I've mentioned this one before. Not much of a huge review, but I did mention it in one of my Omniderp videos. I gave it a quick toss of of the general jist of the game but I didn't really go into any kind of elaborate detail about it.
Although, the PS4 has been highly touting how much they love indie games and how they are making a push to give indie games a much bigger platform. Since I already owned and already played it, I wasn't going to give it much of a second thought. But Sony has been offering new releases to PSN as their free titles for the month, and this was one of them. Since I actually have a PS+ account (thank you black friday), might as well take another spin with.....
DON'T STARVE: CONSOLE EDITION:(PS4)
Another game without a very big story element: Wilson is a Gentleman Scientist who seems to be hitting a rough patch in his research. He looks tired and clearly is struggling. A voice on his radio tells him that he can be given forbidden knowledge, if he assists in building the voice a machine. Wilson accepts and has a surge of brilliance. His experiments are working, and begins to build the device.
Wilson hesitates before throwing the switch, and voice on the radio insists he do it. Throwing the switch though reveals that it was a trap by a demon of sorts by the name of Maxwell (who just looks like a tall gentleman). The device rips open a gate and pulls Wilson inside. As he lies unconscious, Maxwell appears to him and tells him he shouldn't starve while he's out here. He disappears, leaving Wilson to come too in the harsh unknown wilderness. And this is where the game begins.
This was originally one of those kind of point and click adventure/survival games when I gave it a sit down, Its controls for the most part were simple: Click here to move, click here to chop, click here to pick up, etc, etc. Pretty much anything you needed to do could be done with the mouse. it was functionally, but somewhat irritating when you knew you were going to be walking for extended lengths.
The console edition of this basically takes the main functions of the game an assigns them to hotkeys. Movement is now done with the analog stick, which honestly I preferred better than the mouse. The mouse might have worked better if I was able to zoom out and see more of the map, but Don't Starve doesn't have the ability to do that, presumably to make you actually walk and explore the map yourself. I suppose in the context of a survival game it makes sense.
The whole game is done in this somewhat noir paper art style I guess I would call it, everything in the game is washed over with sepia tones, and everything about the game moves and feels flat, much like you might expect from something like the Paper Mario series. When I played it on PC I didn't much have any feelings about it, but now that I have it blown up on my TV and I'm not hunched over my keyboard, I have the time to actually sit back and appreciate the art work.
There is one really notable song for the theme, but for the most part the game is pretty much completely devoid of music. I suppose this can be seen as a positive or negative. Most of the time when music starts to play is when something significant is happening. One tune plays to signify you a new day has passed, another will indicate that a hostile enemy has engaged you, one for the dangers of nightfall, and so forth. Its not bad, but its dying for some soft score playing the background to kill some of the more dead moments. None of it is particularly catchy though.
As previously mentioned, there are hotkeys now. The bumpers allow you to spin the camera angle around (something I don't remember being able to do in the PC version), and the triggers open up your inventory menu or building menu respectively. Your inventory you can also access all game with your right analog stick so you can make changes on the move, but if you want to sort things around or only use one respective item, hitting the inventory hotkey will freeze the game play (but not the building menu).
Otherwise the rest of the keys in the game are fairly self explanatory. This is a situation where I feel the console controls work better because Its a game where I feel I can make changes on the move or if I am being chased. When I would play the game on PC I would have plan my changes ahead and when I would need to make them in split decisions it would usually end up with me dying. Perhaps its because I've never been a great PC gamer, but its still something that handicapped me.
Actually, since time of writing I went back and shot a PC lets play, and it couldn't have gone more poorly because I felt I had a much better sense of control on the Dualshock 4. Quite possibly one of my worst Don't Starve runs ever.
This was originally one of those kind of point and click adventure/survival games when I gave it a sit down, Its controls for the most part were simple: Click here to move, click here to chop, click here to pick up, etc, etc. Pretty much anything you needed to do could be done with the mouse. it was functionally, but somewhat irritating when you knew you were going to be walking for extended lengths.
