Oh, look. It's been a picosecond since the last Steam sales event. No doubt many of you took advantage of the last one �the Endless Replayability Fest. Well, don't put your money away just yet, as w?e're already onto the next one.

Beginning yesterday, the Steam Open World Survival Crafting Fest (and breathe) offers discounts on a series of well-known and slightly les??s well-known games from, well, Open World Survival Crafting games. You've got until Monday, June 3 at 10 a.m. PT to choose from what I would say is a pretty good list of titl??es.

Take a quick look on the sales page to see for yourself. Want 30% off Sons of the Forest? Of course you do. How about 33% off Project Zomboid? An odd number, but sure! Or maybe you want to get Stranded Deep, Valheim, or Subnautica for 50% off each. Even Palworld is there, at 10% off the regular asking price.

Summer lovin'

These events seem to come around more often these days. However, we're not quite at the big Steam Summer Sale just yet. That begins in a few weeks. You can keep an eye on the SteamDB countdown if you really want?? to see exactly when? it's scheduled to begin.

Crafting and survival games feel like they shoul??dn't be as popular as they are. But as w??e can see here, there are still so many offerings, largely from more independent studios. A lot of them are pretty decent as well, in my experience.

There are definitely more than a few in the sale that I'm keen to try out; Sons of the Forest, Project Zomboid, maybe even Enshrouded. Can I afford all these games? Check back ??with me later.

The post Sons of the Forest and Palworld are part of Steam’s Open World Survival Crafting Fest appeared first on Destructoid.

Back in November of 2023, developer Endnight Games announced that Sons of the Forest, its latest survival crafting game after The Forest, would finally release Version 1.0 on F??ebruary 22, 2024 �oh hey, that's today.

Sons of the Forest pushes Version 1.0 live at 10 am PT, confirming they'd honor their promise and graduate from some of its earliest iterations. The update brings its improvements and additions to PC via Steam, the only platform you can play Sons of the Forest on for now.

What to expect from Sons of the Forest

Sadly, the announcement Tweet doesn't come accompanied by any patch ?notes, yet, but those should follow soon as Endnight typically provides an inform??ative rundown on what's changed. However, we know some details on the way thanks to older teases from the studio. Story threads, like those focused on Timmy's role, played by Shawn Ashmore, will be expanded.

Ahead of Sons ??of the Forest's 1.0 debut, IGN also got its hands on an exclusive trailer from Endnight. There's a couple of goodies we can read into here, all of them just as grim and terrifyin??g as you'd expect from the cannibal island.

The most obvious additions are raccoons, new enemies, seemingly new cave biomes, new supernatural events, and the appearance of a mysterious?? new floating ?artifact.

For those who are just learning about Sons Of The Forest, perhaps it will help to know that it is a spiritual step up �not follow-up �to Endnight's previous title, The Forest. Sons Of The Forest boasts a bigger island with advanced dynamic weather, more complex gameplay overall, NPC companions, as well as all sorts of quality-of-life improvements. If all goes well, Sons Of The Forest will make the original The Forest feel like an early beta versio?n of the new thing.

Sons Of The Forest is a PC Steam exclus?ive. There are no news regarding possible console releases yet??.

The post Endnight Games reveals today’s Sons of the Forest Version 1.0 update timing appeared first on Destructoid.

As we see out the last few days of 2023, Steam gives us the skinny on which games were the top sellers of the?? last 12 months. While the majority will be ones that most of you will be expecting, there are a couple of surprises in there. Or at least that's what I think.

You can see the full list of top grossing games of 2023 on the Steam website, which splits it into categories going from platinum to bronze, depending on overall sales. There are also different lists for best Steam Deck games, most?? played, best VR releases, and more.

As for the overall top sellers on the platform, the likes of Hogwarts Legacy and Baldur's Gate 3 were surefire winners. It's also nice to see Sons of the Forest in the platinum category. Hype for the indie horror game may have died down, but it selling two million copies in just one day evidently gave it a boost.

