Tag: Survival Games

Day 1 Diary – ARK: Scorched Earth – Heat, Hubris & A Doedicurus

Spawn Location: Midlands 4
Difficulty Setting: Easy (allegedly)
Death Count: 1
Notable Quotes: “That doedicurus looks manageable.”


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Wake Up, Punch a Bush

I came to in the middle of the desert wearing absolutely nothing except a sense of misplaced confidence. Sun blazing, heat rising, and the HUD silently judging me. First instinct? Punch a bush. Gathered some fiber, thatch, and self-respect.

Leveled up once from raw enthusiasm alone. Put that point into Health, because even I could tell I was about five bad decisions away from dying.


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The Accidental Shirt Empire

Decided to craft some clothes before the sun roasted me alive. Opened the crafting menu, tried to make one shirt—accidentally made five.

Now accepting names for my pop-up desert boutique. Eventually got it together and added some pants. No shoes though. Those required hide. Hide required confrontation.


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Tooling Up & Feeling Bold

Made a pickaxe and found a water vein. Hydration status: temporarily acceptable.

Crafted a hatchet. Then a spear. Then a sun hat, because I like my survivalism with a side of flair. I had gear, water, and the kind of reckless optimism that leads straight to the respawn screen.

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The Enemy of My Confidence

I needed hide. So I looked around:

Ankylosaurus: Too many spikes. Hard pass.

NOPE!

Doedicurus: Round, slow-looking, vaguely adorable. I could take it.


I could not.

The second it noticed me, it went full Beyblade and chased me halfway across the dunes. I survived, barely, and took that as a sign to regroup. Obviously, I didn’t listen.


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The Fatal Spear Throw

Bandaged my pride, gathered more supplies, and returned to the scene of my failure with renewed stupidity.

Lined up the doedicurus in my sights. Threw the spear.

Missed completely.

It charged. I died.


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Summary of Bad Decisions

Crafted 5 shirts by accident: Unplanned fashion mogul
Picked a fight with a doedicurus: Lost. Twice.
Made tools and a spear: Forgot to aim before throwing
Died as tradition dictates

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Final Thoughts

ARK on Easy Mode is still full of bad decisions if you’re making them fast enough.

Doedicurus: not food, not friendly, not forgettable.

Respawning is a learning experience. Eventually.


Next time, I’ll pick a different animal to harass. Probably regret that too.


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Read my other Day One Diaries here

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Day 1 Diary – Ark: Survival Evolved – Dodos, Dilophosaurs & Disasters

It began, as all great survival stories do, with a half-naked stranger waking up on a beach and immediately punching a tree. This is how we build civilizations in ARK: Survival Evolved. Or at least, how we bruise our knuckles trying.

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Welcome To The Island

I picked:

Single Player

Easy Mode

The Island

Easy spawn zone

Randomized survivor (so I could blame poor decisions on someone else)


Did I know what I was doing? No. But I was armed with determination and the ability to mash buttons on a Nintendo Switch. That’s basically survival.


—

Early Progress: Punch > Pickaxe > Panic

I picked berries, harvested rocks, and punched trees until my fists cried. I crafted tools and learned a vital truth:

> If you don’t know how to unequip something, you’re just a caveman with commitment issues.



Eventually, I figured out how to stash my pickaxe, crafted a thatch shack, and proudly stared at my beachfront real estate. It was ugly. But it was mine.


—

Enter The Dodo

I spotted my first dodo and made a moral decision: tame it, not kill it. A few club swings and some berries later, Doddie was born.

Then came a second tame. I was unstoppable. Until I wasn’t.


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Dilophosaur: Agent of Chaos

Like a raptor’s sloppy cousin, the Dilo charged in, spat venom, and chaos erupted.

I panicked. Swung wildly. Hit everything.

> “Doddie was killed by Survivor Incognito.”



Yes. I clubbed my own tame to death. Twice. The Dilo died in the end, but at what cost? (Spoiler: Hide. Enough for shoes.)


—

The Taming Spiral

I swore vengeance. Then I swore allegiance. I tamed a Dilophosaur. If you can’t beat ’em, feed ’em narcoberries until they like you.

