Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals
Game
Game2020
THE LONGING
Developer Studio Seufz
The Longing is a 2020 point-and-click adventure game created by independent developer Studio Seufz. Set in an underground kingdom, the player controls the Shade, a creature tasked with watching over a sleeping king for 400 days. The Shade performs recreational activities, including reading and exploring, as it waits out the 400 days in real time. The in-game timer continues regardless of the player's actions but… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
302 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Nov 2, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
92
LovedLoved
199 positive · 18 negative
95% range 87–95%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 199 | 18 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 35 | 4 | 36 |
| Mastodon * | 3 | 0 | 7 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
3,823 of 4,144 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
92% recommend · 194 yes, 16 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 210 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (6,911 of 7,487 positive).
Many players find the game's slow, real-time pace uniquely therapeutic and meaningful. [1][2][3] Some reviewers note the game perfectly captures themes of loneliness and patience. [4][5][6] A few players criticize the game for being too slow or unengaging. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [8]
This is a really interesting concept for a game – taking place over real time. I enjoyed getting to know my little friend, and exploring the cave was mildly interesting. However, I can't recommend this game. It's just not that interesting in the long run. You're better off watching some YouTube videos about it rather than playing it for yourself, as it's more of an art project than a video game. To be clear, I think …
- [1]
In many ways this game saved my life. I suffered a long illness where I was completely bedbound and could not speak, tolerate sound, light, or touch, and most days could barely think at all, only lie trapped in my body, barely able to move. As I began to recover, I used this game as a way to rehabilitate my eyes and mind to coping with moving images on screens, since the shade moves so slowly. Even though on the …
- [19]
Installed THE LONGING thinking it was an idle game. It idled me. The game told me to wait **400 days**. I said "bet." Somewhere around day 73 I started checking on a tiny cave man more often than I checked on my own family. I logged in. He was still walking. I logged out. He was still walking. I came back a week later. He had moved approximately 17 feet. Absolute cinema. My dopamine receptors filed for bankruptcy. …
- [11]
I'm about three days in and I love the game so far! It's helped my adhd so much, for example, some doors or activitys take time to open or do, and in those five minutes or so I cleaned my bathroom. The next time something like that came up I did my laundry. I usually have such a hard time getting motivated to do the things I need to do, but with my headphones still on and listening to the ambience of him just …
- [2]
I Didn’t Finish :THE LONGING:. I Lived Through It. :THE LONGING: is not a game you beat. It is a game that walks beside your real life. While the Shade was waiting underground, I was changing house, breaking routines, and unexpectedly adopting two kittens. Outside, new life. Inside the screen, absolute solitude. That contrast stayed with me for the entire journey. …
Summarised from 34 of the 284 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
92% of the 210 Steam reviewers we collected recommend THE LONGING. The complaint that keeps coming up: too slow and boring for some players. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Reception of the game was largely positive. On the review aggregator website Metacritic, the PC and Switch versions received generally favorable reviews. OpenCritic assessed that the game was recommended by 74% of reviewers. Some critics praised The Longing's experimental premise. Adventure Gamers recommended it to players who liked unusual gameplay, or enjoyed video games as an art form. PC Gamer in Swedish called it a "fascinating experiment" with plenty of atmosphere. The Washington Post said that it demonstrated the potential of what video games could do. The slow-paced gameplay divided reviewers. The Washington Post praised the slowness for allowing the player's mind to wander,…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 302 · most liked firstIn many ways this game saved my life. I suffered a long illness where I was completely bedbound and could not speak, tolerate sound, light, or touch, and most days could barely think at all, only lie trapped in my body, barely able to move. As I began to recover, I used this game as a way to rehabilitate my eyes and mind to coping with moving images on screens, since the shade moves so slowly. Even though on the surface our stories were different, I felt like this game understood me, and I had…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The premise of this game is it's the slow 400 day game. You wait in real time for spiders to spin webs and moss to grow and water drops to disrupt the ground. That's all in the pitch and it is everything this game is. I kind of want to downvote this game. I can't in good faith fully recommend it. It's slow, requires you put it aside for large amounts of actual real world time to open up pathways, the interactivity is limited, and the overall map is pretty small. The minute to minute…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really enjoying playing The Longing, a very very slow game (it takes 400 days) with a very bare bones story (you are a shade waiting to wake up your king at which point he will end all fear and longing).
positive · AI labelView post →I Didn’t Finish :THE LONGING:. I Lived Through It. :THE LONGING: is not a game you beat. It is a game that walks beside your real life. While the Shade was waiting underground, I was changing house, breaking routines, and unexpectedly adopting two kittens. Outside, new life. Inside the screen, absolute solitude. That contrast stayed with me for the entire journey. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3520323443 I met silent, strange, beautiful creatures through this game. I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My most played games from Nintendo are The Longing (an idle game that I just left on) and 4 hours of the new Zelda. Rough year for Nintendo but don't worry baby I'll see you at the Switch 2.
