The Forest

About The Forest

The Forest is a survival horror game made and published by Endnight Games, released on PC in April 2018 and on PlayStation 4 in November 2018. You are the lone survivor of a passenger jet crash, waking up in the wreckage in a forest on a wild peninsula. From there you have to stay alive and find out what this place is.

The game is open from the start. Every tree and plant can be cut down, and you use logs, sticks, stones and rope to build anything from a lean-to to a walled fortress by the sea. You hunt and forage to keep from starving, start fires to stay warm, and craft weapons and tools. Below ground is a large network of caves and underground lakes to explore, where the story continues.

The forest is not empty. The cannibals who live there are mutants with families, beliefs and their own behaviour; they watch you from a distance, decide whether to attack, and come back in larger numbers if you fight them. By day you explore and build, and at night you defend your camp or go after them. In the caves, in the dark with a lighter, you find their deformed relatives and worse.

It is as much a building and survival game as a horror game, but the fear is real: figures moving between the trees, attacks on your camp after dark, and the caves. It can be played alone or with friends, up to 8 online or over LAN on PC and 4 online on PS4, and the PC version supports VR. On PS4 a PlayStation Plus subscription is needed to play online, and the PS4 version can also be played on PS5. One run of the story takes about 15 hours, but many players stay far longer to build. Endnight Games followed it with Sons of the Forest.

How to play The Forest

1. Search the plane wreck for supplies, then pick a place to build a first shelter.
2. Chop trees and gather sticks, stones and rope to build a camp, fires and defences from the survival book.
3. Hunt, forage and cook to keep your hunger and thirst down.
4. Craft weapons and use stealth or fight when the cannibals come, and protect your camp at night.
5. Explore the caves with a light source to follow the story and find better gear.

Tips

• Build your first camp near fresh water and away from the cannibals' paths.
• Save at a shelter often; death in the forest is common early on.
• Keep a lighter or torch for the caves, and bring plenty of healing.
• Fighting every cannibal you see draws bigger groups; sometimes hiding is better.
• Play with friends to share building and keep watch at night.
• By day, use the light to gather and build; save your stores for the nights, when the attacks come.

Questions