THE LONGING

A captivating little game with an interesting main mechanic filled with secrets and places to explore. A game you can start and return to as time ticks on. Not a game for everyone, but if you enjoy games where you can be idle for a while or games without a frantic pace, you might want to check this one out.

i feel like i achieved something when i completed this game even though i technically didnt play

as the name suggests, the end is longing, but I highly recommend this game to literally anyone. I am honestly unsure what this is telling me but I thinks it's about being content doing nothing, having patience for no real reason, I decorate my house as I wait slowly. To be honest though shade is such a buzzkill like who tallies their disappointments. 10/10 great game I'm not even done with my first day

Very fun and exciting game! I look forward to playing it everyday after work. I especially love the background noises for the different areas of the game. The little guy is really cute. -Wife

The magnum opus of "video games are art."
Go into this as blind as possible. Trust me, there's a lot more to this game than you might think. The agony of boredom and loneliness adds to the feelings of true longing this game provides, and it nearly made me cry at the ending. To me this is not a game to have mindless fun to. This is a game to feel.

The Longing is an odd game. I bought and played this starting 1st of January, thinking it would be a neat journey to play this at the start of the year and see the ending twelve months later. Turns out, you can beat the game in three months (+ all achievements) by collecting a lot of stuff to make the in-game time go faster. In fact, playing this for almost ninety days while I was job hunting at the same time made me resonate with the patience factor more than I could have imagined. I even got hired around the same week I reached 34 days remaining. If you know, the significance of this, you’d know that it should have added to my enjoyment to the game. It didn’t.

Well, to be honest, The Longing isn’t nearly as thought provoking for me as I thought it would be. For one, I'm fond of slow and artistic games. Death Stranding and Journey pops to mind. But The Longing sells itself as an artistic idle game that tests the player's patience. All of these accurately depicts The Longing to a point where, if you play the game right, you'd have found yourself liking your character, The Shade, and all the minor lore drops you'd find underground. But at the same time, it does feel like there could be more to the game because once you've found everything there is to be found, you'd likely have 250 days worth of waiting left. The later half of the game was what confused me for even as I paced myself with the exploration and all that, the only thing left for me to do at that point was to Achievement hunt. Once that's done (35 days left), you're left with two options: Wake the King or access the other endings.

While I won't spoil any of these scenes, but I will say that if you figure out a way to see the good ending, you'll be rewarded for your eternal patience. The problem of course is that this ending isn't nearly as obvious unless you think about a certain riddle that hints to you how to attain it, which ultimately culminates in the game expecting the player to idle with the game open. Even then, there's a lethal ending waiting for anyone who is looking to get the good end, but isn't paying attention of who's walking above ground. It's not easy to notice this.

As for the Wake the King, there’s not much to say.
Regardless of what you do, there's only one version of this ending. I don't think it would sit well with a lot of folks unless they're raring to go for another round to do the Shade justice.

I give this a 50/50 recommendation. I know you can just look up Youtube for all the endings but if you're looking a patience=payoff game with great art and music, I recommend giving this a shot. The bad half is that the urge to look up a guide 250 in game days later becomes too tempting when you start to question yourself if you'll want to be doing another run of this.

I love love love the tone of this game. It also hides a surprising depth of philosophy. Really worth your time...

I think this is a very clever game. Definitely an idle game in many ways. I do think the best word to describe this game is probably "audacious."

seemed nice at first UNTIL THEY BROCK MY PICKAXE BECUSE OF GLASS THATS JUST EVIL NEVER PLAYING THIS AGAIN

Sombre, meditative, and darkly funny, this incredibly slow and quiet game is like nothing I've ever played before. I'd recommend it if you are at all intrigued by a game whose core mechanic is waiting.

Dünyanın en saçma oyunu olabilir. İlerlemek için beklemekten başka bir şey yapıyorsunuz.
Beklemekten kasıt saatlerce. En son gizli oda mahsur kaldım ve çıkmak için bir gün bekledim.
Vakti bol olan alsın diyeceğim ama vakti bol olanda sıkılır. Oyunun adı ":The Patience:" olsa daha iyi olurmuş.

This game gives you a sense of accomplishment when you figure things out and it makes you stop and enjoy the moment.

