I've played Don't Starve on both the PS4 and on Steam and then a couple weeks ago I picked up the Switch copy because I wanted to play again but on my own terms. A part of me regrets getting it because of the nature of the game but it's a great gams that's lots of fun.
GRAPHICS: 10/10
The graphics of Don't Starve are amazing and beautiful. Everything about the game has a unique and beautiful art style that makes you think back to the work of Tim Burton. Every character, every creature, and every inch of the landscape has a crazy look that gives the game a new sense of variety.
SOUND: 8/10
I really enjoyed the sound of Don't Starve. A lot of the sounds and tunes give off a creepy vibe and always let you know when there's danger nearby. I also love the sound played when there's dialogue, I thought that was a nice touch..
STORY: 7/10
The story of Don't Starve is pretty simple. It starts off as a generic survival game where you have to fend off scary creatures and the darkness in a world gone mad. As You progress through the game you also get to unlock stages where you get to stand off against the person who brought you into the world, where you eventually take their place. It's very dark, entertaining, and clever.
ADDICTIVENESS: 5/10
The only reason I'm giving this aspect a mediocre grade is becauss of permadeath. Imagine you've been having an amazing game and you get so far but then you did and lose everything. This kills the mood and you wouldn't really be in the mood to start over right away. Gathering resources and fighting is fun, but when you spend more time in the beginning stages than in the fun ones, it can get boring quickly.
DEPTH: 8/10
If you die near the start of the game each time, then you won't be able to do much exploring. However if you're capable of surviving for a long time, then you'll be able to fully explore the map, which can get pretty big with lots of biomes, resources, and creatures. There's also a customization aspect where you can change everything about the world including how many creatures there are, how long the night is, and other aspects of the game
DIFFICULTY: 9
Saying that Don't Starve is difficult is an understatement. Everything is trying to kill you, if it's not the wild creatures, it's the wild plants, and if it's not the wild plants, it's your own body. I had one play through where I was doing pretty well with some nice defenses and plenty of food and weapons. Then randomly the hounds started chasing me and they usually don't stop until you're dead. This time I was fortunate that they became preoccupied by bees and the bees killed them. But moments later I was killed by penguins.
The game is vicious. If you go crazy, you die. If you're in the dark, you die. If you find something that doesn't want to kill you, YOU DIE. This isn't your standard survival game, you need to focus on every little detail and then go over them again and again because you're always playing defense with your back against the wall. This is like Hardcore mode in Minecraft but 10 times more hardcore.
It's also incredibly easy to rage quit with Don't Starve, because deaths are permanent, also like in Hardcore Minecraft. You can have an amazing time and play ine round for 20 hours making it dozens of days into your survival. You build up a crazy maze of defenses and you have every tool and machine in the game. But then you forget to eat and YOU DIE. That's it, you can never go back into that world ever again, you're done.
It's a terrible double negative because the game is so hard AND it's permanent death.
OVERALL: 7.6/10
Despite the low grade, Don't Starve is a lot of fun, especially for the Switch which also comes with Shipwrecked. If permadeath wasn't a thing in Don't Starve, my final grade could have been a full point higher at least. But other than that, if you have a lot of patience or you love survival games, then Don't Starve is the game for you. My overall grade will be a 7.6 out of 10. I've played Don't Starve on both the PS4 and on Steam and then a couple weeks ago I picked up the Switch copy because I wanted to play again but on my own terms. A part of me regrets getting it because of the nature of the game but it's a great gams that's lots of fun.
GRAPHICS: 10/10
The graphics of Don't Starve are amazing and beautiful. Everything about the game has a unique and beautiful art style that makes you think back to the work of Tim Burton. Every character, every creature, and every inch of the landscape has a crazy look that gives the game a new sense of variety.
SOUND: 8/10
I really enjoyed the sound of Don't Starve. A lot of the sounds and tunes give off a creepy vibe and always let you know when there's danger nearby. I also love the sound played when there's dialogue, I thought that was a nice touch..
STORY: 7/10
The story of Don't Starve is pretty simple. It starts off as a generic survival game where you have to fend off scary creatures and the darkness in a world gone mad. As You progress through the game you also get to unlock stages where you get to stand off against the person who brought you into the world, where you eventually take their place. It's very dark, entertaining, and clever.
ADDICTIVENESS: 5/10
The only reason I'm giving this aspect a mediocre grade is becauss of permadeath. Imagine you've been having an amazing game and you get so far but then you did and lose everything. This kills the mood and you wouldn't really be in the mood to start over right away. Gathering resources and fighting is fun, but when you spend more time in the beginning stages than in the fun ones, it can get boring quickly.
DEPTH: 8/10
If you die near the start of the game each time, then you won't be able to do much exploring. However if you're capable of surviving for a long time, then you'll be able to fully explore the map, which can get pretty big with lots of biomes, resources, and creatures. There's also a customization aspect where you can change everything about the world including how many creatures there are, how long the night is, and other aspects of the game
DIFFICULTY: 9
Saying that Don't Starve is difficult is an understatement. Everything is trying to kill you, if it's not the wild creatures, it's the wild plants, and if it's not the wild plants, it's your own body. I had one play through where I was doing pretty well with some nice defenses and plenty of food and weapons. Then randomly the hounds started chasing me and they usually don't stop until you're dead. This time I was fortunate that they became preoccupied by bees and the bees killed them. But moments later I was killed by penguins.
The game is vicious. If you go crazy, you die. If you're in the dark, you die. If you find something that doesn't want to kill you, YOU DIE. This isn't your standard survival game, you need to focus on every little detail and then go over them again and again because you're always playing defense with your back against the wall. This is like Hardcore mode in Minecraft but 10 times more hardcore.
It's also incredibly easy to rage quit with Don't Starve, because deaths are permanent, also like in Hardcore Minecraft. You can have an amazing time and play ine round for 20 hours making it dozens of days into your survival. You build up a crazy maze of defenses and you have every tool and machine in the game. But then you forget to eat and YOU DIE. That's it, you can never go back into that world ever again, you're done.
It's a terrible double negative because the game is so hard AND it's permanent death.
OVERALL: 7.6/10
Despite the low grade, Don't Starve is a lot of fun, especially for the Switch which also comes with Shipwrecked. If permadeath wasn't a thing in Don't Starve, my final grade could have been a full point higher at least. But other than that, if you have a lot of patience or you love survival games, then Don't Starve is the game for you. My overall grade will be a 7.6 out of 10. |