The Loss Of Dark Atmosphere

[TheWiseGnome]

I have been browsing youtube and stumbled on video with adventure mode ending.

And i immediately remembered why i liked ds so much.

*Its all just my thoughts. Not offending anyone*

The text below is my message in official Klei discord

I want maxwell to become the ruler and ds become this spooky uncompromising survival again,not the boss rush😭 

I was rewatching old trailers,and god,how atmosphere they were.

I really hate the idea of death being not permanent in new dst game,when you though that your character lives his last days in this cruel world it felt different.

I really hate what happened to this unique atmosphere 😭 

Dst turned in some kind of Fortnite for me,cuz nothing in there matters. Since the last time there is more frivolity than cruelty in this world. 

I really hope that Elsewhere gonna be like old dont starves, without this lunar-wagstaff like ****

I would like there to be more wild creatures different weather conditions,more threats, more interesting gear (in first ds you had to deal with world threats preferably via aggro them on eachother,lure them into tentacles etc)

Hopefully there will be less fun service things.

I love the cynical humour they used to have in old ds,they still have it in dst but it's way too teethless

I do love amount of content dst has,i love this amazing soundtracks and cinematics,but it's just different 

And for me, talking subjectively, its different in bad way

I really want Klei to notice this post and keep ds the Survival game with horror aspects in it,not some stupid boss rush MMO in which direction its going rn,WX rework for example.

 

 

 

Edited April 30 by TheWiseGnome

[Maxil20]

46 minutes ago, TheWiseGnome said:

I want maxwell to become the ruler and ds become this spooky uncompromising survival again,not the boss rush😭 

You realize DS is still there, right? Like, you can literally boot up DS right now and play it. Nothing is stopping you from enjoying the atmosphere of the original game if you preferred it's more lonely ambience.

[Mike23Ua]

There is NOTHING in DS or it’s three dlc expansions that can even compare to DST having corpses that buzzards swoop down, eat upon and then mutate them into zombified variants… nothing in the entirety of DS.

And my only hope is that this same creepy vibe that DST had will carry over into DSE.

[Ev1l]

I don't get why the 2 responses to this thread are so defensive about dst, when it is a fact that it has been losing ambience gradually along the years. Original ds had a nice balance of goofy and unsettling moments, meanwhile dst seems to take a dial back on the creepier side.

31 minutes ago, Maxil20 said:

You realize DS is still there, right? Like, you can literally boot up DS right now and play it. Nothing is stopping you from enjoying the atmosphere of the original game if you preferred it's more lonely ambience.

I don't like this argument at all. Dst is a sequel to ds. Shouldn't it keep the core of the game while building on top of it?

[GimplyGoose]

I recently went back and played DS and I gotta be honest, the vibes of the two games are almost identical. The main differences I can identify in the two games is mechanical. For example, in DST, combat is incentivized to a much higher degree. There are some elements to DST not present in DS that I would consider more dark and spooky than elements in DS. Like the void-masque possessed mobs and their creepy quotes and the occult-like ritual you need to perform to summon ancient fuelweaver.

That being said, I think it would be easy to perceive DST as less spooky, especially if you are already familiar with DS. I think that familiarity with a medium will inherently cause it to be perceived as less spooky. If you rewatch a horror movie, the second viewing is just not going to produce the same level of emotional response compared to the first viewing.

I will admit that the cosmic horror themes present in DST are much different than anything in DS, but I am glad those themes are being explored. I think that theme can be just as creepily compelling as a dark and spooky theme and, personally, I think it fits in to the setting well.

[Maxil20]

4 hours ago, Ev1l said:

I don't get why the 2 responses to this thread are so defensive about dst, when it is a fact that it has been losing ambience gradually along the years. Original ds had a nice balance of goofy and unsettling moments, meanwhile dst seems to take a dial back on the creepier side.

I don't like this argument at all. Dst is a sequel to ds. Shouldn't it keep the core of the game while building on top of it?

The thing is, DST did build off of the original game. The problem is that being a Multiplayer game means, fundamentally, that the tone was going to shift. One of the big things that made DS stand out was the lonely ambience of effectively being the only player lost in a dark island. That ambience is much less impactful when both ingame and in the trailers there are other characters there to help out on travels. Heck, this itself was one of the major reasons Klei didn't initially want to make DST in the first place. To quote a post from JoeW:

Quote

We resisted a multiplayer game specifically because (and we said as much) it went against the idea of Don't Starve. Just by the nature of having more players, it was going to be a different experience. We argued this so much we had emotes for it...
Discussion of it was literally banned from the forums.

I don't think it's really been declining that much since. The game itself is fundamentally different in its tone compared to DS, and I think that's okay.

