Survival Is Earned. Chaos Is Documented.
Another week, another set of chaotic survival tales. If you blinked, here’s what went live on the blog:
One story wraps up, others carry on. Thanks for tagging along—more survival chaos ahead next week.
Day 11 of my Skyrim Survival Mode playthrough on Nintendo Switch. I cure my vampire disease, nearly lose the run to disconnected controls, and finally become the stealth archer I keep pretending to be.
Missed the previous day? Find it here: Skyrim Survival Day Ten
After some internal debate, I decided to cure the disease before I fully turned vampire. I’m not ruling out the vampire lifestyle forever, but for now I prefer my Argonian warm-blooded and not photophobic. Maybe next time.
Outside Ustengrav, I’m ambushed by three bandits and a necromancer. Could’ve been the end of the run—especially when my Joy-Cons disconnected mid-fight. Nothing like fumbling for a controller while enemies swing for your skull.
Luckily, Loki stepped in. I dismounted and used hit-and-run tactics while my horse quite literally stomped the threat out of them. Between the panic, arrows, and hooves, we made it through.
Inside, I finally commit to the stealth archer lifestyle I keep pretending I’ve mastered. Draugr fall one by one to well-placed arrows, never knowing what hit them. This is the dream.
For a brief moment, I wonder if there’s a way to bring Loki into dungeons. Probably not. Still, the mental image of a stealth horse sneaking past Draugr is one I’ll cherish.
Reach the end of Ustengrav, expecting to claim the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller. Instead, I find a note. Great. Someone’s stolen it and wants a private meeting at the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood. Because that’s not suspicious at all.
With the dungeon cleared and no horn in sight, I head back to the inn in Morthal to thaw out and call it a day. I’ll deal with mystery notes and secret meetings tomorrow. For now, I’ve earned some warm food and sleep.
Welcome to Survivor Incognito! This is where survival games meet chaos, comedy, and a healthy disregard for difficulty settings.
If you’re new here and wondering what this blog is all about, here’s a quick guide to help you dive in:
Think playing on easy makes survival games easy? I’m living proof it doesn’t. 👉 Surviving, Not Suffering: Why I Choose Easier Difficulties
🗺 The Long Dark Complete Region & Transition Zone Survival Guide
📆 Survive Your First Week in The Long Dark
🕷 The Backyard Trials: Grounded Permadeath
🏹 Sneak, Snipe, Repeat: Skyrim Survival
🚢 Dark Waters: A Dredge Survival
SnowRunner Survival: The Permagear Diaries Main Hub
Sunburnt & Sinking: A Stranded Deep Survival Diary
👉 About Me
👉 The Long Dark Customloper Settings: Easier Interloper Survival Mode
👉 FAQ
Thanks for joining the mayhem. Surviving is optional. Storytelling the downfall? Mandatory
A look back at the survival chaos from this week on Survivor Incognito: from haunted seas and freezing wilderness to dino disasters and exploding oaks.
It’s been a week full of questionable decisions, close calls, and new beginnings here at Survivor Incognito. In case you missed any of the madness, here’s your survival cheat sheet!
The search for one stubborn fish continued, along with a steady descent into darkness and dread.
Charcoal maps, rabbit stew, and a sudden storm — because survival in The Long Dark is never boring.
A behind-the-scenes update! I’m working on expanding the ARK Survival Evolved map page to cover all Switch maps. All the regions, all the doom.
Vampires, arrows, and highly questionable footwear choices. My Argonian had quite the day.
The lasers were fixed, the oak tree exploded (as it does), and the backyard remains terrifying.
Punching trees, hallucinating plants, and being reminded why Aberration is not the friendliest place to spawn.
More chaos, more permadeath, and maybe even a few victories (no promises). Stay tuned!
Day 10 of my Skyrim Survival playthrough on Nintendo Switch. I finally track down the Master Vampire, get cursed, loot a backpack, and question one vampire’s strange obsession with boots.
Missed the previous entry? Find it here: Skyrim Survival Day Nine
I picked up where I left off—tracking down the Master Vampire who’d been making Morthal miserable. The cave wasn’t far, but it was full of surprises. The first being how embarrassingly bad I am with a bow.
Two frostbite spiders greeted me, and I introduced them to about fifteen arrows—most of which missed. Somehow they didn’t notice. Either I’m too stealthy or they were too busy being creepy in the dark.
Thralls, Vampires, and the Great Boot Hoard
Things picked up after that. I managed to sneak around and take out two thralls without them raising the alarm. They dropped quietly, like they knew it was their time.
Then I stumbled across a vampire sleeping off the night shift. One solid sneak attack and it was nap time forever. They didn’t have much, but their bookshelf was packed with boots. Not books. Boots. One of them boosted my sneaking, so I took the hint and left the rest.
Further in, Alva reappeared—clearly still in a mood after her last defeat. A thrall decided to help me by attacking her, which made things easier. But before I could finish the job, she tagged me with Sanguinare Vampiris. So now I’m infected. Not thrilled, but not rushing to cure it either. Still weighing the pros and cons of turning undead.