It was also quite surprising to see the likes of Starfield and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 as top sellers. Okay, the former maybe seeing as it's been one of the most anticipated releases of this generation, but MW3 seemed rather unexpected.

As we move further down

Getting into gold, Resident Evil 4 (plus its Separate Ways DLC) was no doubt a big hit, and Elden Ring has still been pullin?g in some impressive numbers, despite being nearly two years old now.

Fans of Lethal Company have no doubt been aware of the success of this small co-op title from relative newcomers Zeekers, evidenced by its place under the gold section. The fact that it's only just been knocked off the top spot on Steam gives some indication on just how huge the horror game has been in such a short span ??of time.

Of course Skyrim makes it into the list. Admittedly under the bronze category, but that still means the 1??2-year-old Bethesda RPG is swimming smoothly through the harsh waters of the ?video game industry.

Check out the link above to see the full list of which Steam games were the crème de la?? crème of 2023. If I don't see y??ou after this, have good New Year everyone!

The post Steam reveals top grossing games of 2023 appeared first on Destructoid.

The surprise horror hit of the earlier parts of 2023, Sons of the Forest was released to critical acclaim. While the hype died down rather quickly, the game did sell two million copies in its first 24 hours. And now, Endnight's follow-up to The Forest will be coming out of early access soon.

In a post on Twitter/X, the developer said that Sons of the Forest will be getting its full version 1.0 release on February 22, 2024. This ?will mark one year since the game c??ame out, so the timing is pretty gnarly.

An update on Steam says a patch will be rolling out soon (if it hasn't been done already), and the team will "continue to relea??se hotfixes as needed." However, in the future, Endnight will be putting focus on the next stage of its survival horror sequel.

The studio is grateful for "everyone who joined" the early access

On top of that, the tweet goes on to say that Shawn Ashmore will be expanding his role as the voice of Timmy. Many of you will know him for his voiceover work on the likes of Quantum Break and The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan. Most recently, he played Tim Breaker in Alan Wake 2.

Quickly gaining popularity when it was released earlier this year, Sons of the Forest retained a high position on the Steam charts, even pushing some AAA titles to one side (Lethal Company, who?).

With its cooperative gameplay, creepy atmosphere, and the real star of the show, Kelvin, SotF is one that many will be happy is getting its full ??release?? next year.

The post Sons of the Forest?? will be leaving early ??access in February appeared first on Destructoid.

Although it was an instant hit the moment it came out (selling 2 million copies in 24 hour) hype for Sons of the Forest has definitely dropped off recently. Developer Endnight Games is still improving on it, and the latest patch adds some new things while also giving more love to h??elper NPC Kelvin.

The notes on the game's Steam page show exactly what's been implemented in Patch 12. For starters, there's now?? a pickaxe, a brand-new cave, more emote actions for Virginia, and mor??e.

There have also been a few tweaks to Kelvin, the mute companion who became the star of Sons of the Forest. N??o?w, he will react to animal heads, has also been given some extra emotes, and has had some fixes.

Also, a new introduction video

Endnight has also added a new introduction video "fo?r guests at Holosprings." This can be viewed at the entertainment bunker, specifically in ??the screening room.

While still in early access, there was a lot of praise for the follow-up to 2018's The Forest. The game currently has a Steam review score of "Very Positive." There's been no word yet on when it will release fully, but hopefully it won't?? be long before it leaves early access.

Sons of the Forest Patch 12 notes

Features

• Added Holosprings introduction video to screening room of bunker entertainment
• Reworked gold room cutscene adding new animations, effects, audio and music
• New helicopter flyover moment added (leaving bunker residential)
• You can now build corner ramps, enabling ramps (or roofs) to be joined when placed at a 90° angle
• You can now build stone floors
• You can now build wooden railings
• Added large log holder
• Added placeable decorative deer hide rug
• Added subtitles which can be toggled from the gameplay menu
• Changed the timed explosive item into a sticky bomb and modified its visuals
• New multiplayer cheat allow option - will block clients from using Console when off - hosts won't be blocked from using Console. The option will be saved along with the other game setup settings. Accessible via multiplayer player menu
• Added electric particle and lighting effect when electric fence is triggered
• Added some new emotes for Kelvin
• Added a new aggressive cannibal enemy type ‘Frankâ€?who pours vodka on himself and sets himself on fire when near the player
• Cannibals will now sometimes carry fire torches
• Increased variety of enemy raids
• Some villages will now have cannibals chosen as gold mask leaders, and other cannibals will now sometimes follow them

