History VideoGame / DontStarve

* DownerEnding: The ending to Adventure Mode has you [[spoiler:figure out that Maxwell is merely a pawn for the Shadowy Forces that run the world and has actually been trapped on a Throne of Nightmares for an eternity, and if you free him from the Nightmare Throne it will trap whoever you are currently playing as there forever... or until you beat Adventure Mode again.]][[Slightly alleviated in DST, where Wilson is freed from the Nightmare Thrown, but is placed back in the Constant. And the person who replaces him has far more devious plans for the world on the survivors.]]
** Slightly softened by ''Don't Starve Together'', [[spoiler:in which the player character (canonically Wilson) is freed from the Nightmare Throne by Charlie and cast back into the wilderness]].

*** When they examines the Touch Stone they say "DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC" as a reference to The Lovin' Spoonful's song.

* TheBigGuy: Wolfgang, when well-fed. Although his in-game sprite is practically the same size as the others, only a bit bulkier.

* BlackBeadEyes: Most of the male cast have these, except for Webber and Woodie, who have blank white ProphetEyes. Some mobs also sport black bead eyes.

** Steam has a workshop for the PC version. There's also an in-game link to a community filled with mods that aren't on the workshop. This includes, amongst other things, the ability to play as [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys Freddy Fazbear and friends,]] LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}}, and [[VideoGame/TeamFortress2 The Tf2 mercs,]] because ''[[RuleOfCool of course it does.]]''

* LetterMotif: All the playable characters (Wilson, Willow, Wolfgang, Wendy, WX-78, Wickerbottom, Woodie, Wes [[spoiler:William Carter]], Wigfrid, and Webber) have names that begin with 'W'. As a matter of fact, the only ones who breaks this rule are the {{NPC}}s Maxwell and Abigail.

* MightyLumberjack: Woodie, who comes complete with a [[ManlyFacialHair beard]] and a [[TalkingWeapon possessed axe]], [[ICallItVera affectionately named “Lucy”]].

* OnlyOneName: With the exception of Wilson Percival Higgsbury Maxwell/[[spoiler:William Carter]], every other playable character only has one known name, though the surname of Wendy and Abigail is implied to be [[spoiler:Carter]].

* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: All of the human characters in the game prior to ''Shipwrecked'' have pale white skin and most have dark hair. The exceptions are Wendy (blonde), Woodie (brownish-red hair) and Wigfrid (brighter red hair).

* PurelyAestheticGender: Sure, all of the characters have unique strengths and weaknesses, but it has nothing to do with their gender. The weakest character (Wes) and the frailest character ([[spoiler:Maxwell]]) are male, and the strongest character (Wigfrid) is female. The only female character to be weaker than the default is Wendy, but the fact that she is a child probably has more to do with it than her gender. (Webber doesn't make a very good comparison, since while he's confirmed to be a kid he's also a spider monster who has more health than most of the adults.)

* {{Pyromaniac}}: Willow. Her special abilities include being immune to fire, being able to restore sanity by standing next to an open flame, and starting fires if her sanity gets too low. The other characters can burn down trees and spider's nests with torches.

* SceneryPorn: Being a game with 2D graphics, some of the art can be seen as simplistic, but still absolutely gorgeous, especially the different settings of seasons. Some of the official artwork also looks fantastic.

* TheSmartOne:
** The gentleman scientist, Wilson. Implied to be one anyway. In-game he is no different from the others except for his "beard growing powers" which makes it a lot more easier and safer for him to construct the meat effigy[[note]]Crafting a Meat Effigy requires beard hair. Other characters can only get these by letting their [[SanitySlippage sanity slip]] so that beardlings would appear. Beardlings drop beard hair when killed.[[/note]]. The design of the meat effigy itself (modeled after his own visage) suggests that he invented the thing himself. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0QhvmisGWU He also created Maxwell's Door]].
** Wickerbottom used to be able to prototype all Science Machine and some Alchemy Engine recipes without having to build the Science Machine. Her examinations of various objects also implies this, giving you more detailed descriptions of the object than any of the characters in the game.
** [[spoiler:Also Maxwell, to some degree. He knows a lot more about the world the game takes place in than the other characters]].

