It’s refreshing to encounter a game that isn’t afraid to be completely honest about its content. Right down to its title, Don’t Starve revels in its masochistic nature and doesn’t hide the fact that death is almost always around the corner. Up until now the experience has been a largely singular one, with players finding themselves dropped into a randomly-generated landscape, asked with nothing more than surviving. All that is about to change though with the coming of a new expansion.
All through its development - from alpha all the way up to its stable release - the developers at Klei Entertainment have put a great amount of stock in the voice of their playing community. One of the most contentious ideas purported by fans has been the inclusion of a multiplayer component. For a game based around simply surviving any number of horrors, what could be more fun than tackling the inevitable with a friend? Despite the enthusiasm of many, an equal number balked at the idea, feeling that it would hurt the experience.
All said, after months of vehemently denying the possibility of some day implementing multiplayer, Klei has officially announced that the hotly-requested feature will be making its way to Steam copies of the game in Summer 2014 in the form of its second expansion (the first being ‘Reign Of The Giants’). As far as a PS4 release of the expansion goes though, JoeW of Klei states that “it’s too early to tell.”
For existing owners of the survival title, this expansion - aptly named ‘Don’t Starve Together’ - will be available free-of-charge. Those who have held off on making the purchase though, will find the price increasing to $19.99 USD when the Steam Early Access goes live. Lone survivors have no reason to fear though, as the game's single-player portion will remain as it was.
While concrete details are largely in the works for the upcoming expansion, JoeW goes on to say that, "most of (if not all) the normal features in Don’t Starve, balanced for multiplayer, and potentially even add new features." This is great news for both returning and new players as both modes will present players with the complete and deadly Don't Starve experience.
As both an award nominee and one of our favourite indie titles of 2013, it's safe to say that Don't Starve has managed to elevate itself above the other permadeath survival titles on the market to carve out a niche for itself. Don't let its cartoony visuals fool you, because Don't Starve has proved that it can stand up to the big guns like DayZ when it comes to the raw intensity of survival.
Are you excited to jump back into Don't Starve with a friend? What further features would you like to see implemented in the survival title?
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Don't Starve is available now for PS4, PC, Mac and Linux and will be launching its 'Don't Starve Together' multiplayer expansion in Summer 2014 on Steam versions of the title.
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Source: Klei Entertainment