The most anticipated game on Steam right now is an open world survival adventure set on a “not quite” deserted island – Sons of the Forest. MeinMMO would like to help you with the following facts when making a purchase decision.
Sons of the Forest is a dark survival adventure and celebrates its release on February 23rd on Steam in Early Access.
If you are still considering whether you should embark on the mutant-infested adventure, then you will find important information for your decision here:
Check out the trailer for a first impression:
Sons of the Forest Gameplay
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1. Sons of the Forest is like its predecessor – but more!
If you have celebrated the first part “The Forest”, you hardly need to read any further – then there is a clear purchase recommendation if the game’s technology is reasonable and the early access offers enough content.
Sons of the Forest wants to offer everything that The Forest has already done so well. But more of that. But new are about NPC buddies and a wide range of weapons.
If you don’t know the first part that well, you can find more details about the course of the game and information about who is worth it below.
If you’re a fan of The Forest, you might find what you’re looking for in the following list:
For Adults Only: The 10 Best MMOs and Multiplayer Games 18+ in 2023
2. It starts in Early Access
Sons of the Forest starts February 23rd in Early Access on Steam and costs around $30 – which will probably be €30 for us.
The developers had a choice: either postpone the game again or start it in Early Access on the planned release date.
Even if you’ve had bad experiences with early access games, you shouldn’t write off Sons of the Forest outright. The predecessor already came in Early Access on Steam and was one of the positive examples of how to design the development process together with the community.
It is not yet possible to say exactly how much content Sons of the Forest will offer for the release. On Steam, however, it sounds like we’re getting a full game that will be served in Early Access with more features, balancing, and bug fixes.
3. Open world with a lot of survival
Coming to the gameplay, you can expect a lot of survival here. Sons of the Forest is survival through and through – weather matters, food is scarce, drinking is important, crafting gets you further, weapons are helpful.
This is the full program and an open world with a lot of … forest. However, Sons of the Forest also comes with interesting innovations.
To a certain extent, the construction system dispenses with ready-made blueprints and gives you a free hand in building your accommodation. You cut down a tree, have to lug the trunk to camp, chop it to size, split it, and then you have a fine piece of ground or some wall.
You will find this open construction again and again in the game, as the trailer above shows. It is not enough to have 4 sticks and a blanket in your inventory. You need to set up the sticks accordingly and fasten the ceiling to build a tent.
Sons of the Forest gets more depth from the behavior of the mutants on the island. Some of the neighbors have different personalities, sometimes they behave towards you curiously, sometimes skeptically, sometimes aggressively. There are even enemies that can goad others to attack you.
In addition, there are several mutant factions that also fight each other. There are reports of a tribe locked in a cave. As soon as you release this tribe, they will attack another nearby tribe. This can definitely be used to your advantage.
By the way, another survival game is in development that also wants to rely on AI factions that do their own thing independently of you:
New survival game demonstrates the power of Unreal Engine 5 for open worlds – massive worlds and huge bases
4. Sons of the Forest has an end – At least
If you enjoy the idyll of the island, you can tinker with your dream house forever and keep the nasty mutants at bay with weapons. However, Sons of the Forest also offers a story that unfolds in an interesting way – through exploration.
So in Forest 1 there was no “go there” or “get it done”. You discovered interesting places on your procurement tours, put a marker on the map and later came by to explore. Or you can go straight in, even though you only had a torch with you.
There were always important discoveries in the large caves: an ice pick, for example, which you could use to reach other areas because the pick made climbing possible in certain places.
The Forest 1 even offered 2 different endings and Sons of the Forest will also have a story ending – similar to the popular survival titles Raft and Grounded.
5. Scary, splatter, nasty mutants
With the 5th and last point we would like to issue a small warning. Sons of the Forest calls itself a survival horror simulator and lives up to these claims.
Even in the first part, visiting caves was a scary undertaking – small cones of light, flashlights with weak batteries, little ammunition and mutants could appear everywhere in new, disturbing forms.
In addition, dismemberments are part of everyday life on the island. So you can scare away other mutants with a severed mutant head. As soon as you are back home, the head is placed on a post in the garden – as a deterrent.
Sons of the Forest lets you run through the open world with up to 8 players. With such a big party, the thrill is certainly lost a bit. But solo or with a maximum of 3 – 4 players you will experience a playable horror film that is not suitable for every player.
Who is Sons of the Forest good for? If you’re even remotely interested in the survival genre, keep an eye on Sons of the Forest. The game principle has already proven itself, but hardly worn out. There is little that stands in the way of a good survival adventure:
If you don’t like the scary setting, then better avoid the title. You will find more information about the content and the technical condition on MeinMMO after the release on February 23rd.
If you want more information about the game, then visit our big release hub: Sons of the Forest: Everything about the release, story and gameplay