The console edition of this basically takes the main functions of the game an assigns them to hotkeys. Movement is now done with the analog stick, which honestly I preferred better than the mouse. The mouse might have worked better if I was able to zoom out and see more of the map, but Don't Starve doesn't have the ability to do that, presumably to make you actually walk and explore the map yourself. I suppose in the context of a survival game it makes sense.
The whole game is done in this somewhat noir paper art style I guess I would call it, everything in the game is washed over with sepia tones, and everything about the game moves and feels flat, much like you might expect from something like the Paper Mario series. When I played it on PC I didn't much have any feelings about it, but now that I have it blown up on my TV and I'm not hunched over my keyboard, I have the time to actually sit back and appreciate the art work.
There is one really notable song for the theme, but for the most part the game is pretty much completely devoid of music. I suppose this can be seen as a positive or negative. Most of the time when music starts to play is when something significant is happening. One tune plays to signify you a new day has passed, another will indicate that a hostile enemy has engaged you, one for the dangers of nightfall, and so forth. Its not bad, but its dying for some soft score playing the background to kill some of the more dead moments. None of it is particularly catchy though.
 |
| Surviving your first winter is one of the most difficult parts of the games endless mode. You want to make sure you have a sustainable food supply. |
Otherwise the rest of the keys in the game are fairly self explanatory. This is a situation where I feel the console controls work better because Its a game where I feel I can make changes on the move or if I am being chased. When I would play the game on PC I would have plan my changes ahead and when I would need to make them in split decisions it would usually end up with me dying. Perhaps its because I've never been a great PC gamer, but its still something that handicapped me.
Actually, since time of writing I went back and shot a PC lets play, and it couldn't have gone more poorly because I felt I had a much better sense of control on the Dualshock 4. Quite possibly one of my worst Don't Starve runs ever.
So when I first played this game, it was really just an endless survival mode with just one map. I didn't sit down and play it much because unless I get super engrossed in what I'm doing, I can't play a game at my PC for that long, (I think one binge session of Neverwinter was the longest I've been able to go). In any case, because of the static nature of the map, each subsequent play though of the game I could do a little better, or get a little farther.
The game now however has a a random world building element, and the game has permadeath. So when you fuck up, everything you lose goes with it and now much to my chagrin, you have a whole new world to explore too. This actually increased the challenge of every new game I start because now I am forced to go out and explore with each new restart. Typically what you want to do first is get twigs, grass, and flint so you can build an axe, pick axe, and torch. You'll then want to move to wood, rocks, and gold so you can get your first campsite started and build your first science (and in my case alchemy) machines. With the static map, after a few plays you know exactly where you walk to first to get those supplies.
However, now with the randomized world it is entirely possible you can just get a really bad draw that could be leaving you short of one of those critical supplies. Typically, it will be having a lack of rocks or gold. You need gold to make your science machine which allows you to make more complex items, and you need your alchemy machine to make better items for camp to ensure your survival.
Obviously, as stated by the games title, one of the primary goals in the game is not to starve. This is not as easy as it sounds. This is one of those games where pretty much anything with the courage to attack you back will be able to fuck your shit up in some way, so running around with your wood cutting axe is not going to get you a steak. More than likely, you are going to spend your first few days eating berries and carrots, and if you are lucky a morsel of meat from a rabbit.
Worse though, is there can be negative reactions to eating. The meat from monsters may fill your hunger, but it can also seriously damage your health and sanity. You can find various mushrooms growing in the wild as well, but eating any of them on your own can also be damaging to your health. You will find that it is generally safer to try and cook things in your camp fire first before you eat them, even something and minuscule as berries are improved by cooking them first.
Some beginning tips for survival of your first few days: 1.) Berries are you best friend. They grow everywhere and the give a pretty significant boost to your hunger. If you cook them first, they also restore a bit of health. Plus, they are a great filler in a crock pot. So be sure to know where they grow in bunches.
