Just a quick update for all fellow sunburnt survivors: Iโve added a couple of useful visuals to the Stranded Deep hub pageโ
๐งญ A screenshot of my starting map (so you know where I washed up)
๐ฎ And the Nintendo Switch controls Iโm using to wrestle with coconuts, crabs, and my own bad decisions
Youโll find both right below the Series Overview section. Whether youโre following along or planning your own island misadventures, I hope it helps!
Back to hunting crabs.
(Out of revenge, not necessity. Mostly.)
๐ For New Survivors: Start Here
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, hereโs a quick guide to help you dive in:
๐ฎ Why I Play on Easier Difficulties
Think playing on easy makes survival games easy? Iโm living proof it doesnโt. ๐ Surviving, Not Suffering: Why I Choose Easier Difficulties
โ๏ธ The Long Dark Must-Reads
๐บ The Long Dark Complete Region & Transition Zone Survival Guide
โ๏ธ Customloper Diaries
๐ Survive Your First Week in The Long Dark
๐งช Permadeath, But Make It Funny
๐ท The Backyard Trials: Grounded Permadeath
๐น Sneak, Snipe, Repeat: Skyrim Survival
๐ข Dark Waters: A Dredge Survival
๐ Coming Soon
SnowRunner Survival: The Permagear Diaries Main Hub
Sunburnt & Sinking: A Stranded Deep Survival Diary
๐ฌ Bonus Reading
๐ About Me
๐ The Long Dark Customloper Settings: Easier Interloper Survival Mode
๐ FAQ
Thanks for joining the mayhem. Surviving is optional. Storytelling the downfall? Mandatory
Customloper: The Long Dark Challenge That Outlasted the Challenge
For the past 6โ7 months, Iโve been running a custom difficulty mode in The Long Dark. The goal was simple: I wanted to keep the spirit of Voyageurโbut with a dose of Stalker and a blast of Interloper.. After testing and tweaking, hereโs where I landed:
- Voyageur-level of loot – because scrounging should feel rewarding
- Wildlife set between Voyageur and Stalker – you’re not safe, but you’re not helpless
- Interloper weather – cold enough to regret every decision
It wasn’t meant to be a thing, but after two runs, it kind of is:
- My first run ended in Forlorn Muskeg, trying to reach Mountain Town after coming back from the Airfield. Spoiler alert: The ice got me again. I think I lasted maybe a week in-game
- The other? I’m sitting at around 60 days, and still alive in Mystery Lake… but after dropping four bears, I realised I might have broken the game’s spirit before it broke mine.
So now I’m bringing my Customloper game to the blog properly.
Coming Soon:
- A full breakdown of every setting I use
- The actual Customloper code so you can try it yourself
- A brand new Day One Diary โ Because I honestly can’t remember anything about my original first day
- Plus survival tips for weather that makes Interloper look like light snow
This isnโt Interloper.
Itโs Interloper with optionsโand that might be even more dangerous.
WaitโIsnโt This Blog About Easier Survival?
It is. And that hasnโt changed.
Customloper isnโt about going full Interloper. Itโs about dialing in a challenge that keeps things tense but playable. Think of it as controlled chaosโfor players who want pressure without the permadeath purgatory.
Think you can survive it? The full code drops soon. Stay tuned
Skyrim Survival Mode โ Day 4 Teaser: Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Frost
Teaser for Day 4 of my Skyrim Survival Mode run. Cold weather, fireballs, and one very overworked Argonian.
On Day 4, I leave Whiterun behind in search of adventure, loot, and maybe a bit of common sense (no luck there). But what I do find: hostile mages, freezing winds, and the dawning realization that maybe necromancy is the best form of pest control.
Full entry lands Saturday.
Bring a torch. Trust me.
Skyrim Day 3 Incoming + Blog Updates!
Skyrim Survival โ Day 3 drops this Wednesday. After reaching Whiterun, I get caught up in the cityโs favorite pastime: dragon slaying. Spoilerโmy attempt at stealth archery is about as subtle as a mammoth in a library.
In the meantime, the blogโs had a few upgrades:
- The Skyrim Hub is now live! Itโs the central place for the full survival run and all related content.
- The Long Dark Hub Itโs the central place for the full survival run and all related content.
- The Graveyard is openโevery permadeath now gets logged, labelled, and (lightly) mocked.
- The FAQ page answers burning questions like โWhy the Switch?โ and โWas that death avoidable?โ (Usually: yes.)