Improvements

• Destroying structures is now far less punishing, if supported structures have other valid supports still standing it will no longer get destroyed and fallback to the other supports instead
• Placing stairs or ramps between a wall and a beam no longer requires the beam to cover the full height of the wall, which allows for a variety of slopes
• Significantly improved construction processing cost when joining a multiplayer game with a large amount of structures to help clients getting disconnected sometimes
• Creepies on fire will now more often rush and attack players
• Increased likelihood and range of cannibal distant yell, mainly at night
• Raised the player camera higher off the ground when falling from a stake, so the camera is less likely to clip through snow
• Adjusted player’s final death animation so hands don't clip through the ground
• Polish and improvements on Large Female locomotion animations
• Prevented creepies instantly appearing after loading game at night
• Prevented creepies from taking over village on load when player is in village
• Player can now dismember the larger blue Puffies after they die
• AI pooling improvements and optimizations
• Converted some colliders to primitive colliders to improve performance
• Automatically disable and hide fog options when not supported by GPU
• Optimized spawn pool logic to remove unnecessary CPU cost
• Name card pickups in the food bunker no longer sound like coins when dropped
• Added a north direction to the GPS tracker screen
• Player no longer falls all the way to the bottom of the water when knocked back. The knockback is now ended once the player enters the water
• Various improvements to story item pickup visuals
• Various localization improvements
• Entertainment bunkers curved stairs collisions updated to be smoother to walk on
• Mountain cliff material adjusted to use moss and have more gradual transition to rock texture, and mesh modified to resolve some harsh geometry
• FX optimization for standing fire and skull lamps
• Cleaned up some harsh terrain
• Some layout cleanup on standing fire sticks and wrap
• Removed particle controller component from wall torch particles ( improved performance in saves with hundreds of wall torches )

