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The Red Lantern
The Red Lantern is a narrative, dog sledding game about survival. You play as the Musher who, along with her team of 5 sled dogs, must find her way home. Care for your dogs, discover their stories, and learn how to navigate the unknowns of the Alaskan wilderness and prepare for your new life.
In short, Steam reviewers most often praise “Alaskan wilderness scenery” (26 of 100 reviews) and “resource-management dog runs” (20); the most common complaint is “repetitive limited choices” (25). What reviewers agree on ↓
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via Steam as of 2026-09-26.
What the most-helpful reviewers agree on
26 of the 100 reviews raise this.
““The Red Lantern” is an okay, but flawed experience. The story is fairly shallow, and in terms of gameplay, the rogue-lite progression system is likewise shallow. The Red Lantern's frozen trails of Alaska did not offer…”
“The good: - Atmosphere is quite nice, the skyboxes are especially well-made. Honestly not the best graphically, but it's passable. - The dogs are cute (especially Iggy <3) - The premise is pretty interesting The bad: -…”
“TLDR: A resource management roguelite masquerading as a dog sledding adventure, where forced failure runs, minimal interactivity, and on-rails gameplay squander the beauty of the Alaskan wilderness. PROS: ➕Doggos + pets…”
20 of the 100 reviews raise this.
“Really solid survival game tbh. Alaska looks fine and the gameplay loop is a nice sweet spot with resource mgmt and trail decisions. The dog mechanic is def the best part, each husky has its own traits, so you actually…”
“Got this game for free on Steam a while ago, finally gave it a shot, and honestly... I really liked it. The Red Lantern is basically a cozy survival journey through the Alaskan wilderness with a team of sled dogs. The…”
“Missed Potential and Strange Game Design I went into this with no expectations and came out confused in all sorts of ways, leaving me unsure how to feel. The Red Lantern is a survival game in which you take the role of…”
13 of the 100 reviews raise this.
“I played on the steam desk, and I left the game with a very good impression. of course, the game reminded me of The Long Dark, but this game has a completely different story, I like it”
“Cute game and a really fun idea, but really falls off on the execution. The RNG is the sole biggest issue with this game. Decisions don't matter and scripted encounters will often leave you without the resources you…”
“Every Dog Has a Story I got The Red Lantern for free, thinking it would just be a simple dog sledding game. I wasn't expecting much beyond traveling through the snow with a team of dogs, but it ended up surprising me in…”
9 of the 100 reviews raise this.
“Got this game for free on Steam a while ago, finally gave it a shot, and honestly... I really liked it. The Red Lantern is basically a cozy survival journey through the Alaskan wilderness with a team of sled dogs. The…”
“Every Dog Has a Story I got The Red Lantern for free, thinking it would just be a simple dog sledding game. I wasn't expecting much beyond traveling through the snow with a team of dogs, but it ended up surprising me in…”
“Very fun game, great replayability and beautiful scenery”
6 of the 100 reviews raise this.
““The Red Lantern” is an okay, but flawed experience. The story is fairly shallow, and in terms of gameplay, the rogue-lite progression system is likewise shallow. The Red Lantern's frozen trails of Alaska did not offer…”
“That was very cute. Loved every second of it. If you are looking for a game for one night (even though with new update you can spend more time) then this game is for you. Very well done, beautiful scenery, adorable dogs…”
“A chill adventure with dogs. You will probably enjoy this a lot if you like dogs. The voice acting is great (Ashly Burch), the story is whatever, the gameplay is perfunctory, and the environments are pretty. It's…”
25 of the 100 reviews raise this · 9 of them still recommend the game.
“Cute game, but unfinished and definitely not worth the astounding $25 original price. There are way too many bugs the developer needs to fix, including addressing the current issue of 100% being impossible due to a…”
““The Red Lantern” is an okay, but flawed experience. The story is fairly shallow, and in terms of gameplay, the rogue-lite progression system is likewise shallow. The Red Lantern's frozen trails of Alaska did not offer…”
“The good: - Atmosphere is quite nice, the skyboxes are especially well-made. Honestly not the best graphically, but it's passable. - The dogs are cute (especially Iggy <3) - The premise is pretty interesting The bad: -…”
13 of the 100 reviews raise this · 7 of them still recommend the game.
“Cute game, but unfinished and definitely not worth the astounding $25 original price. There are way too many bugs the developer needs to fix, including addressing the current issue of 100% being impossible due to a…”
““The Red Lantern” is an okay, but flawed experience. The story is fairly shallow, and in terms of gameplay, the rogue-lite progression system is likewise shallow. The Red Lantern's frozen trails of Alaska did not offer…”
“The good: - Atmosphere is quite nice, the skyboxes are especially well-made. Honestly not the best graphically, but it's passable. - The dogs are cute (especially Iggy <3) - The premise is pretty interesting The bad: -…”
11 of the 100 reviews raise this · 7 of them still recommend the game.
