Article by Claudio Consoli
The titles dedicated to crafting are multiplying, and even more those related to survival mechanics. Titles like Minecraft have made an apparently niche genre become of global interest, transforming it into a mass phenomenon. In recent months, we've been seeing the emergence of titles that mix item creation and survival in large quantities, each with rather similar core mechanics, but identified by different and distinctive artistic directions. In this panorama, Don't Starve can be recognized as one of the most interesting exponents of the genre, for depth of mechanics and unique graphic style. After surprising gamers and critics in April 2013 with the PC, MAC and Linux versions, the indie title developed by Klei Entertainment was chosen by Sony to become the third free title offered to owners of Playstation Plus on PlayStation 4, after Contrast and Resogun.
Avoid starving ... and more
Good Wilson is a scientist who finds himself catapulted by a demon into disturbing and apparently unexplored territory. Without any explanation or tutorial, the player takes the role of the odd character, immediately encountering an intuitive crafting system. A few fibers of grass and a few stones are enough to make basic tools for cutting down trees and digging rocks, so as to obtain more or less precious wood and stones. With simple objects we will create the first scientific machines, necessary to obtain advanced instruments and processed materials, with which to aspire to build tents, fences and shelters.
All simple, apparently, except that the environment in which Wilson has to move proves incredibly inhospitable, and mostly inhabited by hostile creatures who do everything to damage the protagonist. In fact, the developers had the very successful idea of creating an extremely fast real-time day / night cycle. The 24 hours of a day in Don't Starve equals about 10 real minutes, and as the days progress, the seasons change. The player is therefore faced with a constant change of scenery, including climatic conditions. During the night, however, some creatures of the darkness attack Wilson without hesitation, forcing him to remain always and in any case illuminated, whether it is the natural sun, the glow of a fire or artificial light. Staying in the dark for just a few seconds is tantamount to certain death, and it does not matter if you have resisted five, ten or a hundred days until that moment: the auto-save overwrites the progress of the game, and it starts all over again.
If getting constant sources of light while crafting materials wasn't complex enough, hunger, physical health and mental state prove to be allies, or enemies, in the foreground. Not eating means dying hungry within about three days, health drops dramatically with every attack of animals and even apparently harmless monsters, and not being able to find shelter to sleep peacefully, ending up staying awake for a long time, or eating harmful foods, causes damage to the mind, leading the character to madness and then to death.
We have described some of the worst-case scenarios, but with good skill the player can avoid death for a long time, getting great rewards from surviving. The constant improvement of tools and objects that can be created, and the continuous exploration of a map initially obscured, and procedurally generated at each game to present unique and never identical worlds, arrives to offer important news after a few virtual days. We do not want to spoil the surprise, but imagine a beautiful well-protected farm, livestock and crops, to be defended perhaps with firearms, and more.
The move to PS4
Available for PlayStation 4 from 7 January 2014, Don't Starve loses the quick mouse and keyboard control possible on PC for a more cumbersome gamepad control system. Nothing to fear, in either case, given that the game via gamepad proves possible and easy thanks to wise choices by the development team. By holding down the collection and interaction button, the character approaches the useful objects automatically, without requiring the continuous pressing of the button. The control of the menus of the objects that can be created and the use of those collected is dedicated to the backbones plus the right analogue lever, while the d-pad allows you to drop objects, analyze them, use them on the scenario or on yourself. The control on the character happens directly, and the attack passes by pressing the square button, for a simple but fun combat system.
Technical sector
Let's face it, we all thought about it a little while throwing our first glance at Don't Starve: it looks like a work by Tim Burton, which can only be a compliment. The gothic and gloomy style of the title developed by Klei Entertainment mixes the atmosphere of magic and science on the verge of steam punk, reminding us a lot of the strange workshops of the Edward Scissorhands movie, only to then catapult us into the crazy version of an abandoned forest, full of animals inspired by the real ones, but with more or less evident aesthetic variations to make them unusual and sometimes frightening. So here is that a normal pig becomes a humanoid I intend to defend its territory, the wild boars become aggressive monsters and the spiders, the biggest ones that you will find over time, gigantic beings from horror films. Without further spoiling the surprise, the creatures, the achievable objects and in general the resources available in the disturbing territory, have all been created with great detail, and with an appreciable continuity of style.
In the case of PlayStation 4 do not let yourself be betrayed by the desire to see the new console move 3D scenarios beyond the imaginable. Don't Starve is to be appreciated not for the graphic power, but for the style, the artistic direction and for the choice, absolutely desired, of a forced two-dimensionality, even in the frame changes. It is pure style, like watching a theatrical scene.
On the audio side we are also on good levels. The soundtrack finely accompanies only specific phases of the action, such as those in which there is a risk of an attack, the danger that anticipates a landslide, or the threat of rain. In the quieter stages, only the environmental effects accompany the images on the screen. From the noise produced by beings not framed by the virtual camera, to that of settings and moments of foreboding, everything serves to involve the player and lower him into the ambiguous style of production.
Final comment
Don't Starve is one of the best titles in what seems to be a genre unto itself. The mix between survival and crafting that is so fashionable in this videogame period, is well calibrated in the Klei Entertainment title. Equipped with a captivating graphic style and a simple but functional audio sector, the product boasts mechanics that are simple to understand for unpretentious first games, but extremely profound when trying to survive for long periods, discovering initially unimaginable subtleties. To take Don't Starve lightly would be a gross error of assessment, in fact it takes at least a fortnight of survival to sum up how complex and satisfying it becomes to escape physical and mental illnesses, to face increasingly adverse climatic conditions, and to explore constantly evolving lands. . Don't Starve's conversion to PS4 does not lose its merits, although control via gamepad is more cumbersome than that via mouse and keyboard. Even the PC version experts will need a few minutes to grasp the correct use of the commands. Considering the free if you subscribe to PS Plus, we recommend the test to any new player without hesitation, suggesting to hold on if the first moments of the game are not convincing enough, while to the old PC players, we can only suggest to continue on the road already undertaken, since in addition to the convenience of the control system, a door remains open to a world of Mod in continuous growth, which remains closed to players of the console version.