Fixes

• Fixed water shader causing crashing on some AMD GPUs
• Fixed issue with structures sometimes not linking together after saving and loading
• Fixed an issue where enemies could fall from the sky
• Fixed bug that allowed placing pot on standing fire and sanitized saves with fires that have pots
• Fixed issue where player would get into a bad state after interacting with a standing fire while holding a pot
• Setup loader 3d audio blocker system to prevent audio playing from world during loading screens
• Fix for cooking pot being destroyed in MP games when the fire burns out or is destroyed
• Fixed issues with the 3d printer and the client not getting correctly updated when loading into a save game
• Fixed issue where player could get stuck if they opened their chat window right after bringing up quick select
• Fix for player getting into a bad state if they block with a weapon at the same time as pressing a hotkey to equip another item that does not support blocking
• Fixed issue when adding strut under a leaning beam supported by a pillar on the forward end
• Fixed some cases where ramp placement didn't work properly
• Fixed taking pot on fire after all sticks are burnt out not working properly
• Fixed defensive wall spike orientation on the spawned pickup when collapsed
• Fixed case with an error when destroying combined LOD walls
• Fixed combined LOD floor not working as expected in old saves with elements in wrong order
• Fixed skewed floor getting turned into combined LOD version which looks wrong
• Fixed wall spinning issue in specific context
• Fixed leaning beam supporting a forward pillar allowing to lift it with a strut
• Fixed place strut animation perfect finish system no longer working with LOD version
• Fixed gaps in floor of "Lean to" screw structure
• Fixed dismantling stone wall that was switched to combined LOD
• Fixed opening grab bag on a fire that's about to completely burn out allowing player to relight the stick
• Fixed own shadow visible on some logs placed in constructions
• Fixed merging super structures not registering it for all linked structures when merged, solves some issues with interior space warmth and path finding not calculated correctly after combining separate super structures
• Fixed side ramps not preventing the dismantling of walls
• Fixed some issues with repairing structures in multiplayer
• Fixed top section of wall being remove-able while it is supporting leaned beams
• Fixed super structure integration calculation tolerance being overly strict
• Fixed merging super structures which have a quarter log height offset instead of full height
• Fixed issue causing some construction placements to fail if starting a game as multiplayer host after going back in game from title screen
• Fixed case where placing structure on ground could cause it to become invalid
• Fixed repairing grounded stone pillars or non full height stone pillars not replacing its elements at the correct positions
• Fixed rope stretch script not filtering out non water triggers + fixed rope not stretching down all the way if placed too high above, it will now stretch up to its max length
• Fixed stick path dismantling
• Fixed Creepy Virginia idling after some electrocutions and idling too long while exploring
• Fixed Armsy sometimes getting stuck in loop with taunt hitting electric fence, and long idle while exploring
• Fixed issue with deer sometimes not doing their alert and move away, and increased run speed slightly
• Fixed Kelvin able to pass outside of enclosed walls to get fish
• Fixed issue where throwing dead bodies against collision while moving forward could launch player super far
• Fixed an issue where player getting hit and dropping a body could send the body flying
• Fixed gibbed creepies coming back intact after load
• Fixed an issue where killing a female cannibal holding a log didn't remove the attachment right away
• Prevented eagles from stealing fish from cooking fires, which caused issues with cooking system
• Fixed a bug where the flashlight would remain in an incorrect pose when hotkey switching between shotgun and rifle
• Fix for the player getting into a completely broken state when trying to place a structure from the book when they have not yet retrieved their inventory after dying
• Moved cave rocks, in entertainment bunker epic view room, out of work scheduler and setup prefabs with LODS, fixes them vanishing on low view distance settings
• Enabled alpha clipping on newspaper cutout to resolve visible edges
• Fix for ‘Stream Iâ€?underwater rendering flickering off near large lake
• Light probe proxy volume adjustments to resolve bright ceiling in entrance of luxury bunker
• Fixes for some open edges on cliffs
• Fixed issue with held items being able to be equipped via hotkeys when a table card is picked up
• Fixed smooth snow and wetness fade in effect only applying to LOD0 construction elements, resulting in visible pop when moving back & forth and lod switches levels

Audio

• Added new rock/stone drop audio events
• Added season parameter to rain on metal objects for winter
• Improvements to pre crash opening sequence audio
• Tuned distance setting on mutant feeding events

The post Sons of the Forest update continues to ??improv??e on Kelvin appeared first on Destructoid.

The daughters aren’t worth mentioning

The Forest was a terrific “get off my lawn�simulator. You ??built up your cabin in the woods, then spent most of the trying to keep cannibals from waking you up at night. This must be how all those gated community suburbanites see the world.

Released in 2018 (as long as you don’t count all those years in Early Access), it was and remains an indie darling. It was one of the big success stories in the post-Minecraft open-world survival boom.

I got into it a bit too late, I think. By that, I mean after it finished its run in early access. Having already experienced a lot from that trend, a lot of what made The Forest special, I had already seen enough of the sub-genre. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, it just would have likely made a larger impact if I tried it much earlier. However, I earmarked the sequel because I wanted to see what an update could do. Sons of the Forest is that sequel, and it definitely has trees.

[caption id="attachment_365985" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Sons of the Forest (PC)
Developer: Endnight Games
Publisher: Newnight
Released: February 23, 2023
MSRP: $39.99

While The Forest started with a plane crash, Sons of the Forest opens with a helicopter crash. A helicopter? full of very qui?et people, including you! And Kelvin!