 

Edited May 1 by Maxil20

[TheWiseGnome]

5 hours ago, Maxil20 said:

You realize DS is still there, right? Like, you can literally boot up DS right now and play it. Nothing is stopping you from enjoying the atmosphere of the original game if you preferred it's more lonely ambience.

I do realize this, but why do I need to play a game,that is not receiving any updates and everything already explored? As someone said before DST has plenty content in it and i love it,what i dont like,that Constant changed from wild world with backrooms vibes into literal botanical park that everyone can attend,i really hate wagstaff arc and i hate the lunar arc as well,the idea of this world being operated only by shadows and even the king itself is being trapped  literally beautiful and so authentic,they did a good job back then,ngl

Edited May 1 by TheWiseGnome

[Jakepeng99]

I remember seeing that message and yeah i believe this is why Klei is making a new game

[eeriecupid]

1: yes dst has been losing its darker atmosphere and general spookiness

2: have you ever seen a shattered spider den dude that is haunting

they should add the old shadow noises, like the night laugh from the betas and the old insanity sfx

[Mike23Ua]

The only thing that DST truly lost that was extremely present in Solo DS, isn’t the spooky atmosphere and vibe (that’s still there and Intensified to 1000 when dead half eaten corpses reanimate to life) Instead what DST is missing that DS did in troves was the open world traps and navigational puzzles (such as Pigman torch bases, swamp tentacle mazes, wormholes that spit you out dead center of a large bee biome or hounds den, Maxwells tooth traps etc.)

But from the one trailer we’ve seen of DS Elsewhere it appears that at least SOME of that is coming back (creepy cult like goat things protecting their campfire pits)

[landromat]

Big hopes for DSE bringing it back

[Draggofroot]

On 4/30/2026 at 4:48 PM, TheWiseGnome said:

ds become this spooky uncompromising survival again,not the boss rush😭 

why do people say "boss rush" as if it was the main thing, its like people complaining about how Minecraft became a speedrun game like gang you could totally choose not to rush bosses

[Mike23Ua]

6 hours ago, Draggofroot said:

why do people say "boss rush" as if it was the main thing, its like people complaining about how Minecraft became a speedrun game like gang you could totally choose not to rush bosses

Probably because 75% of game updates are boss fights? 10% might be skill tree 10% crossovers/event stuff, 5% large new and actually interesting biomes to explore.

I think what a lot of people expected was now that boats are part of DST that Klei would have added new unique landmasses to sail to and explore. Not Shark Boi Arena, Not the CrabKing, Large biomes with decent content on them, like Lunar Island, and if Redesigned: Moon Quay? But not.. boss after boss, after boss.

[Cruvimaster]

1 hour ago, Mike23Ua said:

Probably because 75% of game updates are boss fights?

Tell me what drugs you're taking so I can start using them too, to get insane like that.

[tHe_silent_H]

4 hours ago, Cruvimaster said:

Tell me what drugs you're taking so I can start using them too, to get insane like that.

probably Hyperbole TM

[Wilson-brb]

The thing about death not mattering was from the very beggining tbh, its why its called constant, and all the art and sometimes quotes refer to it

[Karitha]

On 5/1/2026 at 3:37 AM, Maxil20 said:

You realize DS is still there, right? Like, you can literally boot up DS right now and play it. Nothing is stopping you from enjoying the atmosphere of the original game if you preferred it's more lonely ambience.

So does that mean we have no right to complain, even if they turn their new game, DSE, into a dating sim? By your logic, we could always say, “go play DST if you don’t like the new direction we’re taking.” That’s a terrible argument.

DST is not just a new spin-off of DS, it’s essentially a continuation of it, but with multiplayer. It borrows all of DS’s core concepts and builds on top of them. At the same time, they stopped updating DS after DST and left some of the DLCs unfinished. People are still waiting for something like a “Home Sweet Home” type update for Hamlet.

Nowadays, if you want the complete DS experience, you basically have to play DST, which pushed most of the community toward it. And that matters because when the community moves, you lose updates and content creators on the old version.

>“It’s a new era in the timeline, that’s why it’s no longer getting updates and lacks new content.”

Then what about bug fixes and the many QoL improvements that were added to DST but never made it into DS? There’s really no reason left to play DS anymore. It lacks content, has unresolved issues, and most importantly, feels outdated.

Have you even checked the game recently? This is the game you’re saying is “still there.”. With blurry sprites. And bugs.

 

On 5/1/2026 at 5:08 AM, Maxil20 said:

being the only player lost in a dark island

I don’t agree with this argument either. 

