The Forest was a game with a simple concept of crash-landing on a peninsula and needing to survive against hordes of cannibals and mutants. While there wasn’t anything groundbreaking about the concept, it quickly became famous thanks to its impressive game design and story that quickly went off the rails. The sequel, called Sons of the Forest, includes impressive AI and companions including a three-armed mutant named Virginia — at least according to recent previews.
Sons of the Forest starts with a similar concept to the original with your character being sent to find a missing billionaire on a mysterious island. Don’t worry, you still crash land in a remote area filled with cannibals. As shown in the IGN preview, you can follow a quest line that involves finding the billionaire or you can simply ignore that and survive by yourself or with a group of friends in a multiplayer session.
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No matter if you are by yourself or with a group of friends, you will still have access to AI companions that act differently depending on how you treat them. The first companion you will get is Kelvin, a soldier with an unfortunate brain injury who will obey written commands. Later on, you can recruit a three-armed mutant named Virginia. Both companions will change their habits depending on how well you treat them and if you don’t want them around anymore, you can simply take them out back and give them the Old Yeller treatment.
The preview also shows off some impressive AI from the enemies as they will react differently depending on the world around them. Some enemies will simply wish to watch you and your friends from a distance while others won’t hesitate to charge in and attack. Other enemies, called leaders, can influence how others react to your presence. There is no doubt that this game has the potential to be even scarier than the Dead Space remake.
Finally, the preview showed off some of the impressive new building features that you will have access to when the game releases. While the original game followed pre-constructed designs for placing logs and building your home away from home, Sons of the Forest allows a more DIY approach that lets you cut logs in specific locations and place them wherever you see fit. There is a lot being added to the new game and we can’t wait for it to release later this year.
