Indie games like Witch Beam’sUnpackingand BlueTwelve’sStraytend to draw mainstream attention as often as AAA titles. Popularity isn’t always attained at launch however, withInnerSloth’sAmong Usbecoming a phenomenon amid the COVID-19 pandemic two years after it released in 2018. While not directly equivalent, Klei Entertainment’sDon’t Starvesaw renewed interest with the release of its multiplayer counterpartDon’t Starve Together, and subsequent console ports have kept the survival roguelike relevant.
Klei had plenty of experience in the industry leading up toDon’t Starvein 2013, working on games likeShankandMark of the Ninja. Yet the survival game with a macabre Tim Burton-esque art style was a breakout hit, arguably standing alongside many indie Renaissance titles likeSuper Meat BoyandThe Binding of Isaacas examples of what a smaller team can accomplish. Though Klei Entertainment would move on toOxygen Not IncludedandGriftlands,Don’t Starveis still getting much of its attention.
RELATED:18 Multiplayer Games To Play If You Like Don’t Starve Together
This is largely thanks toDon’t Starve Together, the standalone multiplayer expansion that added tons of content onto the base experience after coming out in 2016. New content in any game is a huge draw, but being able to survive with a group of friends makes the experience that much better - andDon’t Starve Together’s playerbase expanded with a Nintendo Switch port this April. Those players got a good look at a game that feels built for multiplayer, seemingly balancing itself as more users are added.
Don’t Starve Together’s Basic Structure
Don’t Starve Togetheris asurvival game likeMinecraftorTerraria;players are dropped into an unforgiving wilderness and must learn how to keep themselves alive (likely by looking at a fan Wiki). However, its roguelike elements often take center stage as The Constant, its procedurally-generated world, has dangers around every corner that literally change with each season. Players have to maintain their health, hunger, and sanity meters while contending with antagonistic forces ranging from spiders to bosses like Deerclops, and even darkness itself every night.
The game’s loop boils down to fulfilling Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.Players need to ensure they have a steady food supplyso that they can focus on building a base, and then experiment with various scientific and magical pursuits designed to make survival more tenable. It’s a stressful experience that can become zen as players spend each day collecting meat and other resources to build their stockpile for a harsh winter - and other tough seasons like summer if they survive the cold.
RELATED:Don’t Starve: Easiest World Customization Settings
How Don’t Starve’s Multiplayer Seems to Balance Itself
Don’t Starve Togetherthrives over its single-player predecessor because of how it encourages teamwork. ThoughTogetherhas a lot more content overall, being able to disseminate tasks among up-to four players makes even basic survival tasks more interesting. One player could be catching rabbits while another builds bee boxes for honey, and both of these ingredients could be combined intomore filling meals with a crock potdeveloped by someone else. What may have been three days of solo work becomes a community effort, making it easier to survive.
YetDon’t Starve Together’s inherent design balances out the relative ease of surviving with multiple players. Unlike theMonster Hunterseriesand similar co-op titles where multiple people in a lobby artificially inflates difficulty by increasing enemy health, just about everything inDon’t Starve Togetheris the same whether a user is alone or not. Difficulty comes from the more realistic challenge of surviving with multiple people, such as burning through food and crafting resources faster.
That’s not to mention the fact thatevery character inDon’t Starve Togetherhas different stat distributionsand inherent traits that affect how they survive. For example, Wigfrid is a strong fighter who starts with a weapon and armor to tank opponents, but can only eat meat - making early food sources like berry bushes worthless until building a crock pot. Meanwhile, Wendy is a frail girl who has better sanity control due to experience with her dead sister Abigail, an entity that can be summoned to fight on Wendy’s behalf. Players can drop in and out, letting some characters complete tasks that may be more difficult for others without completely breaking the flow.
By designing a game that balances itself almost entirely through challenging mechanics, Klei Entertainment clearly struck gold. The studio continued growingDon’t Starve Together’s roster of characters and activities with DLC expansions like “Reign of Giants,” “Shipwrecked,” and “Hamlet” through 2018. Furthermore, it has kept the game alive via modding support, ports to consoles like Switch, and arecent crossover withTerraria. Other developers can certainly take some lessons from how theDon’t Starvebrand has evolved over nearly a decade.
Don’t Starve Togetheris available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
MORE:Don’t Starve is Seeing a Resurgence, and That’s Great