I mostly prefer playing DST alone, and I still don’t get that same feeling. DST doesn’t lack the horror aspect of DS, it has developed its own sense of comfort instead. Some examples that come to mind:

• The game is much easier for veteran players. Reviving is significantly easier in DST, and resources are more accessible. I’ve read JoeW’s explanation about “difficulty pushing new players away,” but I think that’s a poor justification for making the game easier. There’s little seasonal danger, and survival becomes trivial as long as you avoid unnecessary risks.
  Yes, DST may reach a wider audience this way, but what about existing players? Why am I the one who has to compensate by increasing monster spawn rates or using unbalanced mods like Uncompromising just to make the game challenging? Why should one group of players be sacrificed to broaden appeal? This feels like a lazy solution. Players have been asking for a proper “hard mode” for years, yet all we have are world generation settings. Why can’t DST have something like an Expert/Master mode, similar to Terraria, with higher risk and better rewards? 

• Events. As you know, at this point half of the updates are just events. Every year, the same concepts are presented again with only minor variations. While they could have been used much more effectively, they’re instead used to “sweeten” the game. For example, during winter we could have had snowstorms or evil santas or much more creative ideas, but instead we get gingerbread men, family dinners, holiday spirit, and eggnog scattered all over the world. During Halloween, instead of paranormal events or stalker-type monsters, we see candies, decorations and toys everywhere. Events, on their own, have a heavily negative impact on the game. And with these events, DST has already made it clear that it’s no longer trying to be creepy with all "friendship & family" concepts. Personally I just disable them.

• Creature design and redundancy. What’s the point of adding creatures like Marotters, Carrats, Mush Gnomes, or Molebats when they feel silly and drop resources that are already easily available? What’s next, a panda in a bamboo biome that also drops bamboo?
   
• Inconsistent skins and themes. While most skins are well-designed, some feel completely out of place. Dessert-themed structures like the cake chest or Valentine’s builds don’t fit the game’s atmosphere. It feels like a kind of “Fortnite-ification” of modern games which excepted when DST turned into live service game. I don't mind them much by not using it but it looks ugly on servers.

So should they had stayed in DS? No! Similar problem happened with L4D, they successfully added L4D concepts to L4D2, do you see anyone complaining about L4D2 these days? No because they stayed with their roots and you can even play L4D maps and characters with all L4D2 patches. It's been years and it's still active and fun. Can you tell same success story on DS to DST? 

I think this kind of criticism are always good for developers to make them know what their player wants. Specially for the new game of them DSE.

Edited May 9 by Karitha

[SilverBisexual]

I genuinely miss the old unsettling vibes DS gave me. It never felt quite safe back in the old days.

One reason was due to infinite/easy light never occurring other than Maxwell Lights in Adventure Mode. You always needed a fire. The Star Caller's Staff also only used to last like 4 minutes and was not worth it due to the Ruins not being able to be regenerated since we were pre Seed of Ruin.

Another reason being the lack of truly powerful weapons, with only the Dark Sword and Ham Bat really having importance mid-late game. (again since Ruins gear was non-renewable)

The Ruins were also extremely oppressive. When they were the third layer of the caves, they truly felt like you went too deep and shouldn't be there. Nowhere was even safe, depth worms and slurpers would bother you in the central area, monkeys and depth dwellers in the next, and the ungodly amount nightmare lights coupled with clockworks felt like the entire area was a death trap. Even if you had a revive, getting your stuff back was a real journey. 

With all this said though, I really love DST and I don't think it would be easy to make these vibes in multiplayer anyways. Friends being able to play with you in horror games for example make the horror less scary no matter what you do. I think DST went down the correct path and it made the game feel unique to DS as it is essentially a sequel. While I still miss the vibes of single player for a variety of reasons, I don't think DST would have been as successful if it didn't change. I could not imagine having a friend die on day 14 to a tentacle because they were new, and then having to progress through the magic crafting tiers, get lucky with finding a red gem quickly, and then finally crafting a light giving amulet days later to revive them. That would be boring for them and tedious for you. But the ease at which death is reversed in DST is felt, no matter how needed that is. 

I would love to go back to that feeling, but nothing really feels the same with Uncompromising Mode feeling just tedious to me, not uncompromising. The days of uncompromising are largely over to us since we just got good at the game. Once you know more and more, the unknown gets smaller and less scary.

[Maxil20]

3 hours ago, Karitha said:

So does that mean we have no right to complain, even if they turn their new game, DSE, into a dating sim? By your logic, we could always say, “go play DST if you don’t like the new direction we’re taking.” That’s a terrible argument.

Going so far out of left field to say DSE would be a dating sim isn't really helping your point, either...?
 