K?elvin is amazing. Something got rattled around upstairs in the crash, and he’s left dazed with impaired hearing. Despite the two of you being stranded on an island covered in mutant cannibal nudists, the dude is just a ray of sunshine. You write directions on a notepad to get him to?? do stuff, and he just smiles, nods, and goes to work. He doesn’t necessarily stay with you, instead just wandering in your general direction. But if anyone hurts him, they will pay.

You and Kelvin are on the island to try and locate three missing rich people. You survive the crash with your fancy GPS that somehow isn’t fancy enough to have an emergency ping signal. Or maybe you’re just very single-mindedly dedicated to finding these billionaires. I feel like your priorities would change ??drastically after the helicopter crash �they certainly have for Kelvin �but escape isn’t really your priority next to saving the one-percent from filthy savages.

[embed]//youtu.be/7xzLA_QyLtk[/embed]

Butt tuxedo

Maybe. Actually, you could focus more on surviving, but rich people have the best loot. I just found survival wasn’t much of a priority for me. In the first title, I was working to create the most efficient fortress when it came to keeping people off my lawn, but in Sons of the Forest, the cannibals should have probably been more concerned with keeping me off their property. I eventually set up a primary base of operations, but that was mos??tly so I’d know where I had stored all my heaps of excess food.

Ordinarily, I kept traveling, setting up temporary camps to save and pass the night. In transit, I was a wrecking ball. If I came across a cannibal camp, I would kill everyone, chop their heads off, and stake them up as a warning for anyone who thought it was a good idea to build in my path. My husband would occasionally lean over to watch my exploits, and he thought I was the bad guy here. Pfft. As if. I’m?? not like these people. I’m wearing ??clothes!

Speaking of which, the armor system sucks here. However, when you’re in a cave, and you’re fighting slimy, subterranean nudists, you can skin them. Not, like, entirely. You just shave a slice of their butt off (I assume). You can then just glue them to yourself. It’s called creepy armor, ?and, at first, I had some hesitation about just gluing butts to myself, but the caves can be pretty harrowing. Wearing a tuxedo made of butts is a much better alternative than being savaged to death by blind? nudists. Sometimes.

[caption id="attachment_365982" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The foundation

I actually played through the entire main narrative of Sons of the Forest and it was�there. This is in Early Access, so it makes sense that it would be barebones, but in its current state,? it’s kind of weird. It does a lot of great stuff with environmental storytelling without literally scrawling it across the walls in graffiti (mostly), but there are some gaps to fill. For example, a ??guy punches you in the face at the beginning, and I’m not entirely sure what that’s about. He shows up again, but I don't really know what his deal is.

The island feels somewhat unfinished. A lot of the cool stuff is around the places you start off, and the further East you go, it’s noticeably emptier. Fo?r example, there’s an entire abandoned golf course and almost no reason to go there right now.? Unless you actually want to play golf.

There’s also content that was in The Forest and hasn’t made it over to its sequel yet. That’s ??not?? surprising, but it’s something to keep in mind at this point of Early Access.

That said, what’s currently available is pretty solid. It’s a great foundation to build the rest of the game on, and the developers seem to have a consistent upgrade schedule in mind. I’d say it’s pretty safe to dive in right now, but for what it’s worth, Sons of the Forest is planning for around ei?ght months deep?? in Early Access.

[caption id="attachment_365986" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The best forests

I also want to note the forests. The forests look great. I love a good video game forest, and, to date, these are some of the best forests I’ve seen. The lush undergrowth and towering trees. The subtle variations of different places and the running streams. I remember too well when I first saw The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and thought those were the best forests could possibly look, so I know that in, like, five yea??rs, this will probably be really unimpressive. However, right now; these are the best forests.

Also, there are changing seasons. You just wake up one morning, and there’s suddenly snow, but that’s really cool. It’s an awesome touch. It’s something that video games rarely seem to attempt, so to see Sons of the Forest go the extra mile to implement them is just delicious. I just feel sorry for the nudists since tha??t has to be chilly.

