When comparing Spelunky vs Don't Starve, the Slant community recommends Don't Starve for most people. In the question“What are the best low-spec PC games?” Don't Starve is ranked 31st while Spelunky is ranked 35th. The most important reason people chose Don't Starve is:
Don't Starve has a very unique art style, using two dimensional or 2D characters and items in a 3D world gives a very interesting artsy feel to the game. The hand drawn look and feel to the graphics are a nice change of pace from ultra realistic games, but it doesnt take away from the suspense.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Up to 4 player local co-op
Spelunky features 4 player local co-op where players share the same screen, which can get a bit hectic.
Pro Provides an interesting challenge by heavily relying on increasing your skill
Spelunky gives the player everything needed to succeed from the start so it is only when the players skills get better will they advance.
Pro Quick sessions so you can play in short bursts
Being that Spelunky is at its heart a roguelike the gameplay sessions can tend to be quick as the player will die quite often. This makes for something that can be played in quick bursts throughout the day. The convenient saving also lends to this as a game that is still ongoing can be quickly saved in order to be picked up at a later time.
Pro Expanded gameplay through mods to improve replayability
Ranging from Mega Man to Metroid, there are a tone of great mods for Spelunky all of which make for a new experience in the game which vastly expands the replayability.
Pro Uniquely atmospheric art style that gives a polished look that is difficult to match
Don't Starve has a very unique art style, using two dimensional or 2D characters and items in a 3D world gives a very interesting artsy feel to the game. The hand drawn look and feel to the graphics are a nice change of pace from ultra realistic games, but it doesnt take away from the suspense.
Pro Very active modding community with numerous mods available allows for a lot of replayability and customization
Using the Steam Workshop, Don't Starve has a very active modding community. With nearly 800 mods currently available, there are unlimited ways you can change your Don't Starve experience.
Pro Challenging arcade style game play, with permadeath mixed in makes for a tough to master game that is still fun to play over and over again
Don't Starve is a classic example of "Easy to play, tough to master". The game play is very easy to learn, in fact Don't Starve doesn't really tell you how to play, you just point and click. Some items will be clickable, exploration leads to discoveries, and discoveries lead to longer survival, but death and a new game are always right around the corner.
Pro Randomly generated worlds allows for content that continually stays fresh to the user
Don't Starve generates a completely new game world for every new game, and since you only get one life per game, you will be seeing a lot of different worlds. All of the lands and items will be totally new on every try.
Pro There's never a dull moment thanks to how new mechanics are introduced throughout the gameplay
As the game progresses, it offers more and more mechanics that require constant attention to function properly. It becomes a constant re-evaluation of risk and reward.
Pro Pleasantly twisted sense of humor makes for an entertaining environment and story
Random quips from characters, info, text and the world itself (such as the existence of werepigs) show glimpses of a dark sense of humor throughout.
Pro Easily customized thanks to being able to adjust difficulty on the fly
The game gives you a lot of world customization options. You can change the length of day, weather patterns, how much of each monster or resource spawns, etc. This effectively allows you to adjust how difficult you wish the game to be.
Cons
Con Co-op is boring and confusing
In co-op this game is very confusing with little instruction on how to play. With little to spice up the game play, it gets boring quickly.
Con Difficult to the point of frustration
Spelunky is pretty difficult and some could say abusive, but with practice and a desire for masochism the game can be mastered.
Con Constant restarts can be drawn out and boring
The beginning of a playthrough starts out pretty slow, which is exacerbated by the fact that the player will need to restart many many times as the game is a rouguelike, so permanent death is something that will be encountered often.