Some of the time, it’s even for the right reasons.

Perhaps I’d spotted a group of cannibals adopting some startlingly intelligent behaviour.

Or maybe one of my NPC companions had just done something particularly endearing in front of me.

Soldiers wander towards a cave in the woods in Sons of the Forest.

The island has an incredible sense of scale, and there’s barely any hint of design whatsoever.

It feels like a real place.

Why don’t more games do that?

Cover image for YouTube video

I felt like I was there.

I’d have happily wandered about the forest for hours, taking in all the sights and sounds.

But this is Sons Of The Forest.

A mutant cannibal enemy in Sons Of The Forest crouches down on an iced over lake, watching the player approach with an axe.

And so the tranquility and beauty is carefully balanced out by an ever-present sense of dread and danger.

They’d climb trees at my approach, and call to one another.

When the violence inevitably began, some mutants grieved over their slain fellows.

The player in Sons Of The Forest writes a note to Kelvin on their notepad, asking them to fetch logs.

Others ran away, half-dead, before returning the next day with reinforcements.

It’s not just enemies that have complex behaviours.

Then there’s Virginia, a timid six-limbed woman who you might see cantering about nearby early on.

Virginia, an NPC companion in Sons Of The Forest, sits down next to a river and looks up at the player camera.

The devs at Endnight have described her as more of a stray cat to offset Kelvin’s loyal dogliness.

And dual-wielding shotguns and pistols for the ultimate defence against incoming mutant raids.

We’re starting to dip into the bad parts of Sons Of The Forest now.

The player in Sons Of The Forest harvests a piece of creepy armor from a dead mutant in a cannibals' camp.

I don’t much care for them.

It’s quite dizzying at times.

At times it felt like drawing a big, uninspiring game of join the dots across the map.

The player navigates a dark cave in Sons Of The Forest with their flashlight.

Not yet, anyway.

The further I got from spawn, the more rushed everything felt.

But even in multiplayer, sooner or later you’ll fall into the trap.

The player in Sons Of The Forest checks their GPS while running through the forest.

You’ll start asking yourself, “okay, what does thegamewant me to do next?

Maybe I’d feel a little different if the Early Access had been announced differently.

Not just like, but love.

The player in Sons Of The Forest aims their shotgun at a large mutant next to their riverside house.

The forest itself is gorgeous, sometimes jaw-droppingly so.

In a way this game is to the wilderness whatCyberpunk 2077was to the metropolis.