I tamed another Dodo. Named it Dodder. It died too.

By nightfall, I had a new tribe of misfit companions: a Dilophosaur named Dilo, another Dodo named Dodder to replace original Dodder, something else called Lyon, a torch, and a pile of regrets.

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Lost & Afraid

Then it got dark.

Really dark.

And I realized I’d forgotten one critical step: marking my shelter. Turns out the map doesn’t help much when every jungle tree looks the same.

I wandered in circles, torch in hand, until I miraculously stumbled on my sad little shack. Home. Sweet. Hut.

I built a bed, collapsed, and promised myself I’d do better tomorrow.


—

Lessons Learned

Easy Mode isn’t shameful. It’s life-saving.

Dodos are loyal, fragile, and easily betrayed by friendly fire.

Dilophosaurs are chaotic evil with spit mechanics.

Beds are not optional.

Torch = godsend. Build one early.



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Read More Day One Diaries Here

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I Was Just Trying to Get Home (And Then This Happened)

What started as a quiet trip back to Grey Mother’s turned into a wolf ambush. Here’s how my Customloper run nearly ended on Day 3.

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Just Me, a Skillet, and Regret

I’d just finished looting Paradise Meadows Farm. I had a fresh rabbit stew in my belly, a skillet in my backpack, and dreams of a cozy night back at Grey Mother’s. You know. Normal stuff.

Then this happened.

—

That’s right. No warning. No howls. Just me, walking around a corner like I own the place, and a wolf showing up like he owns the place. Spoiler: he nearly did.

I did what any reasonable person would do—I ran back inside, popped painkillers like trail mix, and bandaged my wrist while re-evaluating all my life choices.

Moral of the story: Never trust Milton to be quiet, and always expect the game to humble you the second you start feeling safe.

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For more tales like this, please check out: Survivor’s Shorts

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The Pancake Betrayal: A Tale of Syrup, Hope, and Crushing Disappointment in The Long Dark

On Day 1, I found Lily’s pancake recipe. On Day 2, maple syrup. I dared to dream. But The Long Dark had other plans. Here’s the tragic tale of the pancakes that never were.

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How It All Began

It started like all great adventures do: with breakfast.

Day 1 of my Customloper run. I was cold, hungry, and rummaging through Milton like a raccoon with a pension. That’s when I found it. A recipe card tucked neatly into a drawer: Lily’s Pancakes.

Hope bloomed. Pancakes. In the apocalypse.

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Day 2: Syrup From The Heavens

Then it happened. The gods of calories smiled upon me.

I found maple syrup. Actual syrup. In a game where peanut butter is a rare treasure and soda is currency, this was the nectar of the ancients.

I had the recipe. I had the syrup. All I needed was… the ability to cook it?

—

The Dream Dies

Enter Cooking Skill 4.

And acorn grounds.

Because apparently, pancakes in The Long Dark are a late-game luxury, not a wholesome wilderness breakfast. You need to:

Boil acorns

Grind them

Have mastered the culinary arts

Possibly offer a sacrifice to the RNG gods


I barely have shoes. But yes, let’s make artisanal pancake flour from forest nuts.

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The Aftertaste of Betrayal

So now the recipe sits in my inventory, mocking me. The syrup? Hoarded like liquid gold. And I? I chew on stale crackers in the corner, dreaming of what could’ve been.

One day, I will reach Cooking Skill 4.
One day, I will gather acorns, grind them, and make pancake batter.

But today? Today I make tea. And try not to cry.

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Final Thoughts

This game has broken me before, but never like this. Frostbite? Bear maulings? Fine. But withholding pancakes? That’s a new low.

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For more info on what Customloper is, please check out: The Long Dark Customloper Settings: Easier Interloper Survival Mode

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Want to read more tales like this? Please check out: Survivor’s Shorts

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Here’s What You Missed This Week – Permadeath and Prybars

Survival, strategy, and a fair bit of falling into things.

