Sons of the Forest

February is jam-packed with releases. However, it also marks the launch of Endnight Games’ Sons of the Forest. The sequel to the hit 2018 survival crafting title will be available to PC players on February 22nd, almost exactly one year after it launched into early access.

Version 1.0 will expand on a key character’s role while having Shawn Ashmore of Quantum Break fame playing them, in addition to more features and polish. But how has the game changed since its early access release? Whether you checked out after launch or waited to see everything the game offers, here are some of the most noteworthy changes.

New Commands and Emotes for Kelvin and Virginia

Kelvin, your companion, has new commands since the most recent patch. He can repair structures, sharpen the walls or maintain the base (which means completing structures in progress, repairing any damage, and filling any holders). He and Virginia can swim in deep water, and they both receive new emotes like nodding, shaking their heads, happy, confused, saying no or feeling sad. Virginia will also laugh if Kelvin is hit with a rock when at full health, which is on brand but concerning all the same.

New Cannibal Types and Bosses

It wouldn’t be a traipse through a dangerous island without different types of Cannibals to terrify you at every turn. There’s Elise, who has weapons on her hands; Igor, who defies description and will barrel towards you with reckless abandon; Eddy, a spear thrower; Greg, in charge of placing effigies; and more. Cannibal behavior has also seen extensive tweaks, from looking at each other when they’re not fighting to being less fearful in larger groups (and more so when solo). Of course, there are also some new bosses that you’ll encounter. No spoilers, but some truly terrifying threats await above and below ground, so be prepared.

New Structures

Survival is only one part of Sons of the Forest – another is the building. To that end, many new items and structures were added, from corner ramps, stone floors and large log holders to electric fences, window shutters, stone fireplaces, solar panels, a working armor rack and more. Even the Cannibal villages received new additions, from lookout towers to double-story huts, further adding to their macabre surroundings.

Building Improvements

Building in Sons of the Forest also saw multiple improvements and quality of life changes. If a structure had other supports, it wouldn’t get destroyed and instead rely on those, making building less punishing. Furthermore, players could implement more varied slopes and saw improved construction processing costs if joining multiplayer games with several structures.

New and Extended Locations

As usually happens in early access, new locations are added to the world while existing places are extended or further fleshed out. Sons of the Forest received several new additions, from a location with beached sailboats to new caves and extensions. It even revamped the Eastern side of the map with more rope bridges, Cannibal villages, streams and whatnot to make it feel more alive.

More Ponds and Lakes, Tree Regrowth

If the additional and extended locations weren’t enough, Endnight Games added dozens of new lakes and ponds to the world map. If you’re ever concerned about fishing or water sources (especially since dirty and clean water is a thing), there should be plenty of options. It also added tree regrowth, with a 10 percent chance to regrow as the player sleeps (though it can be turned off).

Cave System

The caves are another major aspect of the world, housing some of the most terrifying creatures. It received some new additions, including more wakeup locations in the hell cave, but there have also been some extensions to existing caves and reworks (with some surprises in store). Even if you conquered them when early access first went live, the current cave systems are a different beast and could see more changes in version 1.0.

New Visual Details

The island also saw additional polish and new details with its updates. Cannibal villages would have more gorey details and props, and you can spot its residents engaged in tests of strength. Dead fish can be stolen by eagles. Sprinklers will wash the blood of players and their weapons. Several kinds of hanging gore are out there in the wild to be spotted (willingly or otherwise). Various optimizations to the level of detail, animations and more have also been done to improve the overall presentation.

AMD FSR 2.0 and Ultra Performance for DLSS

Though its current requirements aren’t hefty, Endnight Games added support for AMD FSR 2.0 and Nvidia DLSS’s Ultra Performance setting in the last major patch. It hasn’t said anything about updated requirements with version 1.0, but it’s still nice to have the option.

Large Battery and Electrical Changes

Electricity has seen some overhauls and changes, like the large battery for powering things at night. Batteries are also limited in the number of objects which can be hooked up to them and can overload if you’re not careful. Thankfully, solar panels no longer need support structures with free placement available.

Hard Survival

For those who craved a challenge, there’s Hard survival. It lowers the spawn rate of fish and animals, on top of food spawning in crates. The penalty for raw and rotten meat was increased, and the cold would affect health and stamina regen speeds (both for you and your enemies). A later patch also made it so spring traps could trigger for other players, further adding to the madness and potential trolling.

More Challenging Survival Mechanics

On top of a tougher difficulty, the base game has also become more challenging. The chance of meds in crates is reduced; cooking buffs would last for four hours instead of eight hours; comfort rating affected the amount of rest gained (with outdoor sleeping providing less than indoors); and large demons could sometimes appear after the end game above ground. It’s all meant to keep you on your toes while considering the necessities of survival.

Dedicated Servers

It wouldn’t be a survival crafting title with multiplayer without dedicated servers. You need to install it separately and configure settings, with options for modifying enemy damage, season length, cheats, etc. A later update improved the functionality of dedicated servers, from refreshing those recently played first to saving your data immediately before shutdown.

Golf Carts, Hang Gliders and More

As fun as it is to wander around the massive island on foot, sometimes you want to get to where you’re going at a faster pace. In its first-ever major patch, Sons of the Forest received a hang glider, providing an aerial option for players. It followed this up with the next most logical option – the Knight V, an electric unicycle. Then players could drive golf carts (capable of seating up to four), and even the log sled returned.

Guitar Playing

Did you see the Guitar Free Play mode in The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered and scoff while secretly wishing for the same? If so, rejoice, because you can now play the guitar in-game. Best of all, it received several bug fixes, including one that causes the audio to loop.