Don’t Starve Together is a multiplayer survival game developed by Klei Entertainment that expands on the original Don’t Starve by introducing cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes. Set in a dark and twisted wilderness, players must gather resources, craft items, and fend off hunger, monsters, and madness. In this review, we’ll dive into the game’s core mechanics, multiplayer experience, and unique challenges that make Don’t Starve Together a standout survival title.
1. Introduction to Don’t Starve Together
Don’t Starve Together is the multiplayer expansion of the critically acclaimed survival game Don’t Starve. Released in 2016, it has since gained a large and dedicated community due to its challenging gameplay and engaging multiplayer experience.
A Challenging Survival Game
The core gameplay revolves around survival in a hostile world. Players must manage their health, hunger, and sanity while battling the elements and supernatural creatures. The game is notorious for its high difficulty curve, making every session a test of skill and strategy.
Surviving Together or Alone
The multiplayer mode allows players to team up with friends or strangers to survive the harsh wilderness. Alternatively, players can choose to play solo if they prefer. The cooperative nature of the game adds a layer of complexity, as teamwork becomes crucial for survival.
2. Exploring the World: Procedurally Generated Biomes
The world of Don’t Starve Together is procedurally generated, meaning no two worlds are ever the same. This adds an element of unpredictability to every game, forcing players to adapt to their environment on the fly.
Biomes and Resources
Each world is made up of different biomes, each with its own unique resources, creatures, and weather patterns. Grasslands provide food and basic materials, while swamps house dangerous creatures but offer rare resources. Exploring the various biomes is crucial for survival, as players must gather materials to craft tools, clothing, and structures.
Environmental Hazards
The game’s environments are not just visually distinct but also come with their own hazards. Players must contend with changing seasons, including harsh winters and scorching summers, which bring unique challenges such as freezing temperatures and wildfires.
3. Crafting and Resource Management
A central component of Don’t Starve Together is its robust crafting system, which allows players to create tools, weapons, and structures that aid in survival.
Gathering Resources
Players must gather materials like wood, rocks, and food from their surroundings. The crafting menu provides a wide array of items that can be built, from simple axes and campfires to complex machinery like alchemical engines and lightning rods.
The Importance of Time Management
Resource gathering and crafting must be balanced with time management. Days are short, and nights are dangerous in the world of Don’t Starve Together. Properly managing time is essential for building shelters, gathering food, and preparing for nighttime dangers.
4. Managing Hunger, Health, and Sanity
In addition to gathering resources, players must keep an eye on three critical stats: hunger, health, and sanity. These stats determine a player’s overall survival and must be carefully monitored throughout the game.
Hunger
Food is a constant concern in Don’t Starve Together. Players must forage, hunt, or farm to keep their hunger levels in check. Letting hunger drop too low results in a slow loss of health, eventually leading to death.
Health and Sanity
While health is affected by combat and environmental dangers, sanity is influenced by factors such as staying in the dark, being near monsters, and consuming questionable food. As sanity decreases, players begin to hallucinate, and eventually, shadow creatures attack, adding another layer of difficulty to the game.
5. Unique Characters and Abilities
One of the standout features of Don’t Starve Together is its diverse cast of characters, each with their own unique abilities and drawbacks.
Character Selection
Players can choose from characters like Wilson, the default character with no major weaknesses, or Willow, who is immune to fire but suffers from sanity issues. Wickerbottom, for example, can craft powerful books but cannot sleep to restore sanity. Each character provides a different gameplay experience, adding replayability to the game.
Teamwork and Character Synergies
In multiplayer mode, coordinating character abilities can lead to greater success. For example, Wolfgang can fight off enemies more effectively while a support character like Wendy provides assistance with gathering resources. Combining these abilities enhances teamwork and survival chances.
6. Multiplayer Experience: Cooperative and Competitive Modes
The multiplayer aspect of Don’t Starve Together is what sets it apart from the original game. Players can either work together to survive or compete in PvP (player versus player) mode.
Cooperative Survival
In cooperative mode, players must share resources, strategize together, and delegate tasks such as gathering, crafting, and combat. Communication is key to surviving in Don’t Starve Together, especially as the difficulty ramps up with changing seasons and more dangerous enemies.
Competitive Mode
For those looking for a challenge, Don’t Starve Together also offers a competitive mode, where players can battle each other while still managing the harsh survival elements of the game. This mode adds a new level of strategy and unpredictability, as other players can be as dangerous as the game’s monsters.
7. Combat and Enemy Encounters
Survival in Don’t Starve Together isn’t just about gathering food and staying sane. Players must also defend themselves from a variety of monsters and hostile creatures.
Monster Variety
The game is filled with enemies ranging from spiders and hounds to more powerful bosses like the Deerclops and Bearger. Each monster has its own attack patterns and weaknesses, and players must use strategy and preparation to defeat them.
Boss Fights and Strategy
Certain seasons bring boss fights, such as the winter Deerclops or the summer Dragonfly. These fights require preparation, teamwork, and knowledge of the boss’s mechanics to succeed. Defeating these bosses often rewards players with rare materials that are crucial for advanced crafting.
8. The Changing Seasons
Don’t Starve Together introduces a dynamic season system that affects the gameplay. Each season brings its own unique challenges, requiring players to adapt their strategies.
Winter Challenges
Winter is one of the most dangerous seasons in the game. Players must prepare by gathering food, creating winter clothing, and building heat sources. Without proper preparation, freezing temperatures and food scarcity can quickly end a player’s survival.
Summer Hazards
On the flip side, summer introduces its own dangers, such as wildfires and overheating. Players need to find ways to stay cool and prevent their base from burning down, making summer a season that is equally treacherous as winter.
9. Mods and Customization
Don’t Starve Together has a thriving modding community that continually creates new content for the game. These mods range from simple quality-of-life improvements to entirely new gameplay mechanics.
Popular Mods
Some of the most popular mods include new characters, improved user interfaces, and additional crafting recipes. Players can also use mods to adjust the difficulty of the game, either making it easier for beginners or harder for experienced players.
Creating Your Own Mods
Players with coding knowledge can even create their own mods, adding new items, enemies, or environments to the game. This level of customization ensures that Don’t Starve Together stays fresh and exciting, even after hundreds of hours of gameplay.
10. The Community and Updates
Don’t Starve Together has a passionate community that actively participates in discussions, fan art, and creating guides for new players. The developers, Klei Entertainment, regularly update the game with new content and bug fixes, keeping the game evolving.
Ongoing Support
The game continues to receive regular updates, including new characters, biomes, and seasonal events. These updates keep the game engaging and provide players with fresh challenges and content to explore.
Community-Driven Events
The developers often collaborate with the community for in-game events and updates. For example, the Forge event introduces new combat mechanics and arenas, while the Gorge focuses on cooking and farming. These events bring the community together and add replayability to the game.
Conclusion
Don’t Starve Together is a unique and challenging survival game that shines in its multiplayer mode. Its blend of resource management, crafting, combat, and teamwork creates an immersive and rewarding experience. The dynamic world, filled with dangers and mysteries, keeps players coming back for more. Whether playing alone or with friends, Don’t Starve Together offers endless replayability and a deep sense of satisfaction from mastering its difficult mechanics.
