After two successful Shank games and the stealth hit Mark of the Ninja, Klei decided to try something different with Don’t Starve. This time, it’s all about surviving a mysterious and hostile wilderness, armed only with what you can gather and create. Oh and don’t expect the game to throw you any bones – you’re completely on your own in this adventure, for good and bad!
Within a randomly generated world, your task as Wilson the scientist is to hunt, farm and gather materials in order to craft the tools and equipment needed to tip the odds in your favour. Unlike other sandbox games, where it’s mostly a simple task of balancing your health and/or hunger levels by various means, Don’t Starve adds a sense of urgency by throwing sanity into the mix. Something else you may want to keep an eye on is the time of day, because… well, let’s just say you don’t want to wander around when it’s pitch black.
Based on what I’ve seen, a lot of your time will be spent gathering materials, building a shelter and crafting items, upgrading each as you go along, but that’s not to say it’s completely void of action though. Since food is required to keep your hunger in check, you can either take on the role of a farmer or create a weapon and go hunting – just be careful not to overestimate your combat ability, as this world is the home of plenty of hostile mobs as well as various animals (yay, food!). Again: do be careful…
Even though it’s only just left beta, Klei is already working on additional content, with the current plan being to add something every 3 weeks, considering we’re talking about a survival sandbox here, I’m more pleased than surprised by such an announcement. You don’t have to wait for the first update to arrive before picking up Don’t Starve, though, because it’s available right now from Steam, GOG, and the Humble Store.