3 hours ago, Karitha said:

Have you even checked the game recently? This is the game you’re saying is “still there.”. With blurry sprites. And bugs.

 

If you play with your camera glued to your character the whole time than it is noticeable, but if you play with it zoomed out the vast majority of the time, then it isn't a serious issue. I played for ~1000 days a year or so back and not once was one of my main arguments "wow, the DS art sucks!"

Regarding bugs, I personally am someone who doesn't particularly mind as long as it's not a genuine corruption issue. I remember I had so many issue's with loading SW's volcano that it wasn't even funny, and those thankfully got handled for good in the major QOL update it got. This also implies that bugs don't exist in DST, which over my ~7 years of playing the same world I can tell you is a complete lie.
 

3 hours ago, Karitha said:

The game is much easier for veteran players. Reviving is significantly easier in DST, and resources are more accessible.

I disagree about this. Keeping a world "alive" in DS is very easy and I would argue is easier than DST if you have the infamous death timer mechanics. You've got 4 free revives in the form of touch stones in RoG/SW, and effigies/magic water exist as options, and always work regardless of which world/subworld you die in, compared to needing to keep a revive option in both/multiple shards in DST. "But what about 30 max health?" You literally get 99% damage reduction from all sources by wearing thule gear which a veteran player is absolutely going to have, and every character except Max still can endure 75 damage hits, which are equal to or less than the damage hits of 99% of the threats you face.

I also don't agree about the resources. The teleportato/seed of ruin trumps literally any method of scarce resource production in DST. It is much easier to sustainably farm rare resources compared to slowly getting them in DST. I used to mass reset hamlet worlds just to farm cut stone/boards/pig skin in DS because you are not penalized the second you click "Lets Go!" in the teleportato menu.
 

3 hours ago, Karitha said:

Can you tell same success story on DS to DST? 

Yeah, especially because DS is a solo game, where it's code wasn't remotely made for going past RoG, and yet got several DLC content expansions and got hit with a good sendoff QoL update as a final update. Just because DS doesn't get updates and does have it's share of flaws doesn't mean DS has literally no value anymore.

Regarding your other points, I feel this varies heavily from person to person. I know people who love gathering their friends for events and like the new mobs. I myself have things I like about DST and stuff I am not too fond of. It's something that I think just depends and I don't have much to talk about here that hasn't been done to death already.

Edited May 9 by Maxil20

[Frosty_Mentos]

Since DS elsewhere is announced, we prolly will be going back to the original ideas of just being more uncompromising and survival based

[Mysterious box]

4 hours ago, Karitha said:

Creature design and redundancy. What’s the point of adding creatures like Marotters, Carrats, Mush Gnomes, or Molebats when they feel silly and drop resources that are already easily available? What’s next, a panda in a bamboo biome that also drops bamboo?

Mole bat has a unique resource and even then these creatures make the world feel more alive.

[Mike23Ua]

“horror vibe & atmosphere is missing in DST” Meanwhile THIS actually exists in the game. 😂
 

Spoiler

 

[user1464576869]

I agree that the atmosphere of DS is long gone and that it's a great shame.

None of the examples given as to how the horror is still there satisfies or convinces me that it's all the same.

DSE doesn't give me any hope, but it looks like it could be a fun game at least.

It's simply dead, we had it for a while, and we'll sadly never see it again. It's something else now, that I personally don't value as much. It greatly annoys me that there are so many detractors and deniers of this loss, it comes from a place of appreciation and love after all, and to dismiss it is strictly to dismiss the value of the art that was itself. It feels rather arrogant, and disheartening.

I can see the appeal to long for something to come along and realize the old vision again. Share their expression for it. I also feel that.. obviously, it's unattainable, for various reasons, but I'd never have the heart to tell people to not reminisce on it regardless. That's a step too far into heartlessness. 

Edited May 10 by user1464576869

[Karitha]

2 hours ago, Maxil20 said:

Going so far out of left field to say DSE would be a dating sim isn't really helping your point, either...?

Have you ever heard of hyperbole? That example was meant to show that no matter how ridiculous the game becomes, your argument could still be used to justify it. I didn’t literally mean it, and it’s honestly frustrating that I even have to explain this.

2 hours ago, Maxil20 said:

isn't a serious issue

I never said low textures are a serious, game-breaking issue it’s just an issue that was fixed in DST. If it wasn’t a problem, it would have stayed the same. You can clearly notice it when zoomed out as well; maybe your screen is just small.

And what about the many bug reports that haven’t been fixed for years? Do you think it’s acceptable just because they’re not game-breaking?

4 hours ago, Maxil20 said:

easier than DST if you have the infamous death timer mechanics.

