The Longing v1.8.0

The Longing is an unusual, quietly powerful experience that blends slow-paced adventure with idle-game mechanics. You play as the Shade, the last servant of a sleeping king who has chosen to rest for 400 days to regain his power. From the moment you start, a 400-day countdown begins - and it keeps running even when you quit the game or shut down your computer. The central tension is simple but profound: do you wait patiently in the darkness, or do you spend those long days exploring, collecting items, and making the Shade’s underground chamber more comfortable?

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Gameplay rewards patience and curiosity. Movement and exploration are deliberately slow; the Shade strolls through a vast, hand-drawn cave system at a languid pace, which reinforces the game’s melancholic mood. You can send the Shade on walks to find furniture and trinkets, read classic books (the in-game books are available in English for now), or push outward into darker, more dangerous regions and discover hidden secrets. There are time-based puzzles and multiple endings, so your choices about waiting or acting matter. The atmosphere is enhanced by a minimalist, dungeon-synth soundtrack and understated, charming art - the Shade feels lonely but oddly endearing.

The Longing is best approached with patience and an openness to an atypical, meditative form of storytelling. It’s as much an experiment in time and absence as it is a game: you can play actively, or you can simply start the timer and return later to see how things resolve. The Longing can be downloaded.

Key features:
- Slow exploration of a vast, hand-drawn cave
- Real-time 400-day countdown that continues when the game is closed
- An unusual mix of adventure and idle-game mechanics
- Atmospheric dungeon-synth soundtrack
- Multiple endings and plenty of well-hidden secrets
- Time-based puzzles
- In-game reading of classic literature (currently in English)
- A lonely but charming protagonist