Game profile
The Forest
After a plane crash, players must build a base and search for a missing son on an island inhabited by mutants. Calm daytime gathering alternates with brutal cave excursions against cannibalistic creatures.
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What kind of game this is
At its core this is Survival / Horror, set in the present day. Visually it is going for realism, and the overall tone stays dark throughout. The world is open, so wandering off and ignoring the main path is part of the deal. It rewards long uninterrupted stretches more than quick check-ins.
It is genuinely demanding, and repeated failure is part of how it is designed. The story matters and gives the mechanics a frame, without taking over. Co-op is supported, so you can bring someone along. It runs on 2 platforms. It sits in the budget bracket.
What stands out
- Horror meets survival
- Cave exploration
- Co op with friends
This fits you if
- you actually want to be scared
- you are after a proper adrenaline rush
- exploring for its own sake is the point for you
- you can sit down for a proper long stretch without interruptions
- you like getting lost and ignoring the main objective for hours
- you want real resistance and are fine with dying a lot
Look elsewhere if
- you want to relax and not be punished for mistakes
- you only ever get short bursts of play time
- you want something light and easy going
- you prefer a stylised look over realism
How long is The Forest?
About 20 hours in total. At three evenings a week and two hours each, you will be busy for roughly 3 weeks, or 10 sessions.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 86 out of 100, which puts it above 66 percent of the 1276 games here and at rank 425 overall. That is mid-table for this database. Not a standout at the top, but solidly rated.
For comparison, Survival averages 80 points across the database, so this one sits 6 points above its own genre. The figure rests on 399 collected ratings.
Released in 2018, so it has 8 years behind it. Usually cheap by now and the rough edges are long fixed.
The facts
- Release year
- 2018
- Genres
- Survival, Horror
- Playtime
- approx. 20 hrs.
- Difficulty
- Demanding, punishing
- Story weight
- Present and relevant
- Play with
- Solo, Co-op
- Setting
- Present day
- Visual style
- Realistic
- Price bracket
- Budget
- Platforms
- PC, PlayStation
- Critic rating
- 86 / 100
Direct comparison
| Genres | Release year | Playtime | Critic rating | Price bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Forest | 2018 | approx. 20 hrs. | 86 | Budget |
| Sons of the Forest | 2024 | approx. 25 hrs. | 83 | Mid price |
| Dying Light: The Beast | 2025 | approx. 25 hrs. | 82 | Mid price |
| Devour | 2021 | approx. 8 hrs. | 74 | Budget |
If you liked this, try these
- 83/100 Sons of the Forest Shared: Survival, Horror, Present day
- 82/100 Dying Light: The Beast Shared: Survival, Horror
- 74/100 Devour Shared: Survival, Horror, Present day, shorter
- 77/100 Dying Light 2: Stay Human Shared: Survival, Horror
- 72/100 Dying Light Shared: Survival, Horror
- n/a Shift at Midnight Shared: Survival, Horror, Present day, longer