Sons of The Forest, Worth the Hype?

If you're like us and are interested in survival games, then you probably loved the original The Forest game and have been eagerly waiting for the highly anticipated sequel, The Forest 2. Well, it's with good news that we can say that the Sons of the Forest, the sequel, was released yesterday at the time of writing this video. But the big question on everyone's minds is, is it good? So, we've decided to make a review based on the first one hour of gameplay from exploring caves and caverns, searching for clues, and interacting with both the world and its AI.

First, let's cover the story. The beginning of the Sons of the Forest story is pretty gripping. They seem to have laid the groundwork for it pretty well. It's certainly immersive. It follows a similar outline to how the original game did with the jet plane crash, but this time, you're in a helicopter visiting an island in search of a group of high-profile missing people when you're suddenly hit and crash land. Once again, making you assume the role of a survivor who's stranded in remote wilderness on an island. It has the same air of mystery that the original game gave, with the premise that there's a bigger mystery that needs to be solved with small clues that you'll find along the way through looting items and trinkets and playing detective explorer.

Moving on to the graphics and sound design, the graphics of the Forest are beautiful. Not only does it look like the original game, but there's certainly a clear upgrade upon those beloved original visuals. All of the environments in this game are well-crafted, and there's a clear attention to detail with the trees and segments of the forest looking very detailed, which is something that's consistent with the foliage, small crops, shrubbery, and general flora, as well as the running waters like the rivers and also in the ocean itself. The visuals are simply stunning and feature some really beautiful landscapes from open clearings within the forest itself and vast beaches near the ocean. Of course, with such detail, it is complemented by well-strategized and in place sound design, which keeps you immersed with its atmospheric effects, as well as its ambiance and music, which adds a layer of sense of tension and dread, especially when in conjunction with the moans and screams of the creatures at nighttime.

The gameplay of this game is incredible, and it definitely had us hooked during what we've played so far. It's a tough ask for players like us because we don't really play that many different games anymore, and we also find it quite hard to get immersed in any games for a long period of time when we're not recording. The Sons of the Forest delivers on gameplay with tight and intuitive mechanics and smooth and fluid movement. The beginning is reminiscent of the first game as you bust open some boxes and loot the area around the crash chopper before dispersing. Of course, the crafting system in-game is also mostly similar to interacting with each individual item and combining them to craft them together with the gear icon, just like you did in the original.

There's also a neat little feature which displays possible crafting combinations or their recipes based on the items which you either have or that you need to complete that recipe, which is a nice upgrade to the original and also prevents you from having to stalk the wiki pages. There's also a greater size inventory as well as a number of equippable items. You'll need to pan your camera to see the further edges of your survival backpack to see some of the items that you're carrying that perhaps you've overlooked. One of the more interesting new items is definitely the GPS. This is theoretically a smartphone that you can use.

The survival metrics, such as health, stamina, thirst, hunger, strength, and fatigue, are similar, but there are some differences. The mental state of the player is also present in the game, but we haven't experienced this yet. The night time in the game is extremely scary, and it's best to have a place to stay. The game has a stealth element, which allows players to crouch behind bushes and sneak away.

Exploring feels exactly like what we are used to. The game still has cave mouths leading down into caverns and labyrinths, which are a big thing, for better or for worse. We explored two or three of them in the first hour of gameplay. The scientific type labs contain clues to the story progression, and most of them require some kind of item, mostly key cards, to access further segments of the facility. The NPC follower system is a brand new mechanic and is a really nice added touch, especially for single play.

We encountered the tribal cannibals and the spooky horror movie mutant types in the game. The tribal cannibals are super strong and pack a serious punch, while the mutants on all fours are strong but take a more shy and timid combat approach. The game has a save point, and if you die, you need to reload a game save to start again from your last checkpoint.

While exploring, we accidentally stabbed a gasoline bottle, which was not the best idea. We also found a lot of different survivor camps with tents and loots around, but unfortunately, nobody was in them. We found a cool feature, the MPC follower system, and the first follower was an injured pilot or soldier that we could group up with at the beginning. However, it's quite strange that we don't communicate by talking, and we're not sure if there's a reason for this.

In conclusion, we found Sons of The Forest to be quite similar to the original game, but with some added elements, such as the NPC follower system. The game is extremely scary at night, and players should have a place to stay. The survival metrics, stealth element, and cave exploration are all familiar elements of the game. The game has a save point, and players need to be careful when exploring to avoid accidents.