Hello, Gamers!
Today we are reviewing The Forest. This game folks is IMHO The real deal. But, more on that later. Let’s get started, shall we? You’re flying on a commercial airplane and something causes the plane to crash on a remote island in the middle of the ocean. An island with many and I say many trees!
You briefly wake to see your son being taken away by two tribe members of one of the local tribes. You blackout again and then awake later. You’re now in survival mode. You must gather resources, build a shelter of some type and survive being murdered by the different local tribes. Your next major task and the core of your adventure will be to find your son and bring him back alive.
“The residents of the island do not know how to swim or climb. Remember that!”
The local tribes are made up of many kinds of possible friends or enemies. Possible friends in the sense that you can pacify some of them over time but it is not an easy process and is beyond the scope of this review. You also have mutants and ghastly experiments that went wrong. In fact, when I think of The Forest I often think of similarities to, “The Island of Dr. Moreau.” Precisely, a very similar situation happened on this island but I will not reveal the whole story. Most of you already know the story but there are some who do not.
“here is where we can easily call this game the love child of “The descent” and “The Island of Dr. Moreau.”
The nights can be pretty but pitch black dark. This is where the cannibals, mutants, and other tribes show their strength. By day they are easy to run from and fight off but at night? Night time is the playground of the local residents. They know how to maneuver in the dark and in great numbers. Any survivor will do well to have a shelter where they can stay safe inside.
My suggestion for the newbie who doesn’t have a shelter built is to hang out by the water. Have enough sticks and leaves to build a fire then wait for daytime. Oh, and the residents of the island do not know how to swim or climb. Remember that!
It is awesome that you’re now able to survive the night but the worst is yet to come! The tribes will make up for their lack of finding you at night below within the deep rocks of many of the caves on the island. Yes, here is where we can easily call this game the love child of “The descent” and “The Island of Dr. Moreau.”
“I have knocked a couple of them so silly that I watched their tribemate pull them away from the battle.”
Upon your first time in a cave just remember that this is where you will question this game portraying itself as a game. You will hear water dripping, feel drafty cold at times, hear screams from a distance, and feel vulnerable in the dark. If you thought you had the tribes beat at night well think again in the caves! Their playground is at night but the cave system is their masterpiece. You will begin to feel the imposing psychological stress coming at you in many different ways. This is where the game becomes more of a mental thriller and no longer a game. You will stress in the caves. Many of you thrive on this kind of activity but most of you will shudder! This is why you need to research before ever entering any cave on the island!
The natives have the coolest A.I. I have ever had the pleasure to interact. They are not mindless drones trying to kill you. Sometimes they are just curious so they will stand at a distance and watch you. Other times they want to kill you. Sometimes they kill each other! I once killed the partner of a cannibal and watched him mourn over her death. I have knocked a couple of them so silly that I watched their tribemate pull them away from the battle. I sometimes just like to watch them and see what they do when interacting from within their world. They are fascinating period!
You can play the game in single-player or multiplayer. You can go it alone or you can play online with others. So the truth of numbers will pay off better in this game than in others. If you do want to play the game online then check out our server. If you want to play on our server then let us know! We have it locked down, for now, to just giving out invites.
To be such an amazing game and yet have a lackluster server setup going on behind the scenes behooves me. But if you get your server running correctly it’s like putting a shine on an old car in the yard.
At this point, I am going to wrap this review up. There are zillions of reviews about The Forest already. Should you get the game? YES! Get the game when there is a sale.
Oh, and try not to be afraid of the dark! -Six
P.S. Those of you who already own the game need to check out, “Sons of the Forest” which will be the sequel.