neutral · AI labelView post →Great game for realizing just how fast time flies. I could've sworn I bought it yesterday, but it turns out I abandoned the poor thing for over a year.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have ADHD and Autism, and I am a wheelchair user. My brain needs a very specific type of game to keep my attention. Sure, action games work alright, but I can only play them for so long before I get overwhelmed and need a long break, or get too frustrated with mechanics I can't understand. Cozy games are fun, but they don't make me want to keep coming back. The Longing is the first game I have played in a while that makes me want to play it. It is not overwhelming. By all means, it should be…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dont play with intentions. Just do what you want for the time you have. Your time is limited, but it is still so open. You do not have to build anything or search for something you dont even know if it exists. I would recommend everyone playing this game only once and not to watch any content online. Stick with your life as you may only live it once :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Installed THE LONGING thinking it was an idle game. It idled me. The game told me to wait **400 days**. I said "bet." Somewhere around day 73 I started checking on a tiny cave man more often than I checked on my own family. I logged in. He was still walking. I logged out. He was still walking. I came back a week later. He had moved approximately 17 feet. Absolute cinema. My dopamine receptors filed for bankruptcy. TikTok has ruined my attention span so badly that watching this…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a really interesting concept for a game – taking place over real time. I enjoyed getting to know my little friend, and exploring the cave was mildly interesting. However, I can't recommend this game. It's just not that interesting in the long run. You're better off watching some YouTube videos about it rather than playing it for yourself, as it's more of an art project than a video game. To be clear, I think it is very well done, but the reviews ask if we would recommend it to others,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There's idle games, there's clicker idle games and then there's: The Longing. An idle game about waiting 400 days that let's you read books, explore a cave system in real time or just sit in a chair and wait for time to pass. It would be easy to dismiss this as not even a game. The only challenge is to your patience, the only interactions are to make the time pass slightly faster and the only end goal is to wait. But if you've read the store page then you know it was honest about what it…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The most idle game. The Longing promised a lot of things, but the specific one that drew me in was that it was four hundred real days long and would make sure that it took its time getting there. On principle, I'm not against the concept of a game wasting your time — you're wasting your time playing video games as is, so wasting a little more is an extra year on a quadruple life sentence — as long as it's wasting that time for a greater purpose. If you're doing it in order to make the player…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Longing hits what it's going for. Big time. The heavy feeling of loneliness. The slow, sometimes excruciating idleness of waiting. And also the magical beauty in the mundane and tranquil. It's absolutely gorgeous in my book. Visually, sound design-wise and in soul. They nailed the vibe. While technically a point and click adventure game with light puzzles, it wholly focuses on exploration, ambiance, slow progression, atmosphere and oppressive solitude. It has a real time clock and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Remember when you waited hours for the bus, and eventually had to walk instead, because you couldnt wait? Remember when the summer vacation was over and you couldnt wait for the year to end, so you and your geek friends wanted to go bike riding? Well.. here the waiting game takes on a different approach. you can play it on 1FPS and still u wont miss anything, great for if you have endless zoom/teams meetings, you can play it or not play it, it basically plays itself... most recommended age…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fanart of my favourite game of all time - The longing #fanart #gamedev #thelonging #indiegame #illustration
neutral · AI labelView post →definitely one of the most unique games i have played, and something that stood out to me is the fact that the quirk of the game, that being the passage of time, atleast in my experience, didnt take away from the fun that it provided. not for everyone, but a game i enjoyed a lot.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Longing was such a good game dude
positive · AI labelView post →I'm about three days in and I love the game so far! It's helped my adhd so much, for example, some doors or activitys take time to open or do, and in those five minutes or so I cleaned my bathroom. The next time something like that came up I did my laundry. I usually have such a hard time getting motivated to do the things I need to do, but with my headphones still on and listening to the ambience of him just chilling while something happens really helps. I'm unmedicated and have been having a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In an era defined by ephemeral consumerism and the immediacy of desire, The Longing emerges as a plea for the journey itself; a journey whose destination is, by design, profoundly disappointing. Yet that longing becomes a necessary evil, the only way to realize that another path exists, another life, another mode of feeling. Within the context of our ruthless and impatient world, the sheer slowness of Shade's walks turns into a subversive act in itself.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →At around 700 hours I just finished my first playthrough
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oh dang I would be so tempted to do a Donner Party game in real time, like The Longing (which takes 400 days). Someone give me the money to start a game studio and do high fidelity real time historical games!!!
neutral · AI labelView post →So here's how I finished the game: 1. Download the game 2. Wonder around 2 hours 3. Put it on a shelf for 2 years 4. Download it again and watch the final)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm not sure why people need this spelled out for them but: you play this game IN THE BACKGROUND while you DO OTHER STUFF!!! Just hang out with the shade while you do your general computer ♥♥♥♥. Its fun and nice. If you wanna buy a game to fully enagage 100% of your attention go look somewhere else. It really should be obvious. Edit: I think the worst thing about this game is that (i figure) most people play it for a week or maybe a month. Then, they put it on the shelf for a month or two…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game really helped me through depression and purposelessness. This game really showed me the beauty of loneliness and being at rock bottom.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →no game better captures the gnawing feeling of loneliness and melancholy
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Also on this list: The Longing. A game that takes a year in real time to play to completion, which relies on asking you to really dig into inhabiting the role of a lonely servant trying to pass the time. That's a really fascinating use of time.
neutral · AI labelView post →My favorite game I have played by far. It really teaches you the beauty of the wait. Weather it’s waiting for a stone to fall or waiting for a path to clear, the game has this strange sense of beauty. Just thinking about things while walking down the long path ways is so relaxing. It’s a good play for a more mature and patient player.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't think another game, or piece of art in general will resonate with me like The Longing has. The game is truly incredible and this review would take 400 days to read if I tried to explain why.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is one of the most memorable games I've played. I often talk about it to other people because it's so unique, and while not everyone might get it, I think those who are drawn to give it some time and thought surely will. This idea to the game with the theme of an empty underworld, trying to find ways to spend your time in such loneliness, creating a warm home for yourself, is selected carefully to convey the game's meaning. I'm not sure how to put it into words, but my soul gets it. This…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is full of soul and I enjoyed and can strongly recommend it to anyone. Though, today I wanted to check the game to start off the new semester with a freshness and noticed that 400 days had passed, so I naturally was curious about what will happen if I wake the king up. I hoped that I will be able to explore the kingdom afterwards or that I will be able to start the game from the beginning, but no, unfortunately it doesn't seem possible. This end is just very sad, and there is no…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's fun to auto walk the Shade to a random place and just chill while drinking a cup of coffee and listening to the creepy music play. It reminds me of the origional Dark Crystal movie, or Labrynith. Very 90s feel.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →At first i was doubtful. Everything felt slow and I was worried that I was going to refund the game within the first half hour. But at about twenty minutes in of just exploring and learning about the overall lore of the game, I was hooked. Sure its not fast paced like many of the other games I played in the past, but isn't that the point? Time always feels slow when you reject yourself the joys in life, and just like the little shade guy, adding that little color to your everyday life can make…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →my wife bought me this game called The Longing last year as a joke because its about being patient and now im going to try it on these drugs
neutral · AI labelView post →I love this game in concept, I liked the idea of 400 real game days of waiting and gathering/repairing. However, it turns out my real life anxiety and ND cannot handle the painstakingly slow walking pace, I didn't mind the wait for things like doors to open and the mantra, we have 400 days why rush, but I felt like exactly we have lots of time so lets at least walk normally. The slow movement pace was something akin to having lizards crawl across my skin. All I accomplished was reading a book…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →its fun but you need to be ready to put in alot of time the longer you play the more fun it gets.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →its a game of patience-which ill admit tested me at times- but oh my goodness its so nice! the most relaxing game ive played in awhile. The lil shade guy is just so cute!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's very- calming. The whole point of this game is that the experience itself is what YOU make of it - I, for one, ended up using it as a study timer. I studied for my exams, or read books while the game was open in the background. I would even venture out to say that this is the 4'33'' of video games, and I adore it for that reason
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the best games ever made, I love waiting and caves.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →NEXT WEEK ON GAME MASTER MONDAY! The cast of THE LONGING FOR ANOTHER STRANGE LAND will reunite for a live Q&A! They'll be answering all your burning questions about what home means, the apocalypse, giant creatures, and anything else your brains can think of! Tune in at 6:30pm PT! Q&A form below!
