There's not long to wait now until the early access release of Sons of the Forest, the follow-up to the survival horror title The Forest, and in the meantime, a new trailer shows off the game's multiplayer feature. There's quite a lot to expect in horror gaming in 2023. From the recent remake of Dead Space to the upcoming remake of Resident Evil 4, not to mention the new Outlast and Bloober Team's take on the iconic Silent Hill 2, the genre is fit to burst with exciting releases.
The indie scene appears to be thriving just as much as the AAA sphere, evidenced by the fact that Sons of the Forest is the most wishlisted game on Steam, beating out Bethesda's highly anticipated Starfield. Evidently, many are looking forward to the next installment in Endnight's The Forest franchise, but before it launches, the developer wants fans to have a quick look at the co-op aspects.
In a recent video uploaded to IGN's YouTube channel, a teaser gives brief insight into the multiplayer aspects of Sons of the Forest, showing players what they can expect when they team up with others. The trailer shows people working together to build shelters, gather materials, and take on hordes of cannibalistic enemies. It even looks as though the game will allow multiple players to utilize Kelvin, the NPC that's been added to the game to offer assistance.
It wasn't that long ago that Kelvin was announced for Sons of the Forest. An AI-controlled character, this companion will be at the player's disposal in single-player mode, where they will be able to give the NPC a series of tasks to help out. Kelvin is an elite soldier who, thanks to a head injury, is unable to speak but seems more than willing to listen to the player's commands. For those who were a little creeped out by the first game because of how lonely it felt when not in multiplayer, having a follower could ease up the tension, making the sequel feel less isolating.
Sons of the Forest will be coming out in early access on February 23. Endnight Games opted to launch the game in this way to avoid having to push the final release back again. This means the studio can continue to work on the survival title until it's in a more complete state, but fans will be able to play it in its current form. It was originally scheduled to release in May but at the moment, it's not clear when the final product will come out.
Sons of the Forest launches in early access on PC on February 23.