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Tasteless Snack

This is the music review of
Reign of Giants (2014) | Shipwrecked (2015) | Hamlet (2018).

Don’t Starve: the name already says it all. The goal of the game is to survive. Danger lurks not only from the titular hunger but also from various monsters, disasters, and so on. The game didn't really captivate me, maybe I was oversaturated by Minecraft – apples and oranges, I know.

The fact is: I didn't really play it. Instead, I listened to the soundtrack. It's composed by Jason Garner and Vince de Vera and not particularly noteworthy. A nice blend of jazz, spooky atmosphere, and circus vibes. Sometimes dark and serious, sometimes playful. Occasionally, even a banjo makes an appearance – well, if that's not amusing! All in all, nothing I would turn on in the evening. However, if you have a penchant for circus music in general and music from the 30s in particular, feel free to give it a listen.

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No.	Title	Artist(s)	Ratings
01	Main	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera
02	Dawn	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera
03	Work to Be Done	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera
04	Danger	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera
05	E.F.S.	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera
06	D.R. Style	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera
07	Creepy Forest	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera
08	Dusk	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera
09	Ragtime	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera
10	Cave Work	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera
11	Hoedown	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera
12	Epic Ruins	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera
13	Working the Ruins	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera
14	Fight for Ruin	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera
15	The EFS of Winter	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera
16	Winter's Alright for Fighting	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera
17	Working Through Winter	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera

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Reign of Giants

As the music for Reign of Giants seamlessly picks up where it left off in the main game, I'll do the same with this review. I still have nothing to do with this game, and regarding the soundtrack of the DLC, I can essentially say the same that was established in the Don’t Starve review: it's okay, but not really my thing. This is also because this composition forsakes diversity and only blasts us with vibrant, lively feel-good carnival music. It somewhat resembles the score of Psychonauts and caters to fans of Don’t Starve or the jazz/swing genres, providing them a delightful experience. However, anyone else might be on the verge of going slightly insane by now.

No.	Title	Artist(s)	Ratings
1	Spring Into a Fight	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3
2	Spring Cleaning	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3
3	For the Glory of Spring	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3
4	Sumertime and the Fighting Is Easy	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3
5	Summer Jobs	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3
6	A Summer Showdown	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	4
7	Reign of Giants Trailer	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	4

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Shipwrecked

Do you know that feeling? You have to compose the soundtrack for a sequel that stays true to the roots of the series while not ignoring the new setting. Well, you're in luck if the theme happens to revolve around maritime matters! Because, as everyone knows, nautical music is comprised of exactly two instruments: the accordion and the steel drum. To be fair, it might sound like Jamaica, but none the matters.

Commercial for the company 'Copy&Paste'

And that's pretty much everything about the music from the second addon/DLC of Don’t Starve. Shipwrecked also follows the tradition of the cheerful, quirky style of the main game, although the circus factor has been significantly toned down in favor of the maritime theme compared to Reign of Giants. In fact, the score now sounds more noticeably like fantasy or adventure fare, akin to what one would expect from a game like The Dark Eye: Drakensang, for example. I tend to like that more, but it doesn't change the conclusion that the nostalgia bat is likely to hit the willing victims among Don’t Starve players. For me, it remains pleasant background music.

No.	Title	Artist(s)	Ratings
01	Don't Starve: Shipwrecked	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3
02	Working on Island Time	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3
03	On Every Occasion Ready for the Fight	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	4
04	Big Time Island Fight	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3
05	Work It Like a Hurricane	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3
06	Fighting on the Storm	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	4
07	Fighting the Storm Out	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3
08	Working in the Rain	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3
09	Here Comes the Rainy Fights Again	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3
10	Rainy Days and Epic Fights	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3
11	Working the Heat	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3
12	Feelin Like a Fight Fight Fight	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3
13	When Fights Were Hotter and Lived Near the Water	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	4
14	Surfing Everyday	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3
15	Nightsurfing (Deserves a Quiet Night)	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	2
16	Sailing the Seas of Don't Starve	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3
17	Sailin in the Moonlight	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	2
18	Wilson vs. the Volcano	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	2
19	Gonna Blow Yur Top	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	2
20	Don't Starve Theme [Island Style]	Jason Garner; Vince de Vera	3

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Hamlet

Let's be honest: no one has read this far anyway, right? So you'll forgive me if I let my journalistic due diligence slip a little and claim that the soundtrack to the 2018 addon Hamlet contains eleven tracks. I took the number from the Don’t Starve-Fanwiki , where the soundtrack was listed.

Since no new expansion is mentioned there from track 45 onwards, I count these eleven tracks as part of this album. The playlist I linked above suggests that there are many more songs for the game, but it's 9 o'clock in the evening, I'm not interested in the game and the score is more of the same. So forgive me if I leave it at that.

No.	Title	Artist(s)	Ratings
01	Hamlet Launch Trailer	Vince de Vera; Jason Garner	4
02	From the Ashes	Vince de Vera; Jason Garner	3
03	Lunar Roots	Vince de Vera; Jason Garner	3
04	New Reign	Vince de Vera; Jason Garner	3
05	Next of Kin	Vince de Vera; Jason Garner	3
06	Possessions	Vince de Vera; Jason Garner	2
07	Trees a Crowd	Vince de Vera; Jason Garner	3
08	Return of Them (Hook Line Inker Trailer)	Vince de Vera; Jason Garner	4
09	Return of Them (Turn of Tides Trailer)	Vince de Vera; Jason Garner	3
10	Taste of Home	Vince de Vera; Jason Garner	3
11	The Monster Marsh	Vince de Vera; Jason Garner	3