Sons of the Forest Review (Luriam)
Sons of the Forest is an excellent sequel, offering an impressive sandbox full of bizarre creatures, places and lore
The first thing you'll notice is how beautiful it looks. From the moment you step into its world, the game's exceptional lighting, both outdoors and in the eerie confines of its caves, sets the stage for an adventure that's as visually striking as it is tense. It could easily be the most gorgeous looking Unity game on the market right now
The gameplay offers a rich variety of activities, including building, exploring, fighting monsters and collecting loot. For those who enjoy crafting and constructing, this game is a base builder's paradise. The building mechanics are intuitive and rewarding, making it enjoyable even for players who typically avoid this aspect of survival titles. I don't usually like building but Sons of the Forest had me hooked. I was constantly placing new blueprints and running around collecting resources. It was really fun and satisfying, and you can see your progress in real time as each stone or stick you place will be accurately displayed and inserted into your structure
Set against an intriguing backdrop that blends body horror with sci-fi, Sons of the Forest features a world filled with creepy enemies and anomalies. The game's lore is fascinating, weaving together elements of cults, alien artifacts, and alternate dimensions. This kind of world-building encouraged me to delve deeper into the story, looking up additional information online
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3256326614
The enemy designs are truly unique and disturbing, especially when it comes to some of the mutant types. The AI is impressive, with companions and foes alike behaving intelligently. Your enemies climb trees, interact with one another, they fake attacks on purpose to throw you off, set ambushes and use tactics. Each monster or cannibal has it's own distinct attack patterns and personality, and it's fun to figure them all out. Your allies can help you defend your base, build structures, point things out in the environment, collect food and building resources. They are optional and you can always "dispose" of them if you wish, but I loved them and they even have their own ending cutscenes as well
The dynamic environment, featuring changing seasons and weather, further brings the world to life. And it actually impacts the gameplay as well, as you will need to craft or find warm clothes and make shelters so you don't freeze. The game also runs surprisingly smoothly, with excellent performance in 4K using ultra settings, and no crashes or glitches
In terms of equipment, Sons of the Forest offers a wide variety. There's a dozen weapons, which can be further enhanced with attachments, as well as throwables. The armor system makes a return as well, allowing you to both craft and harvest things to cover yourself with. But that's just barely scratching the surface. There's tons of gear you can craft, 3D print, find in caves and bunkers, and even further enhance it with a special type of device. I must admit though, that there were tools and gadgets that I never used. Such as the masks, or the electric weapons, or the slingshot
There are also a handful of vehicles, which really help when it comes to traversing the island. The hang glider and the electric unicycle being my personal favorites
Also, even though not much is known about the protagonist, I think he looks dashing. And has some of the best hand models I've ever seen in a videogame. Whoever modeled and textured them deserves a raise
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3256326422
However despite its many strengths, Sons of the Forest does have some drawbacks:
For instance, all the gameplay animations are fantastic. There's literally a separate animation for every single thing you can craft or discover in the game. They're quick and snappy, and always seamlessly transition into gameplay
But the cutscene animations often feel off, with incorrect pacing and a lack of anticipation that can break immersion. Coupled with: a horrendous field of view, clipping meshes, strange motions or facial expressions, and missing sounds, all of which can detract from the overall enjoyment of the game. I thought that was just part of the Early-Access experience, but it seems like they barely touched them up for the 1.0 release
I don't know why they even bothered hiring Shawn Ashmore, as he's barely in the game, and none of his scenes look motion captured either. So they got a Hollywood star for a couple of minutes of artificially sped up audio. It really made me think that the whole "cinematic" part of the narrative was an afterthought. Something that they put together out of necessity, rather than genuine desire to tell a story. The narrative, while interesting in premise, is kinda shallow and not well-delivered, making it hard to follow the plot. I really dislike this disconnected Dark Souls breadcrumb type of storytelling
Combat can also be a little awkward, often boiling down to who can tank more damage rather than requiring skill or strategy
The soundtrack, is less impressive than its predecessor, focusing more on short stingers than memorable melodies. No more hauntingly beautiful main menu tracks, and no more tense combat music. Though there are some really catchy radio tunes
Also I don't know if this is a pro or con but - I never felt scared or intimidated by anything this game had to offer. There are some scripted jumpscares where a hanging skeleton or whatever falls on the floor in front of you with a loud thud, but that's not horror. Maybe it's not meant to be scary, because I always found myself pushing forward, into the danger, I wanted to see more
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3026881343
Overall, Sons of the Forest excels in creating a visually stunning and immersive survival experience. Full of interesting monster designs and curious anomalies
Its strengths lie in exploration, building, and item hoarding. Which far outweigh its shortcomings in cutscenes & storytelling. For players looking for a rich, atmospheric game with plenty to discover and build, Sons of the Forest is a standout title worth playing