The Long Dark is getting a Cheat Death system, but don't worry, it's also getting a Misery Mode and cougars

I've played little of legendary survival sim The Long Dark, or The Short Dark, as I guess it has proven for me. I fell off the game after succumbing to my first wolf. But I've sampled enough to know that adding a "Misery Mode" to the game is sort of like upending a bucket of water over a drowning person. More misery in The Long Dark? Oh thank god, that's just what this notoriously easygoing wilderness adventure has been missing. And what's this, developers Hinterland are introducing a new predator, the Cougar, which will move into any area you're fond of and compete over territory. Finally, a bit of friction for what has previously been a stroll in the woods.

It's not all misery. In a first for The Long Dark, which has hitherto been a permadeath game that wipes your save between runs, the devs are working on an optional Cheat Death system. It's not as cheaty as it sounds, however. You can only return from the grave four times, and each time, you'll have to make unspecified trade-offs. The idea is to stop people backing up their saves and make failure more of an adventure or if you prefer, an agonisingly slow decline, rather than letting players avoid the consequences of their actions.

All of the above is coming in part five of the game's Tales From The Far Territory expansion, alongside a new Mountain Pass area and a new Tale that wraps up the Rüdiger storyline from Signal Void and Buried Echoes. The Misery Mode is aimed particularly at people who do well in The Long Dark's Interloper difficulty. Here's a freshly charred chunk of devlog from the developer overview on Steam.

We've been working on a new Experience Mode, specifically made for Interloper players who have maxed out that mode and are looking for a new level of challenge. Misery takes Interloper and ratchets up the difficulty by adding six new Afflictions that are applied over time. The purpose is to survive in the mode for as long as possible after all six Afflictions have come in, and while we're not 100% sure yet as the mode is still being playtested (with some help from some of our Interloper players from the community), we suspect the Days Survived counts will be in the dozens and not the hundreds like some existing Interloper players are able to achieve. Just trying to keep the game fresh and challenging for a group of players in our community who really like punishment! Of course, this mode isn't for everyone.

Also not for everyone, the Cougar, which is such a nuisance they're adding an individual setting to turn it off. It's a highly territorial beast that will become "interested in you" if you spend a while in one region. The cougar will then move in, establish a den and claim a stretch of ground as its territory.

"You'll have plenty of warning before they move in, and plenty of warning once they have occupied a region," the developers explain. "What you won't get is plenty of warning before they attack you, once they are encroaching on your territory (or you on theirs)! So pay attention to the warning signs, move around the world and be prepared with a second Safehouse location in a different region, and you'll be OK."

The Cougar is a vicious customer in combat - its attacks boast a brand new Affliction. Worse, if you let it escape it'll continue to hunt you later, but you can fend it off for an extended period if you find and destroy its den using noisemakers. "We think the Cougar will keep players on edge, and keep things interesting for those who are looking for a good long-term challenge, while also giving players the info they need to avoid Cougars altogether if that's what they prefer," the devs conclude.

Last but not least, there's the Cheat Death System. "This is the first change to our permadeath system that we've ever made in the game, and we hope it brings a new dimension to gameplay for those of our players who just aren't ready to lose their favourite survivor, or those who just want something fresh," the developers write. "We'd love to see players get into the spirit of this and give it a try instead of backing up their saves and continuing without consequences." Here's how it works: if you decide to Cheat Death, you'll be offered "a series of tradeoffs", because the Grim Reaper must have his morsel of flesh.

On respawning, you'll also lose a few items from your pack, which you'll have to retrieve, but the world will be otherwise as you left it, "including resources and gear items you have stored in your favourite locations, places you have explored and looted, surveying progress, Tales completion progress, etc". The game will become harder every time you cheat death, presumably as a result of the aforementioned trade-offs, and your fourth "life" is your final chance. So maybe try to avoid perishing regardless.

The Long Dark remains one of the best survival games on PC - the 28th best, to be precise. That's our verdict, anyway: RPS readers ranked it third in your very own list of survival game favourites.