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a list of all the games like sons of the forest - The Long Dark

All Games Like Sons of the Forest

Has Sons of the Forest left you with a craving for even more survival games? We donā€™t blame you ā€” even in Steam Early Access itā€™s pretty excellent. But there are a few games that pitch you into a hostile environment and task you with crafting your own means of survival. Here, then, are all the appetizing games like Sons of the Forest that you may want to try.

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A List of Survival Games Like Sons of the Forest to Keep You Busy

Most of these games have an ending of sorts, but like Sons of the Forest, thereā€™s no need to actually pursue the story, certainly not to its conclusion. You can dive in and craft, build, and just mess around as you see fit.

The Forest (PC, PlayStation)

Weā€™ll start with the obvious. The Forest may not be as pretty as its sequel, but itā€™s still a real blast. Plus, there are plenty of features in the game that arenā€™t yet in Sons of the Forest. Want to build stone walls to keep cannibals out? Or a log sled to transport corpsā€” er, logs around? Go right ahead.

Subnautica (PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch)

Subnauticaā€™s enemies wonā€™t follow you home, but just knowing theyā€™re out there, swimming around this ocean playground, is enough. Set on an alien planet, the game has some absolutely gorgeous environments to explore. But that, in turn, requires that you gather the resources and vehicles to let you explore the depths. And the deeper you go, the more previously unseen lifeforms youā€™re going to run into.

a list of all the games like sons of the forest - subnautica

The Long Dark (PC, Mac, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch)

Forget cannibals and mutants ā€” in The Long Dark, the cold is your mortal enemy. Yes, winter can be unpleasant in Sons of the Forest, but here it never ends. Sporting both a sandbox and story mode, The Long Dark can be downright brutal. Unlike The Forest and Subnautica, you wonā€™t be doing much base-building. Rather, youā€™ll be trying to find a place where you wonā€™t freeze to death, then making that your temporary home. Just donā€™t try to pet the wolves.

V Rising (PC)

A survival game where you play a vampire? What could vampires have to worry about, other than sunlight? Rather a lot as it turns out ā€” V Rising features enemies that are capable