This article is part of a directory: Sons of the Forest: Complete Guide | Weapon Locations, Survival Tips, Secrets, & More
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Sons of the Forest has finally been released into early access after a long wait, and it has all been worth it as the game that the developers over at Endnight Games promised was more than true. Sons of the Forest is just as haunting and thrilling as its predecessor, The Forest.

Players are thrown into a survival map with different areas, and just like The Forest, this location is composed of more trees than they can count, caverns awaiting exploration, animals running around the environment, and, more importantly, cannibalistic enemies that may be seeking a feast in the player. With so many brand-new things added to The Forest's sequel, it's good to get a head-start in knowledge before diving into the vast game.

10 The Map Is Much Larger

sons of the forest mutants

The Forest map wasn't extraordinarily large, but it was extensive enough to not make players feel crammed. In fact, the original map had so many cave systems and areas to explore that the furthest reaches of the island didn't necessarily matter.

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To almost everyone's pleasant surprise, Sons of the Forest is much larger than the original game. In fact, Endnight has stated that the sequel's map is about four times larger than the one in The Forest.

9 Why Are The Players In A Forest?

the fight demons tattoo on the player in sons of the forest

So, some players, especially ones new to Endnight Games' releases, might be wondering why they have been thrown into a survival scenario with cannibals all over the island they've been stranded upon.

Well, there's actually a good reason for that and just about everything makes as much sense as it could. In order to really encapsulate the feel for Sons of the Forest, players should know the story of The Forest and its inhabitants. In the sequel, players are sent to locate a billionaire who became stranded on the island.

8 No One Has To Play Alone

Image from Sons of the Forest showing the player holding Kelvin by the head.

The Forest can be played with up to eight different people in a single lobby, but players could also just test their survival in The Forest completely solo. It could get fairly lonely playing alone despite the mutants and cannibals wishing to eat the player.

Luckily in Sons of the Forest, there is a new AI companion system that helps out solo players. Kelvin is an NPC that will do tasks for the player. Not only is he incredibly useful, but it is also nice to have a friend around while surviving the island. Players can also play with up to seven other friends!

7 The Building Overhaul

building a cabin door in sons of the forest

The Forest's popularity rose so high due to the fact that it had a pretty enjoyable building mechanic. Players needed to chop down trees and fill in ghostly blueprints to build. In Sons of the Forest though, the game almost completely overhauls the building system, and in a much better way.

Sons of the Forest ditches the ghost-like buildings and integrates realistic structures, in the sense that players will be doing almost all the work needed to build whatever they wish. Of course, players can switch to The Forest's old style if they wish.

6 The GPS Map And POIs

the player holding a gps and an axe in sons of the forest

The Forest included a map of the island that players could eventually completely piece together by exploring. In Sons of the Forest, the developers have taken a little more of a dip into technology advancement, as players are now geared up with a GPS map.

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The island is already mapped out. Not only that, but the GPS also has points of interest pointed out. These points are generally bunkers that can be found, as well as the occasional cavern to explore.

5 How To Unlock Virginia

sons-of-the-forest-virginia2 (1)

During the Sons of the Forest trailer reveals, fans could notice an odd companion helping out the player during one of the trailer's combat scenarios. This companion has been named Virginia. Virginia is a friendly local resident of the island in Sons of the Forest​​​​​​.

At first, Virginia will be afraid of the player. In order to gain her trust, players will simply need to refrain from harming her and act friendly towards her. After a while, Virginia will become, according to developers, "a cat-like companion."

4 The Seasons Are Changing

who is virginia sons of the forest
who is virginia sons of the forest

The original The Forest game didn't particularly have seasons integrated into its features, but it did have the occasional rainfall. In Sons of the Forest though, players will notice the completely detailed season-changing feature that has been included in the already highly detailed game.

The season mechanic in Sons of the Forest is fairly complex. Seasons progressively change between the four different seasons. This also means that in the winter, food and vegetation may be harder to come by.

3 The AI Are Learning...

Sons-Of-The-Forest-Gameplay-Brutalist

The Forest had a fairly impressive AI system when it came to the cannibals, and not so much so when it came to the animals in the game. Sons of the Forest not only enhances their AI system with enemies around the island, but the animals have a complete AI overhaul as well.

According to Endnight, AI in the game are much smarter than before. They're so smart that they have emotions that play out according to judgments made by themselves. This can be anything from anger and fear, to how religious and passive enemies are.

2 The Bunkers

the 3d printer in a bunker in sons of the forest

A brand-new feature of the sequel is bunkers, which are sprawled out throughout the island. They host the player and its many other inhabitants. These bunkers are crucial so that player(s) progress further into the game.

Not only that, but players can find resin in these bunkers, which is what is used in the 3D printer, also located in a bunker. The 3D printer is capable of printing many essentials for survival, with the most important being the mask that players can use to pacify cannibals.

1 How To Get That Blasted Shovel

the shovel in sons of the forest

Players starting out in Sons of the Forest may have done so just as they have in The Forest. This could be chopping down trees for a base, securing as much food as possible, or most likely, exploring the island before it gets too dangerous.

While exploring, players will come across many patches in the ground that requires a shovel to dig into them. The shovel, though, is tedious to obtain. In order to do so, players will need the rope gun and the rebreather to access a cave on the west side of the snowy mountains.

Sons of the Forest is available to play on PC.

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