This game is the definition of doing something that will take a long time, like 400 days, because the time will pass anyway. I picked up The Longing at a time when I was struggling to get through my weeks and each day seemed to blur indistinguishably into the next. While caring for my Shade and exploring the winding labyrinth of the caves and events that took time to unlock, my hours suddenly had meaning. I came to want the best possible life for my Shade and chose from the branching multitudes of endings accordingly. Maybe I also learned that I want the best possible ending for myself too, even if I’m not entirely sure how to get there yet :)

Such a cute game!

did wanna throw my computer when I broke the pickaxe I had, but that was on me. I got a warning, i did not heed... i payed the price. now I have to wait til moss grows at the waterfall to get a new one.

anyways, if you want a cozy, slow paced game, that is mostly exploring and cute and somewhat sad dialogue, then this is your game! it's mostly expanding, collecting, and exploring so no combat -that i know of.- no health or food bar to worry about.

you can also leave it idle when off. So if you leave your shade to mine, draw or read, he will continue to do so offline.

The artwork is also a bonus, being eerie, dark, and cold, it's still beautiful, and is basically the perfect background and noise for if you're trying to relax while doing schoolwork, reading, or just want background noise. 10/10 game for the cozy gamers who want a Fran Bow feel, but the simple mechanics of a point and click game, with a cozy feel like Stardew valley.

The Longing est un jeu vraiment unique qui vaut le coup d'être fait.

I like the wait, you can speed up the time a bit too much IMO, but I like the chill nature of it. :)

A masterpiece. When you first look at it, it seems simple, but the further you investigate the more complex and beautiful it becomes. I think that this may have genuinely helped me with dealing with depression.
In terms of pure gameplay, the mechanics are not overly complex, and it surprised me with its replayability. At the time of writing this, I have completed the game twice, and am going to do so again.

This game was truly loved by its creators.
It made me curious, made me think, helped me relax. I enjoyed it very much.

The game is such a mood. I never play it for very long, but it's nice to pop into every so often and check in with my little shade character. In a world where housing is so scarce, it's oddly comforting that my little guy never has to worry about housing. They are also mostly alone and dealing with extreme isolation, which is such a mood. It's getting quarantine vibes, but with the option of exploring and adventuring. It's very slow paced and relaxing, and I love the art style.

I waited and waited, and my soul felt complete when it was all over.

I only want the Shade to be happy and surrounded with friends.

Got the game in 2020 and after 5 years I finally got the game to give me the last achievement. 👍7/10 wouldn't do it again but I will recommend.

Game has multiple cannon endings and a couple unofficial ones the community have given their Shade.
A nice SLOW paced game with some interesting things to do. Hop on for an hour or 2 and just explore.
If you like to 100% things, Do read the challenges as one thing and one ending is time sensitive. Besides that just explore the cave with the little guy and check in on him from time to time. You are his only company after all.

Yes, this game lasts for 400 days

Real Review: (No spoilers)
This game is an idle game in disguise, I wouldn't say it is incredible but what is amazing is the fact that it is made in such an unique way that I haven't seen before. Sure, anyone can make a 'meme game' where you wait a 400 day timer for it to be complete, but this is different.

In the game you explore caves, collect resources and books, and eventually gather them home so that you can decorate your home. Decorating your place will speed up time because in that way the shade (player character) is less bored, that is, until you leave and explore caves. If you read books the time also goes faster, so the playtime isn't really 400 days, but you can still wait that amount in real time if you just launch the game and don't touch it. Even when the game is off, the timer will keep going.

The art reminds me of old flash games, or perhaps some atmospheric games, for some reason it reminds me of machinarium, or limbo, even if it has a different artistic design and different genre, but I appreciate it's simplicity. The music is enjoyable and fantastic.

The timer is motivation, but as well giving you time to think if your creature has purpose or not. You can decide in the game yourself, as this is a one-time game experience.

When I was a kid, I used to love a game series called Virtual Villagers, which was all about caring for a tribe of people stranded on an island in real time. What made it one of my favourites was the combination of short-term planning, long-term planning, and figuring out all the riddles that were to be found on the island as a meta-narrative over *generations* of tribespeople.

I felt so nostalgic for this game series when starting The Longing. You take care of a little shade, who has to wait for 400 (real-time) days until his Father/God wakes. Like a Tamagotchi that cannot die, you can launch the game whenever and see how he is doing. You can send him exploring, make him collect items for his little room or have him make art, play music or read books. But there are also a lot of mysteries to uncover in the cave system where you are waiting, and you slowly can explore further and further.

