Klei announces Don't Starve: Hamlet single-player DLC, new Shipwrecked content, and more

Fans of not starving will be pleased to hear that Don't Starve developer Klei Entertainment has unveiled new single-player DLC called Don't Starve: Hamlet. There's also a free content update for Don't Starve: Shipwrecked that's now in beta testing, and a series of new events for Don't Starve Together that will get underway in November with a six-player co-op challenge called The Forge. 

First on the list is Don't Starve: Hamlet, in which the intrepid hero Wilson stumbles upon a lost town of aristocratic Pigmen and decides to pay a visit. "Reacquaint to city life with pig shops, houses, new items, biomes and more, or delve into the ancient pig ruins and try your hand at treasure hunting in this new single player expansion," the Steam page says. As DLC it requires the original Don't Starve, and it's expected to be out sometime in the first half of 2018. 

Don't Starve Together: The Forge will be the first in a series of time-limited game modes "that create a new way to play with the cast of Don’t Starve," Klei explained. "They serve as a way to mix up the experience, allowing us to try crazy new things without breaking the core game. Events are free for everyone who owns DST to play and will be coming in November." 

The Forge will feature new creatures and bosses with their own unique attack patterns, new character traits and combat bonuses, and of course new weapons, armor, items, and combat abilities. Event-specific skins will be up for grabs, and the skin system is being changed up as well: They'll drop far more frequently than they have previously, and if you end up with duplicates you'll be able to scrap them at a new trader, and then craft something else. As well as earning them in-game, players will also have the option to buy a single Warrior Skin Set for $3, or the full collection for $13. Like other skins, they're purely cosmetic, but "purchase of the Warrior Set will help us fund further content and events like this one." 

"We hope that with this mechanism, we can both continue creating great free content while also supporting the development team," Klei wrote. "In addition, this method of funding allows us to provide content to all our players, instead of splitting the player community if we implemented it with a DLC paywall." 

And finally, the free Don't Starve: Shipwrecked content update is available now in a separate beta branch on Steam. Instructions for switching to it are available here, the password is "shipwreckedbeta," and as always when it comes to beta stuff, bear in mind that things could go wrong so dive in at your own risk. There's no word on when it will go fully live that I can see, but here's what it does: 

World:

  • Crockodogs. Will hound you at land and sea.
  • Ballphin followers and the Ballphin Den.
  • Roe. New food item. Stocks the fish farm.
  • Cormorants. New sea bird. Source of Roe.
  • Tar Slick. Pools of crude oil bubbling on the surface of the water.
  • Tar. New resource.
  • 3 new variety of tropical fish.
  • Rainbow Jellyfish.
  • Coral Nubbin. Replant coral after it's mined.
  • Ox will produce offspring.

New Craftables

  • Galley and Sea Lab. Make your base at sea.
  • Sea Yard. Keeps your ship repaired on the water.
  • Tar Extractor. Gets Tar from Tar Slick.
  • Tar Suit. Temporary protection from wetness.
  • Tar patch. A sticky situation.
  • Oil Lamp. Quick lightsource for land and sea.
  • Fish Farms. Grow food on the water.
  • Encrusted Boat.
  • Quackering Ram. New craftable for the Quacken Beak.
  • Sea wall. Water craftable wall. Blocks waves.
  • Tropical Bouillabaisse. New recipe with new tropical fish.
  • Caviar. New recipe with Roe
Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.