Don't Starve: Console Edition Reviews
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.
Don't Starve isn't perfect, but it brings something to the PS4 that is sorely needed. Its addictive qualities keep you playing, forcing you to lose hours of your life to dodging Pig Men, hunting rabbits, and gathering supplies to see how long you can last. This game will keep you playing that shiny new PS4, which is exactly what the PS4 needs right now. Now, time to jump in this rabbit hole and go to the Kingdom of the Bunnymen…hopefully.
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.
This is ultimately something very different and represents a brilliant transferal of typically PC-only gameplay to console. I fully recommend buying Don't Starve on PS4, but if it ever joins PS+ again, then you've got no reason to miss it.
"Don't Starve's" gameplay is unique, but it's very much a throwback to trial-and-error gaming. It's reminiscent of games that employed a baptism-by-fire approach. In turn, these aspects make the game a social experience despite being strictly single player. Half of its fun is talking to other people who have played the game to share ideas.
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.