Mission Complete, Bonus Backpack Secured
Eventually I found and eliminated the Master Vampire. No dramatic boss fight—just a clean, quiet finish. I headed back to Morthal, where the Jarl thanked me and promised the Thane title if I helped the locals.
While doing some casual burglary—I mean, investigating—I came across a backpack enchantment that boosts bow damage by 10%. I took it as divine intervention for my earlier archery shame.
With the vampire threat handled (for now), I rested at the inn and prepped for tomorrow’s journey to Ustengrav. Hopefully no more spiders. Or at least fewer boots.
A peek behind the scenes at Survivor Incognito! I’m planning an epic ARK map-hopping permadeath series, scheming up Minecraft chaos with 15 survival rules, and plotting the next waves of mayhem.
I figured it was time for a little behind the blog moment — because while my in-game characters are busy getting eaten, frozen, or flattened, I’m quietly plotting even more ways to make their (and my) lives harder. Here’s what’s brewing in the background of Survivor Incognito.
If you thought Day One Diaries for ARK: Survival Evolved was the end of my dino-related disasters… oh no. The plan is to turn ARK into a full permadeath series where I attempt to survive across all the Switch maps. That means scorched deserts, radiation zones, angry dinos, and probably at least one embarrassing death involving a dodo.
Right now, I’m working on:
This new series will (hopefully) kick off after the ARK Day One Diaries finish, so stay tuned!
Yes, I’m also eyeing Minecraft. But not just any survival run — I’m planning a permadeath challenge with a twist:
It’s part survival, part self-sabotage, part comedy. I’m still finalizing the rules (because let’s be honest, there are so many ways to make this worse for myself). Expect everything from “no weapons today” to “you must sleep every night or else.”
In the meantime, the usual suspects continue:
Thanks for following along! If you’re enjoying the ride (or the wrecks), make sure to subscribe or follow on Tumblr, Facebook, or Bluesky. Chaos loves company.
It’s been another action-packed week of survival, chaos, and questionable decisions over at Survivor Incognito. If you’ve been busy wrestling giant crabs, flipping trucks, or dodging ghost fish, here’s your chance to catch up!
I broke down the logic (or madness?) behind turning SnowRunner into a permadeath challenge. Because nothing says “relaxing drive” like knowing one bad flip could end it all. [Read More Here]
The sea giveth, the sea taketh away… and sometimes it just giveth more terror. Day Four of my Dredge permadeath series saw the madness meter creeping ever higher. [Dark Waters: A Dredge Survival – Day Four]
Another day, another frostbite risk. My Voyageur survivor braved the cold and the chaos as we inch further into this brutal Long Dark journey. [The Cold Chronicles Day Seven: A Voyageur’s Tale of The Long Dark]
The Argonian archer continued slinking through Skyrim, proving that stealth is great—right up until it isn’t. Day Nine brought more dragons, more necromancy, and more “how did that go so wrong?” moments. [Sneak, Snipe, Repeat: Skyrim Survival Day Nine]
The backyard is still terrifying. Day Two brought more bugs, more base-building, and more moments of me asking why I ever thought permadeath was a good idea here. [The Backyard Trials: Grounded Permadeath – Day Two]
Big news! I announced the upcoming Day One Diaries for ARK: Survival Evolved. Expect dinos, disasters, and probably a lot of running for my life. [Get the details here]
Survivor Incognito has crossed 500 views! A huge thank you to everyone who’s joined the portable survival chaos. Here’s to more maps, more diaries, and probably more regrettable decisions.
Somehow, this little survival corner of the internet has crossed 500 views—and I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who’s visited, clicked, or accidentally found the blog while looking for something else entirely. (Hey, I’ll take it.)
When I started Survivor Incognito 57 days ago, it was just a space to share:
Survival game stories (usually featuring questionable decisions)
Maps and guides (so you don’t get lost like I do)
And a lot of Switch-based chaos
Fast forward to today, and I’m genuinely thrilled that over 500 views’ worth of folks have joined in. Whether you came for ARK maps, The Long Dark Customloper settings, Skyrim survival mishaps, or just to watch the chaos unfold—thank you.
The chaos continues:
The Day One Diaries: ARK Edition is launching soon, filling the weekend gaps with fresh prehistoric panic.
The map pages and hubs will keep growing as I explore (and inevitably die in) new places.
More survival stories, more bad ideas, and probably more pinecone tea. Expect more information soon.
I’m just getting started. If you’ve enjoyed the blog so far: ➡ Bookmark the site
➡ Share it with fellow Switch survival fans
➡ Or just stick around for the next 500 views of portable disaster.
Here’s to the next milestone—and to thriving, not just surviving.
Day 9 takes me from ancient tombs to icy swamps. I dodge frost magic in a wooden shack, fight a dragon on a mountain, and uncover a vampire plot in Morthal. Janessa doesn’t make it.