* SpeakingSimlish: The player characters (except [[HeroicMime Wes]]) are subtitled but their speech is represented by rapid instrumental notes. Wilson's is a trumpet, Willow's is a flute, Wendy's is an alto flute, Wolfgang's is a tuba, Wickerbottom's may be an oboe, Woodie's is a cello, WX-78's is a synthesizer, Wigfrid's is a brass horn, Webber's may be "a synthesizer being dropped down a flight of stairs", Winona's is a tubulum, Walani's is an out-of-tune ukulele, Warly's is a steel drum, Wilbur's is an organ grinder, Woodlegs's is a concertina, Wormwood's is a didgeridoo, Wheeler's is a ragtime piano, Wilba's is an ocarina and Maxwell's is a harmonium.

* StealthPun: Wilbur is voiced by an organ grinder (also known as a monkey organ).

* NobodyPoops: Averted. Although the protagonists never do, many other creatures do. A lot. Manure is of vital importance for farming. Pigs will "produce" after you feed them, and Beefalo do it all the time. In fact, it would probably be difficult to find another game that features poop so prominently.

* NotCompletelyUseless: The Powdercake, basically a glorified Twinkie, is a JokeItem when eaten by the player--it hurts the player a bit and restores no hunger or sanity. However, its insanely long rot time of 18,750 in-game days (over ''100 days'' real time) makes it ideal trap bait. Some people also use the powdercake for the powdercake challenge (Twinkie challenge) where they would have to make a powdercake and survive until the powdercake turns into rot.

** Characters' body temperature will change to match the ambient temperature. In real life, this only happens to cold-blooded animals, as warm-blooded animals like mammals have the ability to maintain a constant core body temperature. Not to mention, allowing the core temperature to fluctuate that much should be fatal. The only characters it really makes sense for are WX-78, Wormwood and Wurt.

Also in May 2014, Klei announced a multiplayer feature titled "Don't Starve Together". The closed beta was released the next Summer and Early Access was released on December 15, 2014. Don't Starve Together was officially released on April 21st, 2016. Initially it was just the original with multiplayer and all enemy health increased to compensate, but Don't Starve Together has subsequently received multiple updates, collectively referred to as "A New Reign," that have made it increasingly different from single-player. Later, another series of updates known as "Return of Them" started in 2019, which added seafaring, fishing and farming reworks and a collection of "Moon" based features.

On September 13th, 2017 the game saw further announcements for all editions of the game: an upcoming single-player expansion titled "Don't Starve: Hamlet" focused on the origins of the Pigmen; content updates for Shipwrecked; and a series of events for Don't Starve Together starting with "The Forge." More information on these announcements can be found [[https://forums.kleientertainment.com/topic/81966-announcing-dont-starve-hamlet-the-forge-and-other-exciting-news/ here]]. "The Gorge", a second event for DST, was announced on June 7, 2017.

On December 15, 2021 the game was released for UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch.

Game mods can be downloaded as files from [[https://dontstarvemods.com/ Don't Starve Mods]] website.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys:
** Splumonkeys, monkeys that dwell in caves and live inside barrels. They [[BanditMook rob players of their inventory]] and throw manure in combat. If a Splumonkey manages to steal a hat, it'll wear the hat.
** In the ''Shipwrecked'' DLC, the Prime Apes function as a friendlier version of the Splumonkey. Differences are that they live aboveground, take only items that are dropped, and are a form of "indifferent" mob which can be befriended. (They still wear stolen hats.)

'''Wagstaff''': Delightfully devlish.\\

-->'''Wolfgang''': Is mouthwatering hamburgers.\\

* Willow's Victorian skin is likely a reference to ''[[Literature/TheLittleMatchGirl The Little Matchstick Girl]]''.

