Mage Pages: Sons of the Forest 5/29/2023

Sons of the Forest is a survival video game developed by Endnight Games and published by Newnight. It is the sequel to the 2018 video game The Forest, (do not confuse with Sons of the Forest) and was released via early access on February 23, 2023, for Microsoft Windows on Steam.

Gameplay

Similarly to The Forest, Sons of the Forest puts players in control of a protagonist stranded on an island inhabited by cannibals. Players can build weapons and buildings to aid in their survival. New to the game are friendly NPCs. One is a companion named Kelvin, who is deaf and unable to speak. Players can give Kelvin written commands on a piece of paper to help with simple tasks such as collecting crafting resources or setting up fires. Players will also encounter Virginia, a three-legged, three-armed woman who can be equipped with weapons to aid in combat situations. The map in this game is four times bigger than that of its predecessor. The game supports up to eight-player cooperative multiplayer, though players can also opt to play the game solo. Depending on their actions, players can receive different endings.

Synopsis

Many years after the events at Site 1, a team of private military contractors hired by PuffCorp is dispatched to an island called "Site 2" to search for Edward Puffton (PuffCorp's founder and CEO), his wife Barbara, and his 20 years old daughter Virginia, who have gone missing for months now. The team's helicopters are shot down by unknown assailants. One of the contractors survives their helicopter crash but is knocked out by a man wearing a silver coat. The Contractor then awakes with another surviving teammate named Kelvin who was rendered deaf in the crash.

Working together, the Contractor and Kelvin set up camp and obtain resources to survive the wilderness as well as attacks from mutant cannibals. As the Contractor begins to explore the island, they find various underground bunkers and facilities built by PuffCorp and learns more about the true nature of Site 2 and PuffCorp's intentions for it. Like Site 1, Site 2 possesses ancient artifacts of unknown power, as well as a previously undiscovered golden ore. PuffCorp acquired the island under the guise of turning it into a resort, and are in secret competition with the owners of Site 1, Sahara Therapeutics, over control of an artifact known as the "Cube". The Contractor also finds surveillance footage showing Edward and PuffCorp executives suddenly mutating into cannibals during a dinner party, meaning the cannibals were Site 2's previous inhabitants.

The Contractor also encounters Virginia, who became a mutant though somehow managed to retain her mind and sanity. Searching another bunker, the Contractor also comes across Tim and Eric LeBlanc, the son and father from The Forest, who were also hired by PuffCorp to search for the Pufftons. However, the Contractor is separated from them when the man with the silver coat accosts the LeBlancs and the Contractor is knocked unconscious by a mutant. The Contractor then continues to explore the PuffCorp facilities, eventually discovering research notes on the Cube referencing its potential to travel between alternate dimensions. The Contractor also learns that the Cube will "activate" every 8 lunar cycles, and the only safe haven is inside the Cube itself. The Mercenary deduces that the Cube's activation was what caused the mass mutations on the island, and the next activation is due soon.

Along the way to the Cube, they encounter a different type of highly aggressive mutant that shows an aversion to crucifixes. The Contractor eventually reaches the Cube along with Tim and they both make it inside the Cube before it closes, locking the man with the silver coat outside. When the Cube activates, Tim has a seizure and briefly splits into multiple versions of himself before the Cube shows them a vision of a futuristic, alien city. The Cube then deactivates and reopens, showing the man with the silver coat has mutated. The Contractor and Tim then return to the surface where Eric is waiting in a helicopter, and 2 endings are possible:

If the player decides to go retrieve their survival pack or simply waits, the Contractor decides to stay behind on the island, and the LeBlancs leave without them.

If the player decides to board the helicopter, the Contractor leaves the island with the LeBlancs. If Kelvin and Virginia survived and accompanied the Contractor to the Cube, they will leave on the helicopter as well.

- Wikipedia (that is the final goal of the game is to escape the island)