Don't Starve Review
Hey folks Brandon here and I sure am hungry. It is a good thing Don't Starve teaches me how to survive. Now this was a newly released game on the PS4 from the fine people at Klei Entertainment. This is unlike any of their games that I have seen. They made Shank 1 and 2, and also made Mark of the Ninja. Both of those games are side scrolling slashers. This is Klei's artistic take on survival horror. Let me just say this is the most survival I've ever had in a game.
Normally I would talk about the story but honestly I hardly know it. The thin plot this game is based around you playing a scientist named Wilson and this mysterious man drops you into this world, where everything is trying to kill you. I dig the antagonist named Maxwell (who is the mysterious man) because he looks like the old timey villains. This guy is dressed in a all black old west suit and has a handlebar mustache. It doesn't get more badass then that, sadly he is missing the top hat to go with it. Wilson has an attitude a lot like a gamer would playing a video game. If he sees someone who has died he will say "better him than me". If you attack a helpless creature the guy says one of my favorite lines "go for the eyes". Your protagonist is a bit crazy and the crazier he gets the funnier stuff he says. Side note people he doesn't speak any actual language, so everything is in Charlie Brown talk. Just a bunch of Wan wan wah wha. Thankfully they have the humorous text that go with the nonsense. I technically didn't beat the game so I can't tell you if there is a ending or if it is one of those play until you die games.
The sound is really great in this game. It has some generic music, but the real sound is in the sound effects. Whether you are just walking around in the world or have a creature trying to kill you all the sounds are fantastic. There were times in the night (in the game) where you will hear something walking around but you can't see them, so it'd put you a bit on edge.
The game graphically is nothing special. Now I like the character and monster design I don't see the need for this to come out on the PS4. The creature design is good and a bit creepy, I have to say the pig people creeped me out the most. The game has areas you visit just walking through the world and I have to say being this game has a day and night cycle there were some areas so ominous that I would only go there during the day.
If you listen to the Bloody Screen Podcast you might have heard me describe this game as addictive. That is exactly what the gameplay of this game is addictive as fuck. Most people will die the first two times playing the game because this game doesn't tell you shit. It is a learn as you go kind of game. Once you learn how to survive in the wild you feel like a bad ass mountain man. The thing I love about this game is every time you die you start over and the world is random generated. This open world is also completely blank on your map so you can't memorize where anything is located. You might be wondering how do you survive in the world Brandon? Well you must collect resources such as food, and building materials to make axes, spears, clothes, and most importantly fire. Seriously fire is your friend, especially at night. What will kill every new comer to this game is the night. When nighttime hits if you don't have fire you will die. The only thing to do really is to make a fire and sit there until it passes. Yes you do also need to eat in this game or else what it the point of surviving. Food isn't hard to come by fruit and veggies are plentiful, but if you get meat it will fill you quicker and longer. Combat is only able to happen if you have a spear. Believe me trying to use a axe will not end well for you new people. There is one mechanic I find quite cool it is the fact that you go crazy the longer you play the game. Now if you build a flower hat, you will stop the process. If you don't build one then Wilson will slowly fall into madness and you will start seeing shadowy figures around. I never went full crazy so I can't tell you if it is game over or not. Last thing I want to mention more as a tip, there is seasons and if you are well enough equipped in the winter you will freeze to death.
Overall, there is a story part to the game aside from the open world. It has specific objectives but kind of a pain in the ass, plus you have to find it in the world to even start it. You can mess with the settings to make the game easier or harder and you have different characters you can play both with pros and cons to them. I can say it is a fun game and addictive when you first pick it up after three or four days you've seen what this game has to offer. This is free if you own a PS4 and have PlayStation Plus so if you have that you most likely have already played it. I say it is worth checking out on the console or the pc. I give this a 3.5 out of 5. While the gameplay is fun after you see everything you have no real incentive to go back. So boys and girls go survive and let me know how many days it takes before you died. I made it to 23.
Normally I would talk about the story but honestly I hardly know it. The thin plot this game is based around you playing a scientist named Wilson and this mysterious man drops you into this world, where everything is trying to kill you. I dig the antagonist named Maxwell (who is the mysterious man) because he looks like the old timey villains. This guy is dressed in a all black old west suit and has a handlebar mustache. It doesn't get more badass then that, sadly he is missing the top hat to go with it. Wilson has an attitude a lot like a gamer would playing a video game. If he sees someone who has died he will say "better him than me". If you attack a helpless creature the guy says one of my favorite lines "go for the eyes". Your protagonist is a bit crazy and the crazier he gets the funnier stuff he says. Side note people he doesn't speak any actual language, so everything is in Charlie Brown talk. Just a bunch of Wan wan wah wha. Thankfully they have the humorous text that go with the nonsense. I technically didn't beat the game so I can't tell you if there is a ending or if it is one of those play until you die games.
The sound is really great in this game. It has some generic music, but the real sound is in the sound effects. Whether you are just walking around in the world or have a creature trying to kill you all the sounds are fantastic. There were times in the night (in the game) where you will hear something walking around but you can't see them, so it'd put you a bit on edge.
The game graphically is nothing special. Now I like the character and monster design I don't see the need for this to come out on the PS4. The creature design is good and a bit creepy, I have to say the pig people creeped me out the most. The game has areas you visit just walking through the world and I have to say being this game has a day and night cycle there were some areas so ominous that I would only go there during the day.
If you listen to the Bloody Screen Podcast you might have heard me describe this game as addictive. That is exactly what the gameplay of this game is addictive as fuck. Most people will die the first two times playing the game because this game doesn't tell you shit. It is a learn as you go kind of game. Once you learn how to survive in the wild you feel like a bad ass mountain man. The thing I love about this game is every time you die you start over and the world is random generated. This open world is also completely blank on your map so you can't memorize where anything is located. You might be wondering how do you survive in the world Brandon? Well you must collect resources such as food, and building materials to make axes, spears, clothes, and most importantly fire. Seriously fire is your friend, especially at night. What will kill every new comer to this game is the night. When nighttime hits if you don't have fire you will die. The only thing to do really is to make a fire and sit there until it passes. Yes you do also need to eat in this game or else what it the point of surviving. Food isn't hard to come by fruit and veggies are plentiful, but if you get meat it will fill you quicker and longer. Combat is only able to happen if you have a spear. Believe me trying to use a axe will not end well for you new people. There is one mechanic I find quite cool it is the fact that you go crazy the longer you play the game. Now if you build a flower hat, you will stop the process. If you don't build one then Wilson will slowly fall into madness and you will start seeing shadowy figures around. I never went full crazy so I can't tell you if it is game over or not. Last thing I want to mention more as a tip, there is seasons and if you are well enough equipped in the winter you will freeze to death.
Overall, there is a story part to the game aside from the open world. It has specific objectives but kind of a pain in the ass, plus you have to find it in the world to even start it. You can mess with the settings to make the game easier or harder and you have different characters you can play both with pros and cons to them. I can say it is a fun game and addictive when you first pick it up after three or four days you've seen what this game has to offer. This is free if you own a PS4 and have PlayStation Plus so if you have that you most likely have already played it. I say it is worth checking out on the console or the pc. I give this a 3.5 out of 5. While the gameplay is fun after you see everything you have no real incentive to go back. So boys and girls go survive and let me know how many days it takes before you died. I made it to 23.