New contentโs coming. Expect chaos. Bring your torch.
โ
The Long Dark Beginner’s Guide is Now Live!
Just starting out in The Long Dark on Nintendo Switch? Cold, hungry, and not sure what youโre doing? Iโve got you covered.
The Beginnerโs Guide is now liveโand it walks you through:
โ Choosing the right difficulty
โ Where to start (hint: not on a mountain)
โ Managing warmth, hunger, thirst, and rest
โ Understanding the User Hub
โ What to actually do in your first in-game week
Plus, thereโs a full controls table and region map to stop you from wandering in circles.
Here’s What’s Ahead This Week โ Survivor Incognito Update
Coming Up This Week:
1. Skyrim Survival Day Three:
โ Our Argonian survivor continues their frigid, torchless march through Skyrim.
โ Follow the chaos and check out the full series on the Sneak, Snipe, Repeat: Skyrim Survival page.
2. The Long Dark Day Four:
โ More snow, more mistakes, and fewer calories
โ Full playthrough available on the The Cold Chronicles: A Voyageurโs Tale of The Long Dark page.
In Case You Missed It:
- We’ve covered some basic Rules of Survival already:
โ If the game let’s you cheat death (The Long Dark, looking at you), we don’t take the offer.
โ Difficulty stays low, but decisions still have consequences.
- Expect more games to enter rotation soon โ but the current runs must end first. That’s the deal.
In The Works:
โ Beginner’s Guide: How To Survive Your First Week in The Long Dark
A practical walk through focusing on Mystery Lake. For players who want survival not suffering.
โ No Man’s Sky โ Survival Series Pending
The space odyssey is on standby. It won’t launch until one of the current playthroughs wraps up. That gives me time to build out a few early entries before going live.
Day One Diaries โ Green Hell is Live!
Think youโve had a rough first day in the jungle? I punched trees, failed at crafting, ate a banana, and died of mystery poison. My Green Hell Day One Diary is now live on the blog.
Read it here: [Green Hell โ Day 1: Poisoned by Nature, Humbled by Bananas]
Includes
- Jungle logic that makes no sense
- A hard-won rock axe
- Banana-fueled optimism
- And a fatal case of “I don’t know what poisoned me”.
Check it outโand if you enjoy that descent into chaos, there are plenty more Day One Diaries waiting for you on the blog here: [Day One Diaries]
New Rules, Who Dis? (Permadeath Begins Now)
Setting the official rules for all future playthroughs on Survivor Incognitoโpermadeath is here, and chaos just got consequences.
Starting today, all future playthroughs on this blogโThe Long Dark, Skyrim: Survival Mode, and anything else I drag my tired, freezing self intoโwill follow official permadeath rules.
That means:
If I die, that run is over.
No reloads. No saves. No mercy.
I start fresh from Day 1, with a new character or region.
What about previous entries?
My original Day 1 diary for The Long Dark was from my first experience with the gameโlong before these rules existed. So yes, I fell through the ice and died like a confused deer. That was real. That was me. That was chaos, pre-regulations.
What now?
From here on out:
Iโll clearly label each run.
Iโll document every in-game day, death or glory.
And Iโll stick to the rules. Even if a moose doesnโt.
Full breakdown of the rules are now live and can be found here [The Rules of Survival (According to Me)]
Letโs see how long I last.
One Life To Explore: A No Man’s Permadeath Project (In The Works)
Planning a permadeath run in No Manโs Skyโbut with a chill twist. One life, easier difficulty, and open invites for readers to name the planets. Coming soon to Survivor Incognito.
One Life. One Jetpack. No Do-Overs
Survivor Incognito is about embracing chaos without chasing painโand what better way to do that than launching into No Manโs Sky on permadeath mode?
But not just any permadeath. Iโll be playing on the lowest difficulty settings available in that mode. Because survival doesnโt need to be hardcore to be meaningfulโor entertaining.
Here’s The Plan:
One save file. When I die, thatโs it.
Posts will follow a โDay Xโ diary format.
Each entry will feature survival updates, tech progress, planetary oddities, and near-death mishaps.
The series will be called One Life to Explore.
Want to name a planet?
Every post, Iโll feature at least one world. You can drop a name in the comments. If I land there, it gets your name. Ridiculousness encouraged. Galactic seriousness not required.
First post coming soon. Until thenโmake your peace with space crabs and bad decisions.
In the meantime, enjoy the header image for it:

