How to use console commands in The Long Dark

The Long Dark is one of the most refined survival titles on the market. It continues to be supported by Hinterland Studios through updates and new content episodes. It’s a harsh world full of dangers, but you can make your life a bit easier with console commands.

How to enable console commands in The Long Dark

The developers removed access to console commands a few years ago, but the dedicated modding community for The Long Dark has added that feature back in through a mod. I’ll walk you through how you can first enable mods for The Long Dark and then use the console as well.

Download MelonLoader

First, you need to install MelonLoader, a popular tool used to mod games developed on Unity.

• Head over to the following link to download MelonLoader and select Get Started.
• Download the latest version for Windows.

• Open the installer and select The Long Dark from the list.

• After that, press install, and MelonLoader will be installed for The Long Dark.

Install the DeveloperConsole mod

• Now that mods are enabled for The Long Dark, head over to the following GitHub link to download the DeveloperConsole mod.
• You also need the ModSettings mod for the DeveloperConsole mod to work.
• Once downloaded, extract the zip files into the following location:

\TheLongDark\Mods

• Your Mods folder should now look like this:

After that, you’re good to go.

Use developer console in The Long Dark

• With the mod installed, launch The Long Dark. You will see a command prompt screen pop up. This is normal and is part of the MelonLoader installation.
• Once you’re in the game, load up your save file and hit F1. This will bring up the console window.

• Type your desired command in the console and hit Enter to execute it.
• For example, I spawned a bunch of stags using the “spawn_stag” command.

There are hundreds of commands that you can use to alter the environment, add items to your inventory, spawn different animals and items, or even mess around with the game’s physics. You can check these out on The Long Dark wiki.

I don’t recommend messing around too much with the physics, as it might break the game and your save file. As always, it’s recommended to back up your save files just in case. You can find your save files at the following address:

C:\Users\[your-windows-user]\AppData\Local\Hinterland\TheLongDark

How to disable mods in The Long Dark

If you’re done playing as God in The Long Dark, and want to remove the mod entirely. There are two ways to do that.

• Delete the .dll files from the Mods folder. This will let you use other mods in the future as usual.
• Uninstall MelonLoader. Simply launch the setup executable and uninstall it for The Long Dark.

I hope that mod support is officially added in The Long Dark eventually, but currently, this is the only way to enable the developer console and use different commands.