Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 9 hours ago
WARNING: Some SPOILERS about Episode 5 in this video.
I sat down with the founder of Hinterland and Creative Director of The Long Dark, Raphael van Lierop himself. Here is the uncut conversation between us (except for a brief break I removed), where we discuss a range of topics relevant to the game. Episode 5 is in focus, but we also talk about survival mode and the future of The Long Dark.
A small note: I have a good Elgato camera, but it crashed while setting this up, so I had to use my reserve camera. Hence why my quality is a little low.
Below are timestamps to broad topics we discussed, but be aware that we sometimes go back and forth, so these timestamps are not completely representative of what we talk about.
00:00 Introduction
00:28 Unexpected Praise
04:44 Episode 5 and The Feedback
18:05 Launch Bugs, and the Ending
21:30 The Wintermute Timeline
24:30 Was this Always the Story?
31:20 Development of Episode 5
43:55 Perspectives on Bugs
49:24 Episode 5 Maps to Survival Mode
55:34 Balancing New Content
1:09:26 Player Styles and Narratives
1:15:30 Raphael's Personal TLD Gaming Experience
1:22:50 Future of The Long Dark
1:33:55 The Long Dark Community
1:46:23 Final words
The Symbolism video I mention a couple of times was not yet released when this conversation took place. Find it here:
youtu.be/0urVdrGnXzg
Art Director:
Elentia
Thank you so much to all my Patreons! If you would like to support the channel, consider becoming a patreon yourself:
patreon.com/zaknafein
YouTube membership is also available to get badges and emojis:
youtube.com/channel/UCD9Seg-7Po_qMIfjxtRtFnA/join
Mods / Team Members:
Elentia
PrincessJade
youtube.com/@koruandthistle / twitch.tv/koruandthistle
youtube.com/@dhdunn / twitch.tv/dhdunn
twitch.tv/the_peach_bee
twitch.tv/very_tiny_birb
youtube.com/@Blurplurp
SlickSubversive
youtube.com/@kirksteven4316
Twitch: twitch.tv/StyleZaknafein
I stream rarely, so notifications are recommended
Discord: discord.gg/FZDRcGy
Feel free to join my discord for updates, help and friendly chat.
Merch:
hellofellowsurvivors.com
WARNING: Some SPOILERS about Episode 5 in this video.
I sat down with the founder of Hinterland and Creative Director of The Long Dark, Raphael van Lierop himself. Here is the uncut conversation between us (except for a brief break I removed), where we discuss a range of topics relevant to the game. Episode 5 is in focus, but we also talk about survival mode and the future of The Long Dark.
A small note: I have a good Elgato camera, but it crashed while setting this up, so I had to use my reserve camera. Hence why my quality is a little low.
Below are timestamps to broad topics we discussed, but be aware that we sometimes go back and forth, so these timestamps are not completely representative of what we talk about.
00:00 Introduction
00:28 Unexpected Praise
04:44 Episode 5 and The Feedback
18:05 Launch Bugs, and the Ending
21:30 The Wintermute Timeline
24:30 Was this Always the Story?
31:20 Development of Episode 5
43:55 Perspectives on Bugs
49:24 Episode 5 Maps to Survival Mode
55:34 Balancing New Content
1:09:26 Player Styles and Narratives
1:15:30 Raphael's Personal TLD Gaming Experience
1:22:50 Future of The Long Dark
1:33:55 The Long Dark Community
1:46:23 Final words
The Symbolism video I mention a couple of times was not yet released when this conversation took place. Find it here:
youtu.be/0urVdrGnXzg
Art Director:
Elentia
Thank you so much to all my Patreons! If you would like to support the channel, consider becoming a patreon yourself:
patreon.com/zaknafein
YouTube membership is also available to get badges and emojis:
youtube.com/channel/UCD9Seg-7Po_qMIfjxtRtFnA/join
Mods / Team Members:
Elentia
PrincessJade
youtube.com/@koruandthistle / twitch.tv/koruandthistle
youtube.com/@dhdunn / twitch.tv/dhdunn
twitch.tv/the_peach_bee
twitch.tv/very_tiny_birb
youtube.com/@Blurplurp
SlickSubversive
youtube.com/@kirksteven4316
Twitch: twitch.tv/StyleZaknafein
I stream rarely, so notifications are recommended
Discord: discord.gg/FZDRcGy
Feel free to join my discord for updates, help and friendly chat.
Merch:
hellofellowsurvivors.com
