The Longing Reviews
No other game is going to make moving a rock across a room take three minutes and dozens of button presses. I just don't know if I think that wanting to play a different video game while waiting for another video game to play itself is good. Should an entertainment product be constantly engaging? I don't really know. However, I do know that I wouldn't change a single thing about The Longing.
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.
The Longing can be interesting, elegant, creative, deep and coherent, that is enough for us to consider it a great game.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The Longing requires patience but is a surprisingly captivating and emotional game that it's worth taking the time to connect to.
I love being alone in The Longing. I love that it's a game that decelerates. I love that it's a game that makes me care for myself, for example wanting me to just a read a book for a few hours. Everyone looking for a quiet and caring game should have a look at The Longing.
Review in German | Read full review
With a touch of “you will get there with time” we get The Longing! This is a game that requires a lot of patience but is a surprisingly captivating and emotional game that it’s worth taking the time to connect to. In this game we take the place of a little shadow that needs to wait until he’s king awakes, and for that you can explore and do various activities. The Longing it’s a fun experience and a calming and peaceful game to play! So go and give it a try!
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
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.
I wasn't expecting The Longing to be such an addictive experience. I was thinking about Shade even when I wasn't playing, it's a remarkable accomplishment for a game to evoke such a feeling.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
I’m confident that I will be firing up The Longing on a regular basis throughout this year and beyond.
The Longing's gripping storyline and multiple endings clash with the lack of puzzles and too many pauses. Worth to try if you are looking for an original story, but if you love to have your brain continuously tested and challenged, this is not your cup of tea.
Review in Italian | Read full review
While The Longing isn’t for everyone, it’s an excellent exercise in expanding our definition of what video games can be. You can explore and get to know your Shade, filling its home with warmth and making it happy as it longs for its king to awaken. Or you could put the game down, turn it off, and never open it again until the 400 days have passed. The choice is entirely yours. The Longing rewards your curiosity, invites you to sit with your feelings, and reminds us of the importance (sometimes) of being alone. And, if anything, it’ll teach you that patience is a virtue.
Like all of the most meaningful art, The Longing's gameplay struggles to be what is traditionally considered to be "fun" at times. However, it is a dark and thoughtful journey that tackles profound subjects, and is well worth your time if you're looking to experience something truly unique.
This is one of the hardest games I have ever had to review. Partially because I haven't played the The Longing in its entirety, but also because I simply don't know where the journey will take me. Many people will write off this game for being boring or too slow paced; I certainly grew impatient many times and had to take a break. But if the player can understand the slow pacing as a means to communicate The Longing's true essence, they will be rewarded with a purgative experience unlike anything I've ever seen.
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. It's hard to verbally explain how something so… non-gamey achieves that, and, yeah, it won't satisfy just about anyone, but lovers of indie titles with unique concepts are advised to try this out.
How many other games can keep you glued to the screen for 20 minutes while a little cartoon guy chops away at a crystal? At the same time, the tendency of some to ascribe brilliance to media tinged with novelty is misguided. Any meaning that runs deeper than the shallow concepts directly addressed in-game will be more a case of your imagination running amok than the game trafficking in deep ideas. The Longing definitely won’t be for everyone, but as an interesting departure from what ordinarily constitutes a “game,” I’d say that it’s worthwhile for the most part. Just be aware going in that it can run out of steam long before you’re finished.
“There must be more in life than waiting for something to happen.” One of many sentences the main character in The Longing said to me. The indie title from Studio Seufz intrigued me for so many aspects. First of all, it’s a title from Germany, the country I was born, raised, and still living in. It originates from the same state as I am from, which was another reason why I wanted to try it out.
Before getting a bit more negative I wanted to be clear I absolutely have respect for developers who dare to tackle the challenge of coming up with something unique...
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.
The Longing is a real test of patience thanks to its slow sense of progression, but there’s no doubting that it offers a unique and intriguing experience. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy some of my time with the game, with the clever time-based puzzling and the mysteries of the world certainly keeping me invested in Shade’s long wait. However, it didn’t take long for that appeal to wear thin. I didn’t have the patience to fully appreciate The Longing for the long term, but instead find myself waiting for those four-hundred days to be up just to see how it ends. I completely appreciate what the developer was trying to do here, but it just wasn’t for me. I didn’t hate the game or think that it was necessarily bad… I just struggled with the amount of time it takes to do anything. But hey, who knows, The Longing could be the perfect game for you. There’s nothing quite like it out there and it deserves praise for that. Just bring some form of extra entertainment with you if you’re planning out a long trek in the game… you’ll need it.
We can't lie - we hated The Longing. We hated every second of playing it for review. Is it a resounding success at presenting all of its themes? Is it thought-provoking in a way that few games manage? Is it an exhausting slog we wouldn't wish on our worst enemies? The answer to all these questions is yes. But, with all that said, you cannot help but respect the developer's audacity and unwavering commitment to their principles. What the game sets out to do it accomplishes with flying colours, and it's filled with clever ideas and meditations.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.