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Sons of the Forest

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Sons of the Forest
Developer(s)Endnight Games
Publisher(s)Newnight
Director(s)Ben Falcone
Rod Green
Designer(s)Anna Terekhova
Programmer(s)Friso Kristiansen
Jon Kreuzer
Guillaume Kehren
Dominik Kyeck
Alexandre Haffner
Composer(s)Gabe Castro
EngineUnity
Platform(s)Windows
ReleaseFebruary 23, 2023
(early access)
Genre(s)Survival horror, survival
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Sons of the Forest is a survival horror video game developed by Endnight Games and published by Newnight. It is the sequel to the 2014 video game The Forest, and was released on February 23, 2023 via early access for Microsoft Windows via Steam.[1][2]

Gameplay

Similarly to The Forest, Sons of the Forest puts players in control of a protagonist stranded on an island inhabited by cannibals. Players can build weapons and buildings to aid in their survival.[3] New to the game are friendly NPCs. One is a companion named Kelvin, who is deaf and unable to speak. Players can give Kelvin written commands on a piece of paper to help with simple tasks such as collecting crafting resources or setting up fires.[4] Players will also encounter Virginia, a three-legged, three-armed woman who can be equipped with weapons to aid in combat situations.[5][6] The map in this game is four times bigger than that of its predecessor.[7] The game supports up to eight-player cooperative multiplayer, though players can also opt to play the game solo.[8] Depending on their actions, players can receive different endings.[9]

Synopsis

Many years after the events at Site 1, a team of mercenaries hired by PuffCorp is dispatched to an island called "Site 2" in order to search for PuffCorp's founder Edward Puffton and his wife Barbara and daughter Virginia, who have gone missing for months now. However, the team's helicopters are shot down by unknown assailants. One of the mercenaries survives their helicopter crash but is knocked out by a person wearing a silver coat. The Mercenary then awakes with nothing but a survival kit, a GPS tracker, and another surviving mercenary named Kelvin who was rendered deaf in the crash.

Working together, the Mercenary and Kelvin set up and camp and obtain resources to survive the wilderness as well as attacks from mutant cannibals that seem to populate the island. Once their situation is secure, the Mercenary begins to explore the island using the GPS tracker to find locations of interest. As they explore, the Mercenary finds various underground bunkers and facilities built by PuffCorp and learns more about the true nature of Site 2 and PuffCorp's intentions for it. Like Site 1, Site 2 possesses ancient artifacts of unknown power, as well as a previously undiscovered golden ore. PuffCorp acquired the island under the guise of turning it into a resort, and are in secret competition with the owners of Site 1, Sahara Therapeutics, over control of an artifact known as the "Cube". The Mercenary also finds surveillance footage showing Edward and PuffCorp executives suddenly mutating into cannibals during a dinner party, meaning the cannibals were Site 2's previous inhabitants.

Later, the Mercenary encounters a friendly mutant who turns out be Virginia, who somehow managed to retain her mind and sanity. Searching another bunker, the Mercenary also comes across Tim and Eric Leblanc, who were also hired by PuffCorp to search for the Pufftons. However, the Mercenary is separated from them when the person with the silver coat accosts the Leblancs and the Mercenary is knocked unconscious by a mutant. The Mercenary then continues to explore the PuffCorp facilities, eventually discovering research notes on the Cube, referencing its potential to travel between alternate dimensions. The Mercenary also learns that the Cube will "activate" every eight lunar cycles, and the only safe haven is inside the Cube itself. The Mercenary deduces that the Cube's activation was what caused the mass mutations on the island, and the next activation is due soon.

With no time to waste, the Mercenary acquires a set of special golden armor and uses it to open the pathway to the Cube. Along the way, they encounter a different type of highly aggressive mutant that shows an aversion to crucifixes and will combust when exposed to one for too long. The Mercenary eventually reaches the Cube along with Tim and they both make it inside the Cube before it closes, locking the person with the silver coat outside. When the Cube activates, Tim has a seizure and briefly splits into multiple versions of himself before the Cube shows them a vision of a futuristic, alien city. The Cube then deactivates and reopens, showing the person with the silver coat having mutated outside. The Mercenary and Tim then return to the surface where Eric is waiting with a helicopter, and two endings are possible:

  • If the player decides to go retrieve their survival pack, the Mercenary decides to stay behind on the island, and the Leblancs leave without them.
  • If the player decides to board the helicopter, the Mercenary leaves the island with the Leblancs. If Kelvin and Virginia survived and accompanied the Mercenary to the Cube, they will leave on the helicopter as well.

Development

Sons of the Forest was delayed twice. Announced in December 2019, the game had an initial May 2022 release date. On March 25, 2022, the game was delayed to October of that year "to be able to deliver our vision of the next step in survival games", according to the developer Endnight Games.[10] That August, the game was delayed again to its final release date of February 23, 2023.[11] It was later announced that the game will launch in early access to avoid further delays.[12]

Reception

Sons of the Forest surpassed Starfield as the most wishlisted game on Steam.[14] The game sold over 2 million copies within 24 hours of release,[15] and had over 250,000 concurrent players on Steam during its launch day.[3] It became the best-selling game on Steam at the time.[16]

IGN said that "Sons of the Forest takes everything its predecessor did well and does it a little bit better," including the improved AI, larger map, and graphics, but noted poor performance optimization and an unfinished story.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Sons of the Forest - Official Release Date Trailer". IGN. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  2. ^ Chalk, Andy (13 December 2019). "Sons of the Forest is a demon-hunting sequel to the 'terrifying' survival game The Forest". PC Gamer. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  3. ^ a b Wilde, Tyler (2023-02-25). "More people are playing Sons of the Forest on Steam than Hogwarts Legacy". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  4. ^ Morton, Lauren (2023-02-24). "The new best boy of videogames is Kelvin in Sons of the Forest". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  5. ^ Marshall, Cass (2023-02-27). "Sons of the Forest's Kelvin is my beautiful son and I will protect him". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  6. ^ Goulding, Erin Johnston (2023-02-24). "Sons of the Forest: Who is Virginia?". Game Rant. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  7. ^ Parijat, Shubhankar (October 27, 2022). "Sons of the Forest Interview – Horror, Combat, Story, and More". Gaming Bolt. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  8. ^ Driver, Dale (January 10, 2023). "Sons of the Forest Exclusive Hands-On Preview". IGN. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  9. ^ Rodriguez, Jason (2023-02-28). "Sons Of The Forest - All Endings Guide". GameSpot. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  10. ^ Dinsdale, Ryan (2022-03-25). "Sons of the Forest Delayed to October". IGN. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  11. ^ Leston, Ryan (2022-08-31). "Sons of the Forest Delayed to February 2023". IGN. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  12. ^ Zollner, Amelia (2023-02-03). "Sons of the Forest Will Now Launch in Early Access to Avoid More Delays". IGN. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  13. ^ a b Hafer, Leana (2023-03-02). "Sons of the Forest Early Access Review". IGN. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  14. ^ Young, Rory (2023-02-17). "Upcoming Horror Game Overtakes Starfield on Steam's Most Wishlisted Chart". Game Rant. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  15. ^ Bankhurst, Adam (2023-02-24). "Sons of the Forest Sells 2 Million Copies in 24 Hours After Entering Early Access". IGN. Retrieved 2023-02-25.
  16. ^ Heaton, Andrew (2023-02-27). "Sons of the Forest Continues to Break Records on Steam". Game Rant. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
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