After what seems like an age, popular indie game The Forest is finally getting a sequel. You will be able to play Sons of the Forest on PC from February 23, 2023.
When The Forest was released in 2014, it caught everyone’s teeth thanks to its cannibal-filled survival genre and its great collaborative story. You and your friends crash-landed on a deserted peninsula, only to find the plane abandoned and a jungle full of cannibals, dangerous animals and monstrous mutants waiting to hunt you down. You’ll be racing against the clock to establish a secure base with sources of food and water to help you fight off hordes of deadly residents.
Developer Endnight Games has massively expanded the survival experience in the sequel, introducing more customizable construction techniques and polishing up the enemy AI. The opposing cannibals you’ll encounter in the harsh island peninsula now have a more individualistic demeanor, some being sneaky and others calculative and aggressive in combat.
While The Forest had a story to complete – somewhere on this dangerous island, your missing son was waiting to be rescued – the game became more fun when you neglected your parental responsibilities. My friends and I chose to explore the deepest caves of this peninsula rather than expand our base, conquer cannibalistic tribes, or find the little boy. Forest Island remained an open survival sandbox for us to play in, until we progressed too far into the story.
never alone again
It looks like Sons of the Forest is doing pretty much the same story from the first game. You’ve crash-landed on a strange peninsula while searching for a lost billionaire, and you must fend off creepy creatures that want to devour you. Many of these enemies are looking to nail your head, so it’s important to prepare properly.
Exploring damp underground caves and building gorgeous log bases may sound like fun, but that’s only if you have some help. In fact, it can be nearly impossible to complete these tasks on your own. This makes completing The Forest difficult if you were a single player. Thankfully, Andnight Games thought of a solution for its sequel.
Kelvin wants to make single player life a lot easier
Will introduce Calvin, son of the Forest, an elite soldier and expert stick collector. Unfortunately, after your helicopter crashes, Calvin takes a very bad head injury. As a result, he can no longer speak, but he can understand the instructions that are written on your quick-select notepad. Through this, you will be able to tell Calvin what you need him to collect and where to take him.
It’s a huge upgrade for you and your hopeless workforce of mates in The Forest. Kelvin wants to make the life of a single player a lot easier. Instead of chopping down an entire forest alone, you can now focus on exploring while your trusty companion does the grunt work. But be careful, treat Calvin badly, and he’ll go on strike. Despite being an AI, this artificial worker has intentions of its own, as it will rest, eat and explore as it sees fit.
Calvin is good not only for collecting logs and sticks. When traversing the secret tunnels and passageways of this forested hellscape, having an extra companion by your side makes all the difference. Calvin can spot enemies hiding in the undergrowth or jump in for the kill to save you from oncoming attacks. He really is the complete package.
There’s no friend like AI
Having a trusted companion in The Forest is more important than you might think. Stranded on an isolated peninsula, crawling with cannibals, flaming caverns from the depths, and mutant monsters with more than one limb can be tough enough without having to deal with disgruntled teammates.
I’ve been playing The Forest on the same server with the same group of friends for years and there have been some… community upsets over the years. Like the time I was pushed down a mine shaft because I said my partner’s new hat looked bad. Calvin wouldn’t have done that to me.