our Sons of the forest review believes that this long-awaited sequel to The Forest is full of eerie atmosphere, enough to make even the most hardened among us squirm in our seats. We’ve played for 16 hours so far and made it to day 12, experimenting with different starting strategies over multiple playthroughs. We’ve got a lot to see, and we’ll be updating this review periodically as it continues, but so far, our experience is that it’s a fantastic game – albeit not without its flaws. An unpleasant feeling arises Sons of the forest may have bitten off a little more than he could chew.
The game is undeniably fun and addictive, and at only $30 it seems well worth the price of admission, especially since the developer promises constant updates. But it’s important to note how similar it is to The Forest. Sure, there’s more vegetation, a bigger map, new building mechanics, more variety in crafting and weaponry, and scarier mutants — but it feels like you’ve seen it all before. Maybe that’s the point: take what worked and build from there, literally and figuratively.
Forest, redux
The story begins with a plane crashing on a remote island, mimicking its predecessor’s plane, although some elements are new. One difference is that in this case, you’ve gone to the island on purpose in an attempt to find a missing billionaire. The game relies on a twisted, humorous sensibility to build its narrative through environmental storytelling, just like its predecessor.
In many ways, this plot combined with the familiar setting makes Sins of the Forest feel less like a sequel and more like an updated version of the original game. The basics are the same: survive cannibal attacks, explore the island and fight mutants in creepy cave dwellings.
It’s easy to see why the developers decided to release the game in early access. Definitely just as fun to play Forest was also a great game. But you can see where the developers left room to fill in the details; the map is huge and some parts of it seem remote and barren. This might be fine for players looking to avoid cannibals and mutants, but the smaller map in the original game provided more opportunities to wander between random elements.
Sons of the forest – challenges of survival
Being an open world game, Sons of the Forest is not linear, and part of the fun is figuring out what to do next. You have a GPS tracker that directs you to certain locations, which is somewhat useful, but I wish I could add tags to certain locations without which I had to constantly search “Sons of the Forest” card. to navigate the game.
Since I couldn’t fully track my location, it became a constant struggle between trying to survive the mutants and cannibals and hoping to find the items I needed to progress. As someone looking for spoiler-free solos, I seem to be wandering around a lot hoping I’ll find these items. The key cards. The shovel. The shotgun. How long does it take a person to find these things without having to look for them?
Maybe that’s what gives multiplayer The mode has a broader appeal as players can revive each other and work together to fend off hordes of cannibals while covering more territory in less time. Your first companion in the game, Calvincan do a lot for you, but it can’t help you understand where you’re going.
Sons of the Forest adds an interesting jump in difficulty as resources become scarce in the winter. When it’s cold and the lakes and rivers freeze over, you no longer have easy access to fish, meat or other essentials, meaning you have to race against time to prepare properly – adding a nice, terrifying twist to this makes slicing up your enemies a tempting food option. Around day 12 I usually start to struggle, and while I could have made a few cheeses to stock up and get through the winter, I decided to restart to make sure I could prepare properly next time.
Sons of the Forest is a great game so far
Sons of the Forest is an extremely addictive game, and while immersed in it, hours passed while I explored. The main concern for me is the density of the content, the lack of direction and the feeling of incompleteness, which to be honest is quite understandable from early access. The building is a bit awkward. There are visual issues with certain animations. It also gave way to a lot of funny glitches, including a physics problem that sent my character skyward while he was chopping down a tree.
If you can put up with these issues, it’s still worth playing. We plan to update this review as we progress towards the end of the game. If you’ve already checked in and you like it, you’ll want to check out ours “Sons of the Forest” construction manual. and Advice from the sons of the forest. For more spooky experiences, check out our guide best horror games on a PC.