Now you’re making a misleading comparison. I never said “DS is harder than single-player DST.” I still think it’s much easier, but that’s not the point here.

When you’re comparing revival systems, you should consider all available methods. In DST, you have everything from DS plus additional options like Telltale Hearts, the Second Chance Watch, the Warrior Reprise song, and Wortox’s soul mechanics. Even if you exclude character-specific abilities, Telltale Hearts alone make a huge difference a revive option that only costs -40 max health is absurdly cheap.

And I haven’t even mentioned the new farming system. Farming in DS was practically useless, and berry bushes would constantly rot.

8 hours ago, Maxil20 said:

The teleportato/seed of ruin trumps

I don’t understand how entering a new world makes resources renewable. Isn’t the Teleportato supposed to send you to a New Game+ as part of Maxwell’s storyline?

8 hours ago, Maxil20 said:

Just because DS doesn't get updates and does have it's share of flaws doesn't mean DS has literally no value anymore.

It was never a “no value” thing considering how much time I’ve spent on it. I genuinely enjoyed DS throughout all those hours.

But today, when it’s been abandoned by both the community and the developers, what more needs to happen for us to say there’s no real reason to play it anymore? Do they have to remove it from Steam for it to be considered dead? DS has around ~3K active players, while DST has ~60K that’s roughly 20 times more.

At this point, there’s little reason to play DS when DST offers new bosses, improved combat and damage systems, a better farming system, expanded ocean content, and more. For me, "DS atmoshpere is not a good trade for all of those contents. So I'm sticked with DST.

8 hours ago, Maxil20 said:

I feel this varies heavily from person to person

Yes, that’s fair. I understand that some people enjoy minigames and roleplaying in DST, but I’ve never been one of them — and DS was never really like that either.

I can’t expect the entire game to change based on my personal preferences. I knew DST was different from DS when I bought it. Still, I also know there are many people on this forum who prefer the darker tone of DS, and I think that perspective should always be supported. Even if you’re asking for more event content or lighter features, that’s completely fine you should share your opinion as well.

This is a game forum. The best we can do is hope the developers read these discussions and understand what players want. Responses like “the old version is still there, go play it” are not helpful.

 

 

7 hours ago, Mysterious box said:

Mole bat has a unique resource and even then these creatures make the world feel more alive.

Yeah, I wasn’t aware you could use it to make food I just checked it now. I also agree that adding more creatures and critters is generally a good thing. However, they could have been implemented in a much more meaningful and impactful way. As they are now, they mostly feel like shallow, gimmicky additions rather than something that truly enriches the game. The panda example is from Minecraft which have exact same problems, mobs with shallow mechanics.

[GimplyGoose]

10 hours ago, user1464576869 said:

I agree that the atmosphere of DS is long gone and that it's a great shame.

None of the examples given as to how the horror is still there satisfies or convinces me that it's all the same.

DSE doesn't give me any hope, but it looks like it could be a fun game at least.

It's simply dead, we had it for a while, and we'll sadly never see it again. It's something else now, that I personally don't value as much. It greatly annoys me that there are so many detractors and deniers of this loss, it comes from a place of appreciation and love after all, and to dismiss it is strictly to dismiss the value of the art that was itself. It feels rather arrogant, and disheartening.

I can see the appeal to long for something to come along and realize the old vision again. Share their expression for it. I also feel that.. obviously, it's unattainable, for various reasons, but I'd never have the heart to tell people to not reminisce on it regardless. That's a step too far into heartlessness. 

The thing about art is that the way it is perceived is all in the eye of the beholder. It is simply wrong to state that DST has lost its spooky/horror atmosphere as a matter of fact. That could be your opinion, but it is only that. In my opinion both DS and DST are nearly identical in atmosphere. To me, the atmosphere that DS and DST share is a blend that is 3 parts silly to 1 part spooky.

I think it is fine for you to think that the game has changed and isn't spooky anymore, but don't take offense simply because others don't agree with that sentiment.

Below is a list of in elements in DS/DST that I feel resonate with the 3 parts silly to 1 part spooky vibe:

• One of the the oldest buildings in the game: the science machine. A machine that does "science". It is an absurd concept and is not spooky at all.
• The hambat and fish sticks, these items are silly.
• Shadow creatures that attack you when your sanity drops too low and a night that will kill you if you do not have a light source. These things are spooky.
• Character quotes when examining things are often sarcastic and humorous. This is silly.
• Take a look at the update posters for the original game: https://dontstarve.wiki.gg/wiki/Category:Update_Posters. To me the update posters represent the vibe of the game really well they are often much sillier than they are spooky.