If you played The Forest, you generally know what you’re in for. Sons of the Forest is largely that, but upgraded. There’s still some work to do, and I have a laundry list of things I want to see, but I have zero regrets about binging the whole thing over a single weekend. It’s maybe not a transcendental title that reinvents open-world survival, but it’s a nice addition?? otherwise. It might be a lot of fun in multiplayer, but there’s no chance I would ever bring someone along with me to a secluded island. Except for Kelvin. And that three-legged woman. They’re cool.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game purchased by the reviewer.]}

The post Early Access Review: Sons of the Forest appeared first on Destructoid.

You're sure of a big surprise

Developer Endnight Games launched its survival horror sequel Sons of the Forest on Steam Early Access last week, with the creepy cannibal battler seeing a sensational launch period, having raked in some two million purchase??s wi??thin the first 24 hours of release.

"Thanks to those who have joined us in our Early Access journey into Sons Of The Forest," reads a message posted to the o??ff?icial Endnight Games Twitter. "We have sold over 2 million copies i??n the first 24 hours, and are very excited for what we have in store for players in the coming weeks."

//??twitter.com/EndNightGame/status/1629252??004156682240?s=20

The survivalist adventure, which tasks the player with crafting a habitat for themselve?s on an isolated island seemingly occupied by a horde of people eaters, (not of the purple persuasion), finally launched in Early Access following a long and turbulent development period, which saw the game miss its initial release windows of May 2022 and then October 2022. These days have clearly n?ot dissuaded the player community, however, who came out in droves on launch day to dive into the nightmarish adventure.

Sons of the Forest is the sequel to the cult 2014 release The Forest, which managed to build a dedicated player base through its regular appearance on social media, Twitch, and other streaming se?rvices. With such an incredible launch already tucked into its toolbelt, it's easy to imagine that the sequel is set to become equally, and likely even more, successful.

Sons of the Forest is available?? now on Steam Early Access. No console editions have been announced.

The post Sons of the Forest sel?ls 2 million copies in fir??st 24 hours appeared first on Destructoid.

Early Access launches February 23

With the recent news that Sons of the Forest will, after many delays, finally releasing later this month, (as an Early Access title rather than a finished product), players can rest assured that the content currently planned for inclusion in the initial release is only the beginning. The development team over at Endnight have referred to Sons of the Forest as:

"the biggest most complex gam?e we have ever made."

While there is a ton of content planned to roll out over time, as part of the new Early Access introduction, Endnight has been quick to clarify that the foundation has already been well established, and that the Early Access period is specifically intended as a means to incorporate community feedback in fine-tuning the game, and to allow them to create new additional content beyond the original intende??d scope. With that in mind, it’s wo??rth recapping at least a few things we currently know will be part of the experience from day one.

[caption id="attachment_361451" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Endnight[/caption]

Raising the stakes for survival�/h3>

The survival mechanics that lay at the heart of The Forest have always provided a reasonable degree of challenge for even an organized team of players. Sons of the Forest intends to raise the bar further by forcing the player to confront not only what else may populate the environment, but also the elements themselves. With certain sources of food, water, medicine, and other supplies being specifically tied to certain seasons, players will have to carefully prepare for each presumably-long season ahead of time. The processes for storing and preserving food in the original game were fairly rudimentary, with the player being able to build a simple drying rack. However, the developers have intimated that Sons of the Forest will offer far more extensive mechanics re??garding the preparation and long-term storage of food and other necessities.

Trailer footage has previously shown the player manually erecting a lean-to tent using what appears to be a plastic sheet and a few sticks, as well as lighting a fire. A lot of emphasis has been placed on the dedicated animations associated with each action. Immersion has always been a strong element driving the gameplay, and the developers seem firmly intent on dou?bling down on what the first game experimented with.

[caption id="attachment_361453" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Endnight[/caption]

Hostile enemy spotted�/h3>

The Forest was praised for its complex approach to the AI behavior tree utilized by the NPC cannibals and mutant??s the player would come across in-game. The general principle underlying this was that, as the player becomes better-equipped and more aggressive throughout the world, the AI itself would retaliate by increasing the number of patrols sent out to the player’s general area. This would escalate to the point where mutants, (aka especially powerful monsters) would begin stalking the general area, making a beeline for the player upon making initial visible contact.

