Is Sons of the Forest a sequel? Answered

Sons of the Forest is a survival horror experience that features a mysterious narrative set around an island wilderness where cannibals and mutants lurk in the trees. Players are able to fight for their lives as a solo experience or with friends, and the game heavily encourages crafting and preparing for imminent threats that could come your way. The game features new AI technology that gives NPCs and enemies a range of emotional reactions that alter their behavior based on how you interact with the world. Most fans picking up this game are aware of a similar title that released in 2018 to critical acclaim. With that in mind, is Sons of the Forest a direct sequel to the hit game, The Forest? Here is what you need to know.

Is Sons of the Forest a sequel to The Forest?

Endnight Games has taken what players loved about The Forest and gone wild with it. The developer has promised that the explorable map is much larger than the previous title, and this new island links back to the events of The Forest.

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Without spoiling too much about The Forest, the game ends with the mention of a “Site 2” island by an adult character that spent most of the game as a child. Sons of the Forest features a protagonist that crash lands on Site 2 whilst looking for a missing billionaire. This protagonist is set to encounter the same horrors that the survivor of The Forest was hunted by, and some even speculate that the new player character is this adult from the first game.

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Do you need to play The Forest before Sons of the Forest?

Because of this link to the original story, it would probably be beneficial to have some understanding or to have played through the narrative of The Forest. However, much of what made the first game great was just playing co-op with friends and trying to outwit the monsters together. If this is the way you wish to enjoy the sequel, then prior knowledge of the story is probably less important.