The Forest sequel delayed until October

Sons of the Forest
(Image credit: Endnight)

Announced back in 2019, Sons of the Forest is a sequel to the terrifying open world survival game The Forest, which is still my pick for the grossest and most discomforting tree punching sim out there. Studio Endnight Games still hasn't released many details on the sequel, though based on early gameplay footage it's looking like a more narrative-driven affair than its predecessor, which itself was a more narrative-driven affair than most survival games.

Exactly what Sons of the Forest will be may be unknown, but we do know the game has been delayed. Initially set for a May 2022 release, it'll now hit Steam some time in October 2022.

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"Over these past few weeks, we have realized that our May 2022 release date for Sons Of The Forest was overly ambitious," Endnight Games tweeted. "To be able to deliver our vision of the next step in survival games, we’ve decided to move our release date to October 2022."

Accompanying the announcement is an extremely brief five second video. It shows a seemingly half-undead figure (gross), a fish getting a mouthful bitten out of it in first-person (gross), a construction animation (fancy) and a shooting target being unfolded and placed (target practice confirmed!). The backdrops, such as the rushing stream and dense forest, definitely look prettier and denser than in the ageing 2018 predecessor. 

Jon noted the much fancier building animations back when the gameplay trailer dropped, as well as a scary "three-legged, three-armed ballerina lady" which sounds exactly like the kind of weird monstrosity the first game traded in. Prepare to be terrified, and in dire need of supplies, when Son of the Forest releases in October.

Shaun Prescott

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.