about "content," but about getting engrossed into it all, and letting the dark, empty caves become part of you.
Athanasios · Mar 24, 2020 Reviewed on PCRead full review - The Longing es una propuesta verdaderamente personal y arriesgada. Esta curiosa mezcla entre idle game y juego de aventuras nos invita a esperar 400 días de tiempo real (que transcurren igual aunque salgamos del juego o apaguemos el ordenador) para cumplir con nuestra misión de despertar a un poderoso rey de su letargo reparador.
Yago Lago · Apr 06, 2020 Reviewed on PCRead full review - The Longing ist ein ungewöhnliches Spielerlebnis, das auf eine wirklich sehr spezielle Zielgruppe ausgelegt ist. Es ist ein langsames Idle-Adventure, das fantasievoll und knifflig ist, aber dazwischen sehr viel Zeit verstreichen lässt, in der nichts passiert. Gar nichts. Nach einer gewissen Zeit ist alles erkundet, gebaut und angepflanzt. Dann wünschte man sich mehr Handlungsoptionen, mit denen sich die Wartezeit füllen lässt.
Maja Verfondern · Mar 05, 2020 Reviewed on PC, SwitchRead full review
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About the game
Trailers & Screenshots:
Play as a lonely Shade, the last servant of a king who once ruled an underground kingdom. The king's powers have faded and he falls asleep for 400 days to regain his might. It is your duty to stay in the earthen palace until he awakens. As soon as you start, the game inevitably counts down the 400 days - even when you stop playing and exit the game.
Developer: Studio Seufz