Surviving on an island with cannibals is magnificent. Sons Of The Forest review

The sequel to one of the most popular survival simulators impressed many players back in early access. Sons Of The Forest could boast many genre-defining elements that were executed brilliantly and even uniquely. However, by the time of release, not enough “meat” had been added to make the game feel complete—yet it hasn't gotten any worse. Almost.

The beginning of the game hasn't changed since early access – the helicopter carrying the protagonist crashes at a random point on the island. After that, the player is given complete freedom to survive in the mysterious area.

Survival begins with building a base in a spot you like. You have to chop down entire sections of the forest to build yourself a log cabin with a palisade. Various traps have been added to the existing construction options, as well as the ability to wire electricity! The latter is generated by solar panels and is needed to power light bulbs and an electric fence.

The building process hasn't become any more obvious. You still have to figure out the game mechanics through trial and error. You can run into problems even with basic actions like lighting a campfire, not to mention anything complex.

Provisions are essential for survival. Hunting and fishing help refill the hunger bar. Animals provide not only nutritious meat, but also valuable fur and a head as a trophy. Raccoons have appeared among the walking calorie sources, and they comically stand on their hind legs as the player approaches.

The poisoning mechanic is also among the new additions. The player can no longer drink raw water (or eat rotten meat) – water must be collected in a pot and boiled over a campfire. You can also toss various ingredients into the pot — the resulting brew provides temporary, but pleasant stat buffs.

The cannibals have become much more aggressive. From day one, the savages attack the base: stealing items, eating food, breaking structures, raising totems, and hanging skeletons from trees — making the player's life difficult in every possible way. And with each passing day, there are only more of them, and their gear gets better. 

The variety of encountered enemies has increased significantly. More dangerous cannibals have become resilient and agile, knowing how to wield advanced Stone Age weapons — throwing spears or creatively using shivs. The ranks of mutants have been replenished with both new abominations of flesh and horror, as well as monsters that migrated over from the first game. The freaks' main task is to make the player feel uncomfortable — and they do a great job of it.

Loneliness at the camp is still alleviated by two non-player characters:

1. Kelvin: maintains order in the camp. He no longer respawns after reloading the game, so you have to take care of him;
2. Virginia: a multi-limbed girl who knows how to shoot cannibals. With careless handling, she can also die permanently. In the release version, she learned to communicate using simple phrases.

For the sake of new technologies, advanced weapons, and rare resources — you have to visit caves and secret laboratories. This unusual feature forces the player to leave their cozy base to overcome hardships and face dangers. Blueprints have also been scattered across the island, allowing you to build new and unusual structures.

The process of exploring caves and laboratories hasn't become any more obvious since early access. You often have to take leaps of faith or look into inconspicuous corners to obtain new items and find secrets. A prime example of poor design is the cave with the shovel, where you have to backtrack along the path you already took, but the game doesn't hint at this in any way — you have to figure it out yourself. And even with all the items and blueprints collected in the underground, rebuilding a base for a second time is nowhere near as fun as it was the first time.

Traveling around the island has become more convenient — all important locations on the map are now marked with various icons. Once explored, they no longer reappear, which prevents confusion. Means of transportation, like a glider or sled, speed up travel. For those playing in co-op, golf carts designed for four people have been added. Moving around in them is just as convenient as driving a real golf cart through a dense forest. Which is to say, not very. 

Surviving soldiers have become an aid in discovering important locations. They stand in camps and send signals, but by the time the player reaches them — they expire. By about the third time, this mechanic starts getting annoying.

The story changes, however, cannot please, because they are practically non-existent. The opening cutscene changed slightly, as well as the ones shown when visiting secret labs. At the same time, there is no sense in what is happening — it is still a collection of weakly connected cutscenes that the player cannot influence in any way. 

For me, the game crashes consistently at the moment when the guy shoots at a large mutated mass. Because of this, I wasn't able to progress the story to the end, although there was no such problem in the early version. In the game's community, many people complain about similar issues where, regardless of PC specs, the game crashes all the time.

Diagnosis

Sons Of The Forest still remains a magnificent survival simulator. The island where the main events unfold greets the player with gorgeous views and atmospheric sounds. Many mechanics are crafted at the highest level, making survival a unique experience. 

However, if a player decides to launch the release version for the story, disappointment awaits them. One could hardly call this chain of loosely connected events a story. Otherwise, Sons of the Forest remains a sandbox with a few new elements added, although there aren't quite enough new features for a “release version.” What's more, optimization worsened because of them, and crashes became more frequent.

You can read the review of the early access version here.

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All images belong to Endnight Games Ltd and Newnight