The Forest is a survival horror title taking place on an open-world peninsula where the whole environment can be your ally or show it hostile. Discover what is this strange place, make good use of your survival skills, build, craft, hunt, and unveil the mysteries behind those cannibalistic tribes.

Plot

You are Eric LeBlanc, a survival television actor, peacefully sitting in an airplane with your son when it suddenly crashes on a remote forested peninsula. As you awake from the wreckage, you start to look for your son but quickly discover feral human-like mutants inhabit this island. Ignoring your fear and using your sharp skills, you will challenge this hostile place and make everything you can to find your son.

Gameplay

Complete freedom: It is up to you how you want to discover this mysterious place and what you want to do. There is no quest or mission, just you, these frightening creatures, nature, and your survival skills. Still, this journey has an end, but only you can make it happen.
Scavenge and farm: Nature is full of life, and the peninsula is populated with many different species of animals and plants. Take your time to discover them, as they can provide food, hide, and crafting materials. Remember that if some animals, like bats, birds, deer, fish, or tortoises, are passive and friendly, others, like crocodiles, sharks, or boars, will consider you a part of their diet.

Build and defend: Your Survival Guide is your best ally as it groups all the different types of construction you can craft. Many different options are available, like fires, shelters, storage structures, elevated structures, and everything else to make your life more comfortable. Also, you can craft traps, weapons, and defensive structures to stay safe. Don't neglect your defensive structures, as the cannibals will become more aggressive when night comes.
Explore: Experience a whole world with fully dynamic day and night cycles and different biomes that will change your living conditions, like beach hut villages, lakes, forests, fertile lands, but also beaches and mountains.
Mutants: From the dense forests to the dark caves and spooky places, you will meet all kinds of hostile cannibal tribes. While the first one may look primitive, you will also face deadly dangerous mutants like mutant babies, and who knows what else. They may appear curious and surprised the first time you meet them, but they will quickly become hostile, organized, and make everything possible to feast on your body.

Graphics and sound

The Forest features really polished textures that bring rich environments and diversified biomes to life through photorealistic rendering techniques. Lights and shadows are pretty nuanced and successfully create bright and dark atmospheres, making you experience a whole palette of emotions, from the simple joy when discovering new gorgeous places during the day to the deep fear when venturing into dark caves.

Duration and game modes

The Forest offers single-player and multiplayer game modes where you can play by yourself or with up to 8 friends for the ultimate survival experience. If you go straight, the game is about 15-20 hours long, but exploring all the possibilities and environments will likely take around 55 hours.

What do the reviews say?

The Forest is a commercial success and got rated 83/100 on Metacritic.

"It's a brilliant game that blends survival and horror into one terrifying, tense experience. The story it weaves is well-written, the gameplay — particularly the progression — is perfectly refined, and there are few games as hilariously engaging in their co-op." (FANDOM)