Don’t Starve: Shipwrecked (PC) Preview

Starting a new game in Shipwrecked makes the changes immediately clear. The loading screen is island-themed, in both image and sound; the soundtrack has gotten a steel drum-laden makeover, with familiar tunes panning out in new ways. The desolate, eerie overall tone remains, which was probably difficult to accomplish with island-oriented instruments, but Klei nailed the audio here.

The game itself works a little differently. Instead of opening with Maxwell taunting whichever character players have chosen, now it's a parrot who will return to taunt them throughout the session, and sometimes even leaves behind gold dubloons, one item in a large, new selection. The core gameplay is mostly the same: Wilson (or one of many characters whose names begin with W) must find food and shelter and fight off increasingly dangerous beasts while building better and better items to survive. While the idea is the same, the visuals are not, with basically everything getting a new look, especially the ocean, which can now be navigated.

Boats and boat-related items are part of the crafting menu, and rafts of varying quality can be used to navigate from one island to another. At sea, players will find new items, like seaweed and coral, as well as new enemies and dangers. Waves will appear, and if used correctly offer a speed boost, but can prove dangerous, as well; the wetness mechanic introduced in Reign of Giants plays a large role in Shipwrecked.

Land-based gameplay has gotten a visual overhaul, but a few things seem a little like reskinned versions of the old content. For example, instead of rabbits roaming the land, Wilson will find crabs. These will run away when pursued (and emit a hilarious string of noises while doing so), much like the rabbits of old. Unlike the rabbits, they won't simply hide in a hole—these crabs will eventually bury themselves in the sand. If Wilson has a shovel, they can be dug up, but there's a chance they'll be mysteriously gone. While this might make them seem easier to catch than the rabbits were, there may be a trade-off; the crabs seem to find themselves in animal traps less often, although this could just be a coincidence caused by the random nature of the game.