I really started playing this game at the right time, I really have to thank the developers for making this. I think The Longing hits differently when you're in a period of waiting for something in your life, and all you can sometimes do is take care of yourself. I don't want to make this review all about me, but I started to feel such a solidarity with this little shade who is waiting for a higher power in his life to do something, while all he could do is wait and be patient.

The game is so awfully charming, I love the little shade and I want him to be okay so badly, and I love the long term companionship this game has with you. I am a huge fan of the website FutureMe, where you can write and send an email to yourself, that you will receive 1 year in the future. But this somehow feels even more personal than reading back my thoughts and hopes a year after writing them. For a whole year I will see my life change, while I will keep visiting the shade. Somehow it's such a hopeful thought that I'll probably have all my current worries figured out by the time I'll see the credits roll. I am really excited for the journey I will have with this game.

It takes a while.

The Longing is not just a game, it's a work of art that explores the meaning of time, life, and death. Never before have I played a game as profound, sorrowful, and beautiful. Doing my chores with Shade flipping pages in the background was a joyful experience I will never be able to replicate -- one I will cherish and miss forever.

This game is a great experiance if you want a very short fun experaince

The game isn't actually four hundred days long. You can skip time forward at a rapid pace. The stuff going on throughout the timeline isn't enough to last that long, even if you check in once a month. I don't have a clue what people have been doing to play this for hundreds of hours. There are books you can read inside of the game, but you can read them in real life too.

Its very slow, that's kind of the point I guess but the movement is so sluggish to the point its boring. The idea is nice but in practice I played the game for 30 minutes the day I got it and then forgot it existed for two years before finding it again and finishing the ending.

There is a lot to this game, and despite being it being very slow. It's a very compelling game.

could have played 4 years ago but i didn't for no reason. i love this concept.

This game is an ExPeRiEnCe. I enjoyed the wait, but it might not be for everyone.

this gamr doesn't let you replay it witch is so stupid for a game because if i am forced to pay for something i should be alowed to replay it without needing to mess with files and cloud saves

Too long 8.5/10

it took me less than four minutes of playing to realize that i was playing a masterpiece, and an incredibly moving, tearing at my heartstrings one. this is a work of art.

makes longing irl much more fun by comparison

Love it, already this game has become quite special to me.

Daunted by the time the game takes? You can achieve much even in the initial days.

An ideal second-monitor or background game.

Obviamente el juego en general no es tremenda cosa pero pues volver a el de vez en cuando y hacer las cosas que querias hacer antes esta bueno!

I enjoy how the game encourages you to take life slowly. Recently I have deleted most scrolling apps on my phone. I like how I can be productive while playing this game. And this game makes me wonder what happened to this world and I like the exploring aspect. Cool game, probably not for everyone.

This is a quiet, contemplative sort of experience- that leaves you carrying a lot about your grubby little goblin guy.

Gotta love the shade, from his love of long books, to his weird obsession with lice.

A brilliant game, for people with a SOUL.

My longing will never end.

The Longing is the ultimate idler. At first when I moved A Shade for the first time the snails pace of the walk had be very concerned. Until I realized that most things can be done in the background and even while the game is turned off. I got hooked after a little while and have to discover all the secrets and know how it ends.

like an anti-game. really cool concept and execution. excited for the next 396 days

Unique experience.

Fitting graphics, captivating music, and a Shadow that developed into something I cared about.

Do yourself the favor and resist the temptation to lookup walkthroughs.

A fascinating mixture of idle game and exploration/adventure game, the art style is gorgeous in a scratchy sort of way and the slow pace is very soothing and its a great game to play while multitasking, letting the shade wander and explore and make the wait more bearable.

I mean, the game is about... longing. It's good and somber? Definitely a different kind of game.

Though this game isn't for everyone, it's beautifully simple take on the topics allows such a vivid and raw experience

The artwork is amazing as well as the story. I quickly became invested in Shade's well-being and love checking in on him daily. This is definitely worth a try if you're looking for something casual and cozy. This is meant to be played at a much slower pace.

This game is very interesting and I love it, it makes me feel like I have my own secret space inside my PC.
The only inconvenience is that when you set the screen to small mode, the size of the screen becomes too small, or on the contrary, it becomes larger than the full screen mode, and you have to restart the game to operate it.

I've never seen another game like this. The art is cool, and the music is nice. Looking forward to seeing how it plays out over the next year.