* ArtisticLicenseChemistry: Gunpowder can be crafted from rotten eggs. Presumably this is because of the belief that eggs contain sulphur, which is an ingredient in gunpowder. However, the amount of sulphur in an egg is miniscule and it's mostly present as sulphur-containing proteins, not in elemental form that is needed for gunpowder.

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: The rate of heat transfer between an object and its surroundings is constant, while the rate should decrease as the object's temperature becomes closer to the ambient temperature. For example, a heated thermal stone should lose heat very quickly when it is hot, but lose heat much more slowly when it is only lukewarm.

** The Wooden Thing[[note]]Named after the base of the device. The actual name of the device is unknown[[/note]]. Once all the parts are found and assembled, it will act as a dimensional gate way to a new world map.

* BadassBeard:
** Wilson is capable of growing one over time.
** [[MightyLumberjack Woodie]] starts with one, although unlike Wilson’s beard, it cannot grow or be shaved off. WordOfGod states that his beard may not actually be made of hair. It's shown when Woodie is struck by lightning, his hair has bones in it, and his beard is shown to be part of Woodie's skull.
** Webber can grow a beard of spider silk.
** Wilba grows mutton chops on the side of her face whenever she transforms into a werepig, which she sheds upon transforming back, giving her 2 beard hair. This makes her the only character besides Wilson who can generate beard hair without going insane, though at a much slower rate and only under certain conditions (full moon, eating too much monster meat in too short a time).

* MightyLumberjack: Woodie, who comes complete with a BadassBeard and a [[TalkingWeapon possessed axe]], [[ICallItVera affectionately named “Lucy”]].

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: A reoccuring theme throughout the Survivors is many of them wanted something and they get it at the cost of being thrown into the Constant. Key examples include Wilson wanting ideas, Wendy wanting to be with Abigail again and Winona [[spoiler:wanting to find the missing Charlie]]. [[spoiler:Also applies to the main villain Maxwell, as he desired fame a margician by using real shadow magic.]]

* BigBad: Maxwell is the primary antagonist of ''Don't Starve'', and you can confront him directly in the Adventure Mode. However, it becomes apparent that Maxwell himself is a prisoner of [[GreaterScopeVillain a higher power, Them]]. In ''Don't Starve Together'', [[spoiler:Charlie takes over as the primary antagonist.]][[spoiler:The Moon itself also becomes amain villain in the second Don't Starve Together expansion.]]

** There are four boss monsters in the vanilla game[[note]]The Treeguard, the Spider Queen, the Ancient Guardian, and the Deerclops[[/note]], all but one of which is renewable and/or respawns [[note]]only the Ancient Guardian is limited in number, with only one available to fight in each set of Ruins[[/note]].

** Don't Starve Together introduces the Rockjaw, a painfully persisten shark that is vunerable for very little time and nigh impossible to outrun (outsail?).

* ContextSensitiveButton: The spacebar does a lot for you. The A button for the Xbox/Nintendo versions of the games, the X button for the Playstation versions.

* DownloadableContent: There are three [=DLCs=] for the original singleplayer game: "Reign of Giants", "Shipwrecked" and "Hamlet". Reign of Giants adds a lot more depth and challenge to the base game, while Shipwrecked and Hamlet are mostly self-contained with entirely new worlds that have their own rules and gameplay differences.

* FlowerMotifs: The Florid Postern in Don't Starve Together has throned red roses attached to it. [[spoiler:This is the sign of Charlie's reign of the world]]. Red thorns appear throughout the game world because of this as well.
* FluffyTheTerrible: Charlie, the [[DarknessEqualsDeath Night Monster]] [[spoiler:and, in Don't Starve Together, the new ruler of the Nightmare Throne.]]

*** Fixed in DST, where Wormwood can now fertilise himself using Rot.

* MetalSlime: Koalefants. They can only be encountered through following animal tracks that rarely spawn in the world and actively flee when approached, making hitting them with melee weapons impossible. Managing to kill one will give you enough meat to survive a week in-game and their trunk which can be cooked to fill most characters's hunger entirely or be sewn into a jacket for Winter.

