Darkwood vs Don't Starve
Darkwood is a horror open-world game from Acid Wizard Studio (2017) while Don't Starve is an action-adventure horror game from Klei Entertainment (2013).
What each one is
Steam files Darkwood under Horror and Open-World. In contrast, it files Don't Starve under Action-Adventure and Horror.
Darkwood - a new perspective on survival horror. Scavenge and explore a rich, ever-changing free-roam world by day, then hunker down in your hideout and pray for the morning light.
Don’t Starve is an uncompromising wilderness survival game full of science and magic. Enter a strange and unexplored world full of strange creatures, dangers, and surprises. Gather resources to craft items and structures that match your survival style.
At a glance
| Darkwood | Don't Starve | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.0/10 | 8.0/10 |
| Steam rating | Overwhelmingly Positive (95%, 24,890) | Overwhelmingly Positive (97%, 113,392) |
| Critic aggregate | 80/100 | 79/100 |
| Price | $3.99 | $9.99 |
| Install size | 10 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | verified | playable |
| Released | 2017 | 2013 |
| Developer | Acid Wizard Studio | Klei Entertainment |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Darkwood vs Don't Starve, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
DarkwoodHorror open-world gameDon't StarveAction-adventure horror gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
DarkwoodHorror, Survival Horror, Top-DownDon't StarveSurvival, Open World Survival Craft, CraftingThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
DarkwoodScore 8.0 · 95% on Steam · 80 criticDon't StarveScore 8.0 · 97% on Steam · 79 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Darkwood24,890 reviews · 2 add-ons · 10 GBDon't Starve113,392 reviews · 4 add-onsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Darkwood ✓$3.99Don't Starve$9.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Darkwood ✓VerifiedDon't StarvePlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Darkwood takes 2 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueDarkwood and Don't Starve on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Multi-platform
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The cheaper right now: Darkwood ($3.99)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Darkwood (verified)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Don't Starve (113,392 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
HorrorSurvival HorrorTop-DownSurvivalIndieOpen WorldSingleplayerExploration
Where they differ
AtmosphericDarkLovecraftianRPGPsychological HorrorInventory Management
Open World Survival CraftSandboxPerma DeathMultiplayerReplay ValueModdable
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Darkwood is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Don't Starve is demanding, for players who want a challenge.
System requirements, side by side
| Darkwood | Don't Starve | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 460 (1 GB) / AMD® Radeon™ HD 5770 (1 GB) | Radeon HD5450 |
| Minimum CPU | Intel® Core™ i3-2100 (dual-core) / AMD® Phenom™ II X2 565 (dual-core) | 1.7+ GHz |
| Minimum RAM | 4 GB | — |
| Install size | 10 GB | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Darkwood · Don't Starve.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Darkwood and 1 for Don't Starve. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Darkwood and Don't Starve in scope?
Darkwood has drawn 24,890 Steam reviews, ships 2 add-ons and installs in 10 GB. Don't Starve has drawn 113,392 Steam reviews and ships 4 add-ons.
Is Darkwood or Don't Starve better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Darkwood rates higher (8.0 to 8.0). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Darkwood or Don't Starve?
Darkwood is cheaper right now at $3.99, against $9.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.