If you're excited for Sons of the Forest, there's good news and bad news. The bad news is that the game won't be officially launching on February 23 as scheduled. The good news, if you can call it that, is that it's coming out via early access.
In a statement, the team at Endnight Games revealed that since they first started working on the game, it has "grown into the biggest most complex game" they've made. They went on to say that there's still a lot more to add like new mechanics and gameplay balance, to name a few.
Series of Delays
The game was initially planned for release in May 2022, but by March 2022, the team announced that they were moving the release date to October of the same year citing that the original release date "was overly ambitious." After that, there weren't many updates. By September 2022, it was revealed that the launch date was moved to February 23, 2023, letting them have the "time to complete the polish" they felt was needed.
This time around, the team shared that they didn't want to delay the release and wanted to "involve the community in the continued development" of the game. So, they pushed for the February 2023 release albeit through early access.
Survive the Horror
Sons of the Forest is a sequel to The Forest, released in 2018. This time, players are sent to a remote island to look for a missing billionaire. It's not an easy task since the island is actually a cannibal-infested hellscape. Features of the game include:
- A Survival Horror Simulator
- Experience complete freedom as you get to tackle the world how you want.
- Decide what you do, where to go, and how to survive.
- There are no NPCs giving out orders or giving missions.
- Fight Demons
- Fight against a range of mutated creatures where some who look almost human and others look like nothing you have ever seen before.
- Protect yourself and those you care for with pistols, axes, and stun batons, to name a few.
- Build and Craft
- Make sure to feel every interaction.
- Break sticks to make fires or use an ax to cut out windows and floors.
- Build a small cabin or go for a sea-side compound.
- Changing Seasons
- Enjoy the different seasons with various activities.
- Get fresh salmon directly from streams in spring and summer or collect and store meat for cold winter months.
- Co-op Gameplay
- Survive alone or with friends.
- Share items and work together to build defenses.
- Bring backup to explore above and below ground.
What do you think of the decision to go for early access?