Missed day eight? Find it here: Sneak, Snipe, Repeat: Skyrim Survival Day Eight
The plan for the day? A classic dungeon crawl through Dustman’s Cairn. The reality? I walked into what might have been the world’s most disappointing annex. One room. A handful of draugr. Zero dramatic ambushes. Either I wandered into the wrong entrance, or the rest of the dungeon had a day off.
I poked around for secret doors because this is Skyrim and you never know, but found nothing. Just cobwebs, bad lighting, and the distinct feeling that Todd Howard was laughing somewhere.
Loot? Forgettable. Mood? Slightly stabby.
Onwards to Greenspring Hollow. As expected, it came with the usual occupant: a bear with severe anger management issues. True to form, it attacked on sight and asked no questions.
A few solid strikes put the beast down. I looted what little there was and handed the haul to Janessa—my trusted pack mule and silent partner in crime. I didn’t realize at the time that this might be her final job.
A bit further along, I stumbled across Drela’s Cottage. Hopeful for shelter or at least a warm fire, I stepped inside.
That was my mistake.
Without so much as a hello, Drela greeted me with frost magic to the face. Fortunately, this wasn’t my first time dealing with homicidal wizards. I chugged a Resist Frost potion, ducked behind the suspiciously durable wooden pillar in the center of the room, and played peek-a-boo until Drela ran out of breath—and life.
The loot was unimpressive, but I left with my body temperature (mostly) intact and my life expectancy extended for at least another few hours.
At this point, I decided to cut across the mountains instead of following the road. Direct lines are always faster in theory—less so when those lines involve climbing sheer cliffs in sub-zero weather.
Halfway up, the weather turned, and I heard the familiar sound of a dragon announcing its presence.
The battle was brutal. I managed to land the final blow, but at a terrible cost: Janessa was gone. Whether she was roasted or knocked off the mountain mid-fight, I’ll never know. There was no body, no dramatic final words—just an empty follower slot and a heavy sense of loss.
RIP Janessa.
Overburdened. Underpaid. Better than most.
I limped into Morthal alone. Freezing. Exhausted. Perfect conditions to stumble into a vampire conspiracy.
The innkeeper filled me in: rumors of bloodsuckers, a burned-down house, and strange happenings. The Jarl, apparently too busy to care, delegated the matter to me after some light investigative work revealed Alva wasn’t quite as human as advertised.
Following a brief round of sleuthing, a confrontation, and the discovery of vampire tomfoolery, I returned to the Jarl. With the truth exposed, she finally took notice—and handed me a new assignment: eliminate the so-called Master Vampire controlling things from the shadows.
Because of course, there’s always a hierarchy.
No warmth. No Janessa. And now I’m tasked with taking out a vampire overlord while half my gear capacity disappeared along with my companion.
Classic Skyrim.
If you want to know more, please check out The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim Survival Hub
Catch up on the latest survival stories from Survivor Incognito, including permadeath tips, The Long Dark’s Customloper progress, Skyrim Survival struggles, and our chaotic first steps in Grounded. Your weekly roundup of cozy chaos and portable panic is here!
💀 How I Handle Permadeath (And Still Sleep at Night)
I laid out my personal rules for permadeath, how I cope when a character dies a stupid death (usually of my own doing), and why it somehow keeps me coming back for more. Survival tip: Sleep helps. So does sarcasm.
Read it here: How I Handle Permadeath (and Still Sleep at Night)
📜 Dark Waters: A Dredge Survival – Day Three
We went further out to sea, saw things we probably shouldn’t have, and learned that fish aren’t the only things lurking in the dark. Spoiler: sanity is overrated.
Read it here: Dark Waters: A Dredge Survival – Day Three
🏔 Customloper – Day Two
Mountain Town continues to be less “cosy alpine retreat” and more “conveniently located death trap.” At least we are still in one piece. Mostly.
Read it here: Customloper Diaries Day Two: Blizzards, Boots, and Baseball Cap Confusion
🗡 Skyrim Survival – Day Eight
Frostbite, bandits, and the general annoyance of being overencumbered after picking up one too many cabbages. Classic Skyrim survival energy.
Read it here: Sneak, Snipe, Repeat Day Eight
🏡 Grounded – Day One
Honey, I Shrunk the Panic. First day in the backyard brought bugs, dehydration, and a steep learning curve. That aphid had it coming.
Read it here: The Backyard Trials: Grounded Day One – Honey, I Lost Myself in the Backyard
🧊 More Long Dark, more Dark Waters, more Skyrim, and a deeper dive into the backyard horrors of Grounded. If we’re lucky, there may even be fireflies. If not, probably just death by thirst.
I’ll also hopefully have the Day One Diary for Don’t Starve up. And will explain the the rules for Snowrunner Survival. But these are both hopefully as I’m currently under the weather at the time of this going up. Thank goodness for being able to schedule posts though.
Survivor Incognito 