Sons of the Forest

Sons of the Forest is an open-world survival horror game by Endnight Games and the direct sequel to The Forest. You are sent to a remote island to find a missing billionaire and end up among cannibals, mutants, cave systems and abandoned facilities.

Instead of a fixed mission chain, the game focuses on free exploration: you decide for yourself where to set up your camp, which resources to gather and when to venture deeper into the island. The game can be played fully solo or in online co-op.

Sons of the Forest launched in Early Access on Steam on Feb 23, 2023. The full 1.0 version followed on Feb 22, 2024. For the 1.0 release, Endnight reworked story sequences, among other things, and added an alternative ending, new mutants, Creative Mode and Proximity Voice Chat.

Even after 1.0, the game received further updates. A larger update from Jan 15, 2025 added, among other things, three buildable rafts, a mooring post, new holders for Knight V and hang gliders, and a system for freely planning defensive walls.

Sons of the Forest is officially available for Windows PC via Steam. Steam lists only Windows as a supported platform; a native macOS or Linux version is not listed there.

A released version for PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S has not yet been officially confirmed. Accordingly, there is currently no reliable console release date either.

The core of Sons of the Forest combines survival, exploration and free base building. Wood is not only turned into finished building parts via recipes: logs can be cut directly, stacked and assembled into walls, floors, windows or more complex structures. You also gather food and equipment, craft tools and defend your camp with melee and ranged weapons.

The island changes with the seasons. In winter, food and other resources become scarcer, while the same conditions also affect enemies. Beneath the surface, caves and bunkers lead deeper into the story and to more dangerous mutants.

In co-op, several players can build together, share supplies and go on exploration trips. Version 1.0 also added Proximity Voice Chat and a Creative Mode, which unlocks after the story is completed.

For Sons of the Forest, the official Steam page lists no separate story DLC or expansion pass. Instead, Endnight has expanded the base game through free patches.

Among the larger additions after the full release is the update from Jan 15, 2025, with three buildable rafts, a mooring post, holders for Knight V and hang gliders, and freely plannable defensive walls that Kelvin can help build. Improvements to ranged weapons and numerous bug fixes were also added.

The PC version requires Windows 10 64-bit. As minimum, Steam lists a Core i5-8400 or Ryzen 3 3300X, 12 GB RAM, and a GeForce GTX 1060 with 3 GB or a Radeon RX 570 with 4 GB. Recommended are a Core i7-8700K or Ryzen 5 3600X, 16 GB RAM, and a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti or Radeon RX 5700 XT.

Both profiles call for DirectX 11 and 20 GB of free storage; an SSD is recommended.