2.) Don't ignore flowers. This is a mistake I made early and often. When you first fire up the game its a good idea to collect flowers. 12 of them can make a garland to wear and that will help retain your sanity until you get the supplies to allow you to sleep, and eating them raw gives you a small health boost, so having a large stash of them may be wiped out quickly, but anything to restore your health early on is a good move.
3.) Do not fight things until you are sure you are ready. Tangoing with anything you are unfamiliar with can get out of hand in a real hurry. Nearly every single monster that fights back fights back in a group, so be prepared to stick and move because if you just stand there and wail on something, you are going to get killed by the rest. I personally don't make a move on trying to fight anything that fights back without at least having a spear and log suit for protection.
4.) Monster meat CAN be edible. Another thing I learned much too late. If you cook monster meat, it still damages your health and sanity, but not nearly as much as eating it raw. But if you take the time to build and use a Crock pot, one monster meat and 3 small items (berries, carrots, etc) will make meatballs. They have a long shelf life, health 50% of your hunger, and have no adverse effects. You should plan to make these often.
There have been some updates to the game since I've last played it. Before it used to be just a game where you survive as long as you can. Now there is a little bit of narrative and if you can explore long enough, You will find the machine Wilson built that will give you your end game. It will take you through a series of levels with increasingly difficult challenges, but if you can complete them, the game will come it its ending. I have not tried this yet. I've only found the gate once and died making a very stupid mistake before entering it.
You gain experience proportional to the number of days you managed to survive without dying. Every character you gain after Wilson has some kind unique ability that can affect how you approach the game. I tend to use Willow a lot because she doesn't take fire damage and also has a lighter, which is useful because nearly everything is flammable, and if you don't have a torch her lighter throws just enough light for you not to get mauled. She does randomly start fires when she panics though, which can cause massive forest fires and loss of important supplies (like berry bushes). There a myriad of other characters which can change up your strategy so be sure to play around with each.
This is the type of game who like it when a game doesn't hold your hand. Each time you play it will offer you a new experience, and every time you think you are starting to get the hang of it, it will throw you a new curve ball. I was having one really solid run where I was starting to push into the 30 day mark, and I was getting my ass kicked by the winter. I had to constantly light things on fire just to try to stay warm, and the night was falling much faster and lasting much longer, I ended up getting back to my camp but not having the supplies to replenish my weapons and armor. My camp was raided at night and I was put down.
I've always enjoyed games like this where natural survival is key. It's probably why I was such a fan of Lost In Blue on the DS. The game is currently free for PS+ users but otherwise its 15 dollars regularly on the PS4 (and I assume also on steam). There doesn't really appear to be much functional difference in the game from PC to console aside from control layout a bit.
But I would say the game is easily worth the 15 bucks they are charging for it. Its a game that provides quite the adequate challenge and provides real sense of accomplishment when you really start to maintain yourself efficiently. The extra characters throw some interesting curves on how you can play the game, if you are determined, you can try to carry on a game indefinitely. It really is the kind of game where you have to build your own narrative as you play it.
I've got maybe about 30-40 hours plunked down on this game overall, and even with the addition of the randomly generated maps, I manage to get a little father every time. So far my record is 33 days with Willow, and I've almost barely made it out of my first winter. I now know how to find the end game so hopefully I'll start to the get the knack on how to jump start my quests. Don't Starve might not be the most overly intense or exciting of titles, but its one with a good character motivation, and it doesn't baby you like so many other games. If you are a PS+ or steam user, I would suggest giving it a try.
