Since one of my favorite hobbies is lying in my room playing video games, it’s nice when they make me feel a little more adventurous than I really am.
Don’t Starve is a creepy yet slightly adorable survival game. You play as Wilson, a scientist who gets transported to a forbidden land through a mystery machine. The goal of the game is just what the title tells you: don’t starve.
You have to survive in the land using the resources you can find. Being a scientist, you can invent things with objects you find on the island. You have to find things to create tools, build a fire and make sure you get something to eat.
You have to build a fire every night (and keep it going) to make sure a scary creature doesn’t come and kill you. You also have to find food to keep your energy up. Though it might not seem like much, these few things can keep you playing for hours, and you discover more and more things in the creepy wilderness you’ve found yourself inhabiting.
The more things you find in the game, the more things you can create — bigger tools, better fire and neater devices.
If Tim Burton created a video game, this would be it. The art is adorable. Wilson has mad-scientist hair and the creatures you find are pretty darn imaginative. Wilson could be a pretty cool Halloween costume.
The game doesn’t give you many instructions, which was annoying at first but actually made it much more enjoyable to play. You can interact will all the different objects in the wilderness and see what happens.
There are also plenty of creatures to keep you interested. The game is totally based on discovery. It’s surprisingly large in size, and each time you start a new game, it’s completely different.
When you make a wrong move and Wilson meets his fate, you have to start all over. I hated that at first, but it made it a lot more fun and really kept me wanting to survive.
It’s an addicting game. It’s easy to play and doesn’t require a ton of attention. There isn’t much of a storyline, but it is fun to explore and see what objects you can find. I found myself playing this in my free time while I caught up on TV or hung out with friends.
Don’t Starve is available for download on Mac, Windows and PlayStation consoles for $14.99. If games without a ton of storyline are your thing, I totally recommend this. Whether you like the outdoors, science experiments, hunting or just really cute and creepy characters, you’ll be hooked on the game pretty quickly.
Sophie Kruse is a sophomore studying journalism and a writer for The Post. What are your Don’t Starve survival techniques? Email her at sk139011@ohiou.edu.