* NotCompletelyUseless: The Powdercake, basically a glorified twinkie, is a JokeItem when eaten by the player--it hurts the player a bit and restores no hunger or sanity. However, its insanely long rot time of 18,750 in-game days (over ''100 days'' real time) makes it ideal trap bait. Some people also use the powdercake for the powdercake challenge (Twinkie challenge) where they would have to make a powdercake and survive until the powdercake turns into rot.

** The Dragonfly boss appears to be a large, firebreathing [[MixAndMatchCritters lizard-dragonfly thing]].

* SpeakingSimlish: The player characters (except [[HeroicMime Wes]]) are subtitled but their speech is represented by rapid instrumental notes. Wilson's is a trumpet, Willow's is a flute, Wendy's is an alto flute, Wolfgang's is a tuba, Wickerbottom's may be an oboe, Woodie's is a cello, WX-78's is a synthesizer, Wigfrid's is a brass horn, Webber's may be "a synthesizer being dropped down a flight of stairs", Winona's is a tubulum, Walani's is an out-of-tune ukelele, Warly's is a steel drum, Wilbur's is an organ grinder, Woodlegs's is a concertina, Wormwood's is a didgeridoo, Wheeler's is a ragtime piano, Wilba's is an ocarina and Maxwell's is a harmonium.

* UnintentionallyUnwinnable:
** ''Shipwrecked'' does its best to avert this. Touchstones are located on islands with the materials necessary to get you back on the sea, and if your boat is destroyed while you're wearing a life jacket, you wash up on the shore along with the materials required to build a log raft. However, that doesn't mean there will always be instances where you will be able to recover; if you were to somehow get stuck on an island with no boat (like, for example, you die and respawn via touchstone on an island where you ''already picked up all of the flint on the ground''), no materials to build a new boat, no tools to harvest new materials, and no flint or gold to make new tools, you were basically stranded with no way out and are either forced to use cheats or lie down and await the sweet embrace of death.
** In ''Shipwrecked'', if you go to an island without an axe or machete and no materials to build them and hammer your own boat to pieces, you would be trapped.

* UnintentionallyUnwinnable: ''Shipwrecked'' does its best to avert this. Touchstones are located on islands with the materials necessary to get you back on the sea, and if your boat is destroyed while you're wearing a life jacket, you wash up on the shore along with the materials required to build a log raft. However, that doesn't mean there will always be instances where you will be able to recover; if you were to somehow get stuck on an island with no boat (like, for example, you die and respawn via touchstone on an island where you ''already picked up all of the flint on the ground''), no materials to build a new boat, no tools to harvest new materials, and no flint or gold to make new tools, you were basically stranded with no way out and are either forced to use cheats or lie down and await the sweet embrace of death.

* UnwinnableByMistake: ''Shipwrecked'' does its best to avert this. Touchstones are located on islands with the materials necessary to get you back on the sea, and if your boat is destroyed while you're wearing a life jacket, you wash up on the shore along with the materials required to build a log raft. However, that doesn't mean there will always be instances where you will be able to recover; if you were to somehow get stuck on an island with no boat (like, for example, you die and respawn via touchstone on an island where you ''already picked up all of the flint on the ground''), no materials to build a new boat, no tools to harvest new materials, and no flint or gold to make new tools, you were basically stranded with no way out and are either forced to use cheats or lie down and await the sweet embrace of death.

Also in May 2014, Klei announced a multiplayer feature titled "Don't Starve Together". The closed beta was released the next Summer and Early Access was released on December 15, 2014. Don't Starve Together was officially released on April 21st, 2016. Initially it was just the original with multiplayer and all enemy health increased to compensate, but Don't Starve Together has subsequently received multiple updates, collectively referred to as "A New Reign," that have made it increasingly different from single-player. Later, another series of updates known as "Return of Them" added even more new content.