The game now however has a a random world building element, and the game has permadeath. So when you fuck up, everything you lose goes with it and now much to my chagrin, you have a whole new world to explore too. This actually increased the challenge of every new game I start because now I am forced to go out and explore with each new restart. Typically what you want to do first is get twigs, grass, and flint so you can build an axe, pick axe, and torch. You'll then want to move to wood, rocks, and gold so you can get your first campsite started and build your first science (and in my case alchemy) machines. With the static map, after a few plays you know exactly where you walk to first to get those supplies.
 |
| Wolfgang Sucks. His strength is proportional to how full his stomach is, and he loses sanity in the dark or when fighting pretty much anything. |
Obviously, as stated by the games title, one of the primary goals in the game is not to starve. This is not as easy as it sounds. This is one of those games where pretty much anything with the courage to attack you back will be able to fuck your shit up in some way, so running around with your wood cutting axe is not going to get you a steak. More than likely, you are going to spend your first few days eating berries and carrots, and if you are lucky a morsel of meat from a rabbit.
Worse though, is there can be negative reactions to eating. The meat from monsters may fill your hunger, but it can also seriously damage your health and sanity. You can find various mushrooms growing in the wild as well, but eating any of them on your own can also be damaging to your health. You will find that it is generally safer to try and cook things in your camp fire first before you eat them, even something and minuscule as berries are improved by cooking them first.
 |
| The sufficient players will have an excellent base of operations for their survival, I don't really understand the need for 3 tents though. That seems odd. |
2.) Don't ignore flowers. This is a mistake I made early and often. When you first fire up the game its a good idea to collect flowers. 12 of them can make a garland to wear and that will help retain your sanity until you get the supplies to allow you to sleep, and eating them raw gives you a small health boost, so having a large stash of them may be wiped out quickly, but anything to restore your health early on is a good move.
 |
| Haven't used Woodie much yet. Seems very tricky to use. |
4.) Monster meat CAN be edible. Another thing I learned much too late. If you cook monster meat, it still damages your health and sanity, but not nearly as much as eating it raw. But if you take the time to build and use a Crock pot, one monster meat and 3 small items (berries, carrots, etc) will make meatballs. They have a long shelf life, health 50% of your hunger, and have no adverse effects. You should plan to make these often.
There have been some updates to the game since I've last played it. Before it used to be just a game where you survive as long as you can. Now there is a little bit of narrative and if you can explore long enough, You will find the machine Wilson built that will give you your end game. It will take you through a series of levels with increasingly difficult challenges, but if you can complete them, the game will come it its ending. I have not tried this yet. I've only found the gate once and died making a very stupid mistake before entering it.
You gain experience proportional to the number of days you managed to survive without dying. Every character you gain after Wilson has some kind unique ability that can affect how you approach the game. I tend to use Willow a lot because she doesn't take fire damage and also has a lighter, which is useful because nearly everything is flammable, and if you don't have a torch her lighter throws just enough light for you not to get mauled. She does randomly start fires when she panics though, which can cause massive forest fires and loss of important supplies (like berry bushes). There a myriad of other characters which can change up your strategy so be sure to play around with each.
 |
| Of the available characters, I like Willow best because fire never harms you and you can never be caught in the dark. But man, when things go wrong....(see video) |
I've always enjoyed games like this where natural survival is key. It's probably why I was such a fan of Lost In Blue on the DS. The game is currently free for PS+ users but otherwise its 15 dollars regularly on the PS4 (and I assume also on steam). There doesn't really appear to be much functional difference in the game from PC to console aside from control layout a bit.
 |
| I have not found one of these yet, and I will shit my pants when I do. I can barely stay alive from regular wild animals. |
I've got maybe about 30-40 hours plunked down on this game overall, and even with the addition of the randomly generated maps, I manage to get a little father every time. So far my record is 33 days with Willow, and I've almost barely made it out of my first winter. I now know how to find the end game so hopefully I'll start to the get the knack on how to jump start my quests. Don't Starve might not be the most overly intense or exciting of titles, but its one with a good character motivation, and it doesn't baby you like so many other games. If you are a PS+ or steam user, I would suggest giving it a try.
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