Don't Starve: Console Edition
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Don't Starve: Console Edition
Don't Starve is a beautiful take on Minecraft's formula that ultimately left me feeling a bit too empty.
This brutal survival and crafting adventure delivers fun and punishment in equal measure.
Don't Starve is a fantastic, huge, deadly ball of entertainingly gothic survival. It requires a self-motivated player to get the most from it, but once you start to learn its systems, each game lasts a bit longer than the previous one, and the ability to experience more of the world reveals more secrets and avenues of exploration.
We expected big things from the studio behind Mark of the Ninja and Shank, and in Don't Starve, we got them. It's a wonderfully dark survival-craft game with great scope for emergent, unique experiences, even if it will make you rage occasionally. The UI betrays the PC roots and can be a little hard to use on a smaller TV, and there are those who will find Don't Starve just too mean-spirited to fully appreciate, but as an intentionally unforgiving survival sim with a sinister twist, it absolutely excels.
An interesting stew of ideas and great presentation can't make up for a game that goes out of its way to frustrate and discourage its players.
Don't Starve may make your stomach rumble in frustration if you're not willing to invest the required time to master its complex systems, but triumph over its crushing difficulty, and you may find a satisfactory dish here. The beautiful art style, entertaining music, and solid gameplay mean that you owe it to yourself to at least give the title a try – but know that not everyone will want to stick around for seconds.
With an amazing amount of possibilities open to you, most of which I have not mentioned here, no two play throughs are the same. Yes you will get frustrated and yes, your road will be a long and bizarre one, but ultimately it will be a journey of exploration, wonder and the more than occasional scare.
No doubt, Don't Starve will split opinion squarely down the middle, but for those willing to put the man hours in it there's undoubtedly a proverbial treasure throve of depth at hand. Either way, Klei Entertainment's offering is a refreshingly robust and intriguing title which sets the wheels of Sony's PS4 indie proclamation firmly in motion.