Sons of the Forest aims to feature an all-new cast of mutants for the player to encounter. It is not presently known for certain whether any old faces will be among the roster. Certain NPC types, such as the new cannibal variants, do bear obvious physical resemblances to those seen in The Forest, but the ??exa?ct details of those inferred connections presently remain unclear.

The post-credits scene at the end of The Forest strongly implied that the creatures we see now in Sons of The Forest were the direct result of extensive human bioweapon experimentation, just as those before. While the full capabilities of the new cannibals, and more importantly the new mutants, remain deliberately murky, there is more than enough reason already to k??eep your distance. The sight alone of some of these monstrosities is more than enough reason to run away at the soonest opportunity.

[caption id="attachment_298199" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Endnight[/caption]

The right tools for the job�/h3>

Weapons were something that may have been in scarce supply in the original game, but Sons of the Forest seems set on ensuring that you’ll always have access to some kind of military-gear weaponry when you need it. Prev?ious trailers have shown the player wielding shotguns, pis??tols, and other weaponry. This presents an interesting dilemma to the core gameplay experience.

Previously, players would need to make quick and calculated decisions as to when it would be best to engage in combat directly, and when it would be best to run or sneak away instead. Playing aggressively might be satisfying for those seeking adventure, but it will quickly drain your supplies. Even a player who is decent at blocking incoming blows can easily find themselves overwhelmed by sheer numbers, or by the presence of a single mutant. The addition of such weaponry indicates that the enemies present in the game, particularly the mutants, will likely prove far more intelligent, and likely far stronger, than those previously seen in The Forest.

However, there will be more in the player’s inventory than just merely weapons. Shoveling seems to be one notable new chore. As if becoming the world’s most proficient lumberjack and spelunker wasn’t enough for you, it seems like now you’ll need to literally dig for the truth that lies at the center of this island’s mysteries. The game’s second trailer shows footage of the player uncovering what appears to be a secret underground bunker, buried underneath several ?feet of dirt. There is also evidence to believe that the player will now have access to some kind of tracking device, which will potentially also function similarly to the map and compass from the first game, allowing them to more readily investigate certain areas of the map and mark them for future visits. However, this could also double as a device by which the player ?can advance the story.

Piecing together the story...

The Forest more or less adopted a lean and mean attitude toward storytelling, preferring to leave most of it as optional bits of environmental evidence, or taking the form of certain collectables, such as video cassette tapes containing short clips. However, promotional footage shown to date indicates that traditional cutscenes will play a slightly greater role here than they had before, so if you aren't able to find every single piece of background lore, fear not, Sons of the Forest probably has you covered.

The story here will likely follow similar, but not? identical, narrative beats as its predecessor. The player will crash-land on an abandoned island,? and attempt to make sense of what's happening around them, as they scavenge for resources and attempt to stay out of the clutches of some particularly hostile experimental specimens.

The game's most recent trailer strongly implies that t??he player will take the role of Timmy, the now-adult son of the original game's protagonist. While the player was able to revive Timmy from death after he was taken from the plane crash to be experimented on by the same researchers who created the monstrosities that populate the island, Timmy was later shown to have developed some form of supernatural powers himself, which he struggles to control. How this will translate into the actual gameplay seen here currently?? remains uncertain.

With Sons of the Forest fast approaching its Early? Access ??launch, players won’t have to wait long to begin venturing through the island’s forests, and discover the horrors that lurk within.

The post Everything We Know About Sons of the Forest appeared first on Destructoid.

The survival sequel is being delayed "one last time," and it'll cost $30

It's been hard for fans of The Forest to pin down Endnight Games' next mutant survival horror title, Sons of the Forest. After initially looking like a late 2021 release, the sequel was bumped to May 2022, then pushed back again, to October 2022. Things happen.

