Sons of the Forest Parents’ Guide – Is Sons of the Forest ok for children?

In the survival-horror game Sons of the Forest, players are tasked with finding a missing billionaire on a remote island. Things quickly become dire, and players must survive on an island seemingly intent on killing them. From dark nights to cold winters, survival in this title is anything but guaranteed, but many parents are wondering if Sons of the Forest is safe for kids to play.

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Sons of the Forest content advisory

The Sons of the Forest is not reasonable for most children to play. It is a survival-horror title, featuring gruesome wounds, the killing of other humanoids, nightmarish creatures, and even a healthy mix of cannibalism. More mature teenagers will likely be fine with the content, be we’d recommend keeping the title away from impressionable younger children — it will nearly guarantee nightmares as they work through a few grim points, such as exploring caves or stumbling upon beheaded humans.

There is no rating from the ESRB as of yet, as the title is in the Early Access program on Steam, but it’s extremely likely that it will receive the ‘Mature’ rating, much as its predecessor did. The blood of enemies tends to stick to your weapons, players can pick up the heads of defeated foes, and a few Lovecraftian-esque enemies will frighten even some of the more seasoned gamers.

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The content advisory on Steam warns players that Sons of the Forest also has occasional nudity, although its sparse — parents will likely be a bit more concerned with the wanton violence found in the title, rather than an occasional breast. At the end of the day, however, it’s up to the parents to determine the level of violence and horror their kids can handle: we strongly recommend to watch a few YouTube videos of gameplay, and determine this for yourself.