neutral · AI labelView post →Getting very attached to this lil guy! The Longing is a great game for people with depression, despair, and anxiety. Gives me something to look forward to every day, helping the Shade move forward with curiosity, one action at a time. Take care of yourself and the Shade. Happy trails!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is very slow and takes a lot of patience, but personally I found it very relaxing rather than frustrating. It’s the kind of game you can just leave running and come back to later. There are 400 days to get every achievement, which sounds like a lot at first, but the game continues even when you’re away. Because of that, it never really feels like you have to constantly play it. In this game, I’ve found 44 books so far during my playthrough, and I’m still keeping an eye out in case…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is literally about wasting time. The idea is original, but the gameplay is too slow and I’m not interested enough to finish it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a beautiful, haunting, and unique game. Few titles have given me such feelings of wonder, surprise, and anticipation; I found myself thinking about what the Shade was up to quite often, and spent a lot of my in-game hours reading books with them by the fire in their cave. I strongly recommend this title to anyone, but particularly gamers who've been playing for decades and find themselves routinuely unsurprised by what they play.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"I know that which you long for" (47 minutes) I love recycling ideas I originally envisioned for a TTRPG game and in turn adding new lore to my world, Valeiia. Turns out The Longing wasn't just a fairy tale. (CW: mild gore/body horror) #obliviousarts #dailyobbie2026 #horror #art #horrorart
neutral · AI labelView post →WAIT... It tells you to wait, and you do. I was surprised at first. Will digging take that much time? How am I going to climb up all those stairs? Do I really have to wait for two whole weeks for a spider web? Yes. Yes, you have to wait. This is one of those games that stays with you. It is unique, it is cozy and it is meditative. Shade is one my favorite characters ever. He doesn't do much, that's true. But the little he does is more than enough to get to know him. I hate idle games.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is more fun to discuss and think about than it is to play. I can respect its merits as an artistic piece, but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone else to actually invest time into outside of research material.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TONIGHT! We begin our next Game Master Monday presents miniseries THE LONGING FOR ANOTHER STRANGE LAND! Tonight’s episode features The Marvelous Children of Inang-Uri as the cast establishes their world atop the back of chimera Going LIVE at 6:30pm PT!
neutral · AI labelView post →for the right type of person, this is probably a great game, but i don't know anyone that i could recommend this game to. the art is great, the colors are lovely, ambient music really sets the tone, but man, 400 days is a long time to wait for AN ending (apparently there are multiple?). there's a couple cool moments, & i feel kinda bad saying this, but it's just boring. no movement, no powers, there's no challenge except for stretching your own patience (which might be the point). i'm already…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's very hard to actually recommend this game, but I feel like not recommending it would be considered a negative review, which I don't want to give either. This is an exploration game of choice and the pace is very very slow. So if you're looking for a point and click game with puzzles or a lot to do, this is definitely not what you're looking for. The gameplay is mostly walking and waiting. You will find things to interact with, some small puzzles, even secrets if you really get into…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →No real surprises with my top games this year, and that Animal Crossing number is about to get a lot higher thanks to the new update. Also shout out to The Longing for being a top played game. ❤️
positive · AI labelView post →i made the lil guy a nice home and it smiled for the first time. i felt so happy. sucks that i cant leave it to enjoy the warm cozy home without time going at 50x speed. I actually wanna spend 400 days in this game yk lol
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love this game. I don't want to give any spoilers, so all I want to say is: Don't just stay inside your room PLEASE PLAY IT PLEASE
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you tab out you're missing the point of the game. This is one of those artsy things I would call more an "experience" than a game, and I'm a sucker for those. The vibes were amazing and I felt things, would recommend if you're the type of guy to soyface at Wavelength (1967) or at a bald guy putting the chip in the cup
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you haven’t played the game The Longing you’re missing out on a really great experience. I’m replaying it again now. store.steampowered.com/app/893850/T...
positive · AI labelView post →Oh, and Season 3 just wrapped, so it won't be all THAT long. But the Longing is part of the game.
neutral · AI labelView post →Be patient. Remind yourself this is an idle game and also, there is an ending to work towards.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →very interesting premise, but it's almost an anti-game by design, cuz it encourages you to close the game and get back later. it just slipped to the back of my mind. otherwise, everything is so good. the atmosphere, the art, the secrets. i'll get back to it one day
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →:THE LONGING: is one of the best games I have played in a very long time. It explores its themes so wonderfully if you truly take the time to discover all that the game has to offer; it is a good thing the game gives you 400 days. A lot of times in this game you will stumble upon something that is barely explained outwardly, but it will stick with you when you understand its deeper meaning. If you have religious trauma or have experienced a loss, I think it will hit quite hard. It's slow, it's…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you want to buy this game, then don't think of it as a game, you might get disappointed. When I read the negative review of people telling it's too slow, they don't have the patience or the gameplay is a bit tidious it's because they don't understand 1 thing. After a 45min try, i got desappointed, but when I launch again to just give it a last try, it hit me. This game is the depression. it's goals is to make you quit. Abandon and let your problem unresolve. Not care of shade, this…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Kinda dissapointed that it didn't actually take a year to do this game, when i first got it I thought it was the coolest idea to have lil things happen over the year with this game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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