Sons of The Forest Preview: Surviving with Tons of Firepower

Sons of The Forest is a faithful sequel to the original game that was released in 2018. Still developed by Endnight Games, it still has the original game’s charm and improves upon it in just about every way. This review will delve further into the game’s aspects, including the graphics and sound designs. 

Sons of The Forest is a survival horror game that was released in an early access state on February 24, 2023. The game is a sequel to The Forest, a fairly successful game that still has 12 thousand of average players monthly.

With quite a huge amount of loyal followers, the game has very high expectations from its community, and I have to say, Endnight Games delivers. There are multiple things done right in this game, such as the brilliant atmosphere when traversing the forest, the enemies being more dangerous than before, and many more.

Sons of The Forest is available on Steam for $29,99.

Story: Crash Landing on You!

Sons of The Forest places us as one of the mercenaries tasked to rescue a billionaire. You and the rest of your squad fly to the island, and things go wrong. You crash-landed on the island with your squad member Kelvin, who suffers brain damage and becomes deaf and mute. Now it is up to you both to uncover the truth about the island and finish your original mission.

I find the Sons of The Forest’s story progression to be quite slow. The game’s story was told through in-game collectibles and just like in The Forest, there aren’t many dialogues to tell the players more about the world of Sons of The Forest. While this might seem like a bad thing, it makes the game to be scarier through the lack of information it gives you.

A Lore Item.

Gameplay: Outnumbered, but not Outgunned

While it is technically a survival game, the main attraction of the game is its cannibals. The cannibals in this game are relentless creatures that when threatened, will give you some trouble. The cannibals in this game feel very different from the enemies in other games of its kind and it’s all thanks to the new AI system that Endnight Games implemented.

The AI in this game is implemented in a way that they have complex and lifelike behaviors. From climbing the tree to ambush you when you walk by, mourning their dead comrades, and they will even take revenge and comes back with more of them if you let a single one of them escapes.

To combat these cannibals, you will have a plethora of tools and weapons to choose from, ranging from spears and Tactical Axe to even firearms like Shotguns and Pistols.

Throughout the game, I find myself immersed in trying to survive while planning what to do during the day. There are a few aspects that make Sons of The Forest a unique experience, mainly the NPC interaction, Cave System, and Building System.

NPC Interaction

If there is one thing that makes Sons of The Forest world feel alive, it’s the interaction between NPC. I’ve already told you about the sophisticated AI of the cannibals in previous sections, but what about the friendly ones?

Meet Kelvin, the new friendly NPC.

While it is true that he is both deaf and mute, Kelvin is arguably one of the best addition in Sons of The Forest. Kelvin is always there for you, he will help you with gathering things like sticks or logs so you can focus on other important stuff like cave exploring or building houses.

You order Kelvin to do things using the notepad that you have. There are six commands you can issue to Kelvin:

• Take Item
• Follow Me
• Get (Berries, Fish, Sticks, Rocks, Arrows, Radios, and Logs)
• Build (Fire, Shelter)
• Stay
• Take a Break
• Clear (5, 10, 20 meters)

Instructions for Kelvin.

After doing a few tasks, Kelvin will grow tired and become less productive and helpful to us, so you should always give him a break after a few commands. Kelvin can spot enemies in the distance and will attempt to alert you by pointing to the general direction of the enemy, so you should always keep an eye on him at all times. 

Of course… If you want to do something evil, you can kill him with any weapon to make him disappear during your current playthrough. 

Cave System

When you are exploring the forest (no pun intended), you might come across a few cave entrances, you can choose not to go into the caves, but you will miss so much important stuff. Most of the cool in-game items are inside the caves: items like the Rope Gun or the Rebreather among other things are only obtainable when you explore the caves.

So, you should explore the caves in the game, but only when you are ready. You should prepare some batteries for your flashlight, and create a torch if you have the resources available. Exploring the caves can be difficult at first, especially since you can’t use your GPS in the caves, so you should make a mental note of where you’re going.

The Cave.

Building System

After exploring and foraging everything you need, you need a place to rest, and there is no better feeling than making something out of your imagination come true in Sons of The Forest. The building system in this game is unique, where you can choose to build something from scratch or by using the in-game blueprint.

If you want to build your house from scratch, you need to do some extra work by cutting the logs in half or manually arranging where to put all the logs.

Graphics and Sound: Crisp and Breathtaking

Indeed, the game is still in early access, but it felt complete, the game even already has an ending that tied in nicely with the previous “The Forest” game. There are still minor bugs like cannibals sometimes running around in circles or the occasional sound tearing.

Graphically, Sons of The Forest will hook you with its photo-realistic graphic. The environment is eye-pleasing, with the rocks and trees’ beautiful textures, the clean and blue water, and the models for the cannibals and the animals are richly detailed, with slightly different models between them. Oh, and it supports DLSS for those who have Nvidia’s RTX Graphic Cards.

The sound design is easily one of the strongest points Sons of The Forest has, the ambiance it gives the player when exploring can be both peaceful and scary at the same time. When it’s daytime, the combination of the sunlighting and the sounds of the animals and environment gives the player a sense of peace and clarity.

While the nighttime gives the player a sense of danger with every step they take, the lack of lighting and the roar of the unknown is enough to make players give up on exploring in the night.