Don't Starve has always been one of the most successful and popular survival games in the genre. Part of its success is due to how it can be as hard or as easy as the players want it, depending on their World Customization Settings. The options here have expanded well beyond the base game over the years thanks to the numerous DLCs.
For players who have mastered the usual or default gameplay loop for Don't Starve, some new challenges ought to spice up their subsequent playthroughs. One can thank the World Customization Settings for that. Because a certain deadly combination of these World Customization Settings will turn this charming title into the toughest survival game out there.
10 World Size: Huge
Traveling is a huge part of the gameplay or survival loop in Don't Starve. As such, the bigger the map, the more players will have to take risks and waste their time exploring dead ends or potential traps instead of salvation. There's also the fact that a bigger world size makes locations more difficult to mark or memorize.
Sure, players get to have more spots for their bases, but this also leads to more tedious base building, and in turn, more resources required. Smaller world sizes simply mean resources are more closely located to one another, letting players practically turn locations into their backyards. Such an option might not be possible with a huge world size.
9 Land Loop: None
Land Loop is the World Customization Setting responsible for determining how much the players wander around in circles. So in any moment in-game when players feel like the world is driving them mad by letting them make little progress in exploration, then this setting is to blame.
This setting mostly applies to roads where they can loop back to a more familiar location. It also makes the world a sphere that lets players create their own shortcuts. Simply put, if the land and the roads don't loop, then players will have to backtrack a lot more often. This could lead to more frantic dashes back to safety in the event that nightfall catches up with the players.
8 Seasons: Long Winter
It's pretty self-explanatory, and Game of Thrones explores it fictionally well. Winter is usually the time when animals hibernate, so there might not be too many of them around to hunt. Flora is also affected during winter, barring some necessary resources for players to acquire.
Sure enough, a longer winter means players will have to ensure that every waking moment during their relatively shorter summer doesn't go to waste. They'll be spending more time preparing for winter. It's also a lot deadlier as the Freezing status can make quick work of anyone.
7 Season Start: Winter
What's worse than longer winters? Well, how about getting chucked out into the cold, brutal subzero environment with no resources on hand? Starting during winter is just about one of the most cruel things players can do to their characters in Don't Starve.
It only takes a few minutes (depending on the severity of the weather) for Freezing to set in and make players' lives difficult. Of course, there's also the fact that they won't just be starting in a regular winter, but a longer one thanks to the previous setting. Merely lasting a couple of days during this kind of start is already an achievement.
6 Day: Only Night
If starting in a long winter isn't enough, then perhaps players will also want to eliminate the warm embrace of daylight— permanently. Because apart from winter, night is one of the most frightening conditions in the game; it practically occurs daily. A lot of players don't venture out during this time since there are more monsters and visibility is at an all-time low.
Moreover, darkness tends to toy with the mind and can drive the player's character insane with fear. Imagine that kind of state 24/7, with no hope of getting rescued by the sun. Players will have to pack in as much heating as they can since night is also colder. Coupled with long winter; the whole world might as well be a refrigerator with the short bursts of summer as the defrost mode.
5 Weather: Lots
Weather determines how the skies will treat its puny worshippers down below— the players included. This can be anything from rain to snow (during winter). Depending on its severity and frequency, then it can ruin the player's day or exploration.
For one, heavy snow can drastically lower temperatures, forcing players to come up with better heating solutions. Setting it to "Lots" will also make the snow fall infinitely whenever it's winter. So during a long winter, there's no shortage or stoppage of snow. The ordeal doesn't stop during summer since snow will only be replaced by rain, which has a negative effect on the player character's Sanity or torches.
4 Sinkholes: Yes
Players can frequently find sinkholes in caves and they're actually good sources of Flint, Rocks, and Thelucite. However, obtaining those resources will require players to hit the rocks plugging the sinkhole. It takes several hits for those rocks to give, and if they do, Batilisks will usually spawn from underneath.
They tend to come in squads of six and players will have to kill them if they want to collect rocks in peace. The worst part is that unplugged sinkholes will respawn these Batilisks, adding to more challenges along the way.
3 Touch Stones: No
Touch Stones are salvation for players since they act as checkpoints in the game. If players die, they will usually respawn in the nearest Touch Stone. Of course, making their occurrence more frequent in the game world leads to easier playthroughs as players can take more risks.
Not having any of them in the game world, however, is probably more brutal than starting out in a long winter under perpetual nighttime. One death and it's game over for the players and they'll have to start again from scratch.
2 Resources: None/Less
Everything from Boons to Tallbirds can be treated as resources by players. Sprinkling more of them all over the map by increasing their numbers will certainly make survival a lot simpler and safer. Not having any of them is a death sentence and players will have to be creative or more resourceful regarding their survival.
That's why instead of setting them all to none, players might want to just opt for "Less" of these resources starting from Boons all the way to Tallbirds. A lot of these are crucial for building bases and survival, so turning them all off doesn't exactly equate to a meaningful session in Don't Starve.
1 Monsters: Lots
Monsters or the failed experiments in Don't Starve are some of the most frequent causes of death in the game. Starting from Spiders and ending in Deerclops, some of these enemies will not only kill players outright, but will also affect their Sanity meter should they survive an encounter.
Adding in more of these mostly aggressive and grotesque creatures is a no-brainer if players want the toughest challenge there is in Don't Starve. Heck, some of them, like the Krampus, won't attack the players, but they will steal some of the players' precious items and hoard. Completely diabolical.
Don't Starve is available on Android, iOS, Linux, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.