“Cute game, but unfinished and definitely not worth the astounding $25 original price. There are way too many bugs the developer needs to fix, including addressing the current issue of 100% being impossible due to a…”
““The Red Lantern” is an okay, but flawed experience. The story is fairly shallow, and in terms of gameplay, the rogue-lite progression system is likewise shallow. The Red Lantern's frozen trails of Alaska did not offer…”
“Really solid survival game tbh. Alaska looks fine and the gameplay loop is a nice sweet spot with resource mgmt and trail decisions. The dog mechanic is def the best part, each husky has its own traits, so you actually…”
11 of the 100 reviews raise this · 6 of them still recommend the game.
“Cute game, but unfinished and definitely not worth the astounding $25 original price. There are way too many bugs the developer needs to fix, including addressing the current issue of 100% being impossible due to a…”
“Pretty beautiful and solid game, short and nice graphics, but last achievement is broken. You have been warned.”
“A chill adventure with dogs. You will probably enjoy this a lot if you like dogs. The voice acting is great (Ashly Burch), the story is whatever, the gameplay is perfunctory, and the environments are pretty. It's…”
9 of the 100 reviews raise this · 5 of them still recommend the game.
“Cute game, but unfinished and definitely not worth the astounding $25 original price. There are way too many bugs the developer needs to fix, including addressing the current issue of 100% being impossible due to a…”
“If I had paid full price for this game I would be absolutely livid. You do not move, operate, or interact with anything. The gameplay is entirely your sled moving automatically and quick time prompts appearing to say…”
“Well. Short game. Finished it under 2h. I know this was going to be a surival game, not hard core but still, way to easy. Cute game. more cuter dogs, nice landscapes and places. But yea. just wished it was longer, like…”
Counted across 100 English reviews (the 100 most helpful) · as of 2026-09-26
“Overall: 7/10 Story: The narrative is a pretty simple one where you play as an unnamed woman who leaves her previous life behind and moves to Alaska with her dog Chompers with the intention of starting over fresh and getting a change of scenery through dog-sledding. That's…”
— a player, Steam review · 12 hrs played“Not every game can be a beautiful fairy tale, an adventure, and a lesson in humility all at once. The Red Lantern did that.”
— a player, Steam review · 12 hrs played“A survival game where you mush a dogsled through the Alaskan wilderness with your pack of dogs. Sounds cool on paper, but it ends up being a repetitive loop of managing hunger and cold without much tension or payoff. The dogs are the best part, each with their own names and…”
— a player, Steam review · 4 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live data self-collected from the Steam API · history through 2026-08 via SteamCharts.
Achievement stats
Global completion rates across all Steam players — a data view of how far people actually get. Source: Steam official stats · as of 2026-10-24.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-09-27. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.
Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-10-23). Relative comparison only.
Latest official news
Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.
Beastro is out now!
Hi Mushers! We have been busy cooking up a new game for you all, and today it is FINALLY OUT! Meet Beastro , a culinary adventure where delicious dishes can turn the tides of fate. Step into the shoes
The Red Lantern is Steam Deck Verified!
Hey, Mushers! We are happy to share the news that you can now enjoy The Red Lantern on Steam Deck! Thank you so much for your patience and continued support! - All of us at Timberline Studio
Fix is in to Address Cloud Save Issues!
Hi Mushers! Today we release a new update to fix the issue where some players got stuck on the initial loading screen. This should no longer happen for those moving forward. Unfortunately, there was a
Bug Report Help
Hello friends! We are working hard to re-organize our little corner of the internet. If you're experiencing any bugs within The Red Lantern, please send us a message over at [email protected]
Hello & Thank you's
https://media.giphy.com/media/QVoVAOURYtTmWmJ4no/giphy.gif Since our launch we've had folks live wildly along with us, and we wanted to thank each and every one of you for your support. We are current
Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-09-26.
| Genres | Adventure, Casual, Indie, RPG |
| Player tags | Dogs · Exploration · Choose Your Own Adventure · Interactive Fiction · Female Protagonist · Emotional · Snow · Roguelite · Relaxing · First-Person · Colorful · 3D (Steam store community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Steam Achievements · Steam Cloud · Family Sharing |
| Languages | English * * |
| Achievements | 27 |
| Official site | http://theredlanterngame.com |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: OS *: Windows 7+ (64 bit) Processor: Dual Core 2.5 GHz Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: Nvidia 9600GT or equivalent / 1 GB VRAM DirectX: Version 10 Storage: 4 GB available space