Now, there's another delay �but Endnight says it's the last time, and the new release date for Sons of the Forest, February 23, 2023, should s?tick. We also learned the price: $30.

In a short message rel?ayed on Twitt??er, the developers said they've struggled to nail down the launch timing due to the game's scope. And rather than just spread the less-than-ideal news, they also attached a new 12-second gameplay clip.

//twitter.com/En??dNightGame/??status/1565012072681066496

Previously, Endnight?? said it hoped t??his would be the "next step in survival games."

Here's the latest summary: "Sent to find a missing billionaire on a remote island, you find your?self in a cannibal-infe??sted hellscape. Craft, build, and struggle to survive, alone or with friends, in this terrifying new open-world survival horror simulator."

The fleshy freakos will have to wait until next year. As much as Sons of the Forest would've hit the spot in October alongside all of my other annual horror media, it's important to come out strong in 2023. The Forest really grew its base on PS4,? so if you're waiting for news on the console front, ??it's gonna be a long one. For now, the PC version is the focus.

The post Sons of the Forest slips to February 2023 appeared first on Destructoid.

The Forest sequel delayed to October 2022

The Forest captured a lot of enthusiasm in the survival space, and its freaky sequel, Sons of the Forest, should be even bolder. We haven't seen that much footage out of Endnight Games, and considering its release date is fast approaching, some of us were starting to wonder. In a tweet today, the studio confirmed that Sons of the Forest has been delayed from M??ay to October 2022. I?? hope that window sticks for maximum Halloween zest.

According to the developers, the May 20 re??lea??se date was "overly ambitious," and the intent is for this sequel to be "the next step in survival games," so they're aiming high.

//twitter.com/EndNightGame/status/1507398285??044039682

I've let this clip loop about a dozen times now, and I cannot get over the *ferocity* with which this man chomps the side of a fish. What a wonderfully unhinged? animation!

For as many survival games as there are, there's only one Forest �the body-horror premise is fresh, and the thr??eat of mutant cannibals roaming the woods creeps me out.

I do worry about the developers being able to meet fans' expectations at launch, as the original game had time to snowball, and plenty of people picked it up on PC or PS4 with a discount. I feel like the more we see, the more confident we'll become. Knowing that Sons of the Forest is several months a?way puts my mind at ease a bit.

It's not too late to get into the first game if you missed out, by the wa??y. Do VR if you're brave �or co-op if you're not!

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The PC version is launching on May 20

Status updates have been few and far between for Sons of the Forest, the sequel to the freaky mutant survival game The Forest, but Endnight shared a big one today. After a lot of wondering, it turns out that it's got a pretty close release date, at least in terms of the initial PC launch. Sons of the Forest is on track? for May 20, 2022, which isn'?t crowded yet.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6mTyKyCuTE

There's something about things going bump in a cave that really sets off my paranoia, to say nothing of trees and bushes rustling suspiciously. That said, after securing a base and enough weapons �and a gun-toting companion �the fleshy freakos start to lose their fear factor a bit. It's not a mark against the game so much as a reassuring inevitability. I want to be scared, unsettled, and caught off-guard, but considering this is still a survival game, I also want to eventually overcome those moments so I can, you know, chill a bit.

Last we heard from a tweet at the end of October, Sons of the Forest ideally would've been a late 2021 release, but the team needed more time. The developers tucked a few screenshots into that message, including the nicely-lit item stockpile pictured above, another grisly one with a head missing its body,?? and an image showing a spear about to strike a pair of sea turtles. I'll do a lot of depraved stuff in video games, but I won't do that.

Curiously, Sons of the Forest still doesn't have a Steam page �or an Epic Games Store listing, for that matter �so we'll have to circle back to see how the launch might shake out. The Forest bu?ilt up a substantial audience on PS4, but right now, it's looking like PC is the priority. I'm also wondering about early access; are they skipping to a full release?

We're coming up on two years since the sequel was revealed at The Game Awards, and fans of The Forest are more than ready to team up. "Fight? demons," indeed.

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