Sons
of the Forest

Sons of the Forest (2023) is an open-world survival game where you build a base, gather resources to survive, and fight off cannibals and Lovecraftian monsters. It follows up The Forest and you similarly explore, hunt wildlife for food, and gather resources to create shelter, but here you also have the use of high-tech weapons and technology. The unforgiving environment, weather and hordes of enemies add a sense of urgency and make every choice feel more important and meaningful as you fight to survive through this exploration and celebration of the horrific.

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You find yourself stranded on a remote island and soon discover cannibals roaming the islands' forests. Even more sinister are the terrible, mutated beings straight out of a horror film that patrol the derelict buildings and open fields. You also find a woman with four arms, who you partner with as you gather resources by exploring and chopping trees, hunting wildlife and crafting tools, creating a base while also fighting the sinister forces using guns, spears and other weapons.

While there is a mystery to uncover, as you discover the secret of the island, there are no set objectives, as you instead create your own way to play, breaking sticks to make fires, using axes to carve out windows and doors, and crafting traps to catch animals to replenish your hunger. The changing of the seasons means you need to think ahead, gathering extra food and water in the summer months to sustain you through the winter when water freezes over and food is scarce. While it can be brutal and unrelenting in providing danger, horror and dread, the world can also be beautiful and provides an incentive to create a protected area in your base where you can let your guard down.

The result is a game that invites you to overcome the challenge of the environment and the many terrors that reside in it to solve the mystery of the island but doesn't force you to play in any particular way. Instead, it offers you the freedom to carve out a living in whatever way you see fit, be that creating ambitious bases or racing straight to the end.

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Our examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked Sons of the Forest 21 months ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 14 months ago.