It’s been another chaotic but oddly satisfying week at Survivor Incognito, where the snow is endless, the bandits are clingy, and my survival strategy often involves “run first, question everything later.” Here’s what dropped this week:

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Sneak, Snipe, Repeat: Day 3

A High Elf ambush kicked off the day, because Skyrim doesn’t believe in subtlety. Our Dragonborn-in-training wandered into Whiterun with no torch, accidentally handed in a quest they’d already completed, became Thane, fought a dragon, and looted half the city’s cheese stockpile—all without a working flashlight.
Read the chaos here:
Day 3 – Whiterun Welcomes Me

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The Cold Chronicles – Day 4

Our Voyageur finally escaped Crumbling Highway, stepping into Coastal Highway only to meet gale-force winds, a casual bear, and wolves with a personal vendetta. Despite blizzards and a questionable cliff descent, they found shelter, loot, and just so many prybars.
Read it here:
Day 4 – A Voyageur’s Tale of The Long Dark

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New Pages Launched

The Graveyard

Where runs go when they’ve gone… poorly. From unexpected wolf attacks to permadeath pratfalls, this page memorializes your greatest “oops.”
Visit The Graveyard

Rules of Survival

A breakdown of how I play survival games on the blog: permadeath is non-negotiable, no cheats, no take-backs, no mercy. Also includes series-specific rules for The Long Dark, Skyrim, and No Man’s Sky.
Read the Rules

Customloper Settings

Tired of Interloper crushing your soul but still want a challenge? Enter: Customloper—Interloper weather with settings that don’t make you cry into your bedroll. Full settings list, and a FAQ included.
See the Settings

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Customloper: The Long Dark Challenge That Outlasted the Challenge

For the past 6–7 months, I’ve been running a custom difficulty mode in The Long Dark. The goal was simple: I wanted to keep the spirit of Voyageur—but with a dose of Stalker and a blast of Interloper.. After testing and tweaking, here’s 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 – 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 isn’t Interloper.
It’s Interloper with options—and that might be even more dangerous.

Wait—Isn’t This Blog About Easier Survival?

It is. And that hasn’t changed.
Customloper isn’t about going full Interloper. It’s about dialing in a challenge that keeps things tense but playable. Think of it as controlled chaos—for players who want pressure without the permadeath purgatory.

Think you can survive it? The full code drops soon. Stay tuned

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Skyrim Survival Mode – 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.

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Skyrim Day 3 Incoming + Blog Updates!

Skyrim Survival – Day 3 drops this Wednesday. After reaching Whiterun, I get caught up in the city’s favorite pastime: dragon slaying. Spoiler—my attempt at stealth archery is about as subtle as a mammoth in a library.

In the meantime, the blog’s had a few upgrades:

  • The Skyrim Hub is now live! It’s the central place for the full survival run and all related content.
  • The Long Dark Hub It’s the central place for the full survival run and all related content.
  • The Graveyard is open—every permadeath now gets logged, labelled, and (lightly) mocked.
  • The FAQ page answers burning questions like “Why the Switch?” and “Was that death avoidable?” (Usually: yes.)

New content’s coming. Expect chaos. Bring your torch.

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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 you’re doing? I’ve got you covered.

The Beginner’s Guide is now live—and it walks you through:

● Choosing the right difficulty

● Where to start (hint: not on a mountain)

● Managing warmth, hunger, thirst, and rest

● Understanding the User Hub

● What to actually do in your first in-game week


Plus, there’s a full controls table and region map to stop you from wandering in circles.

Click here to read the full guide

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Here’s What’s Ahead This Week – Survivor Incognito Update

Coming Up This Week:

1. Skyrim Survival Day Three:

○ Our Argonian survivor continues their frigid, torchless march through Skyrim.

○ Follow the chaos and check out the full series on the Sneak, Snipe, Repeat: Skyrim Survival page.

2. The Long Dark Day Four:

○ More snow, more mistakes, and fewer calories

○ Full playthrough available on the The Cold Chronicles: A Voyageur’s Tale of The Long Dark page.

In Case You Missed It:

  • We’ve covered some basic Rules of Survival already:

○ If the game let’s you cheat death (The Long Dark, looking at you), we don’t take the offer.

○ Difficulty stays low, but decisions still have consequences.

  • Expect more games to enter rotation soon – but the current runs must end first. That’s the deal.

In The Works:

● 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.

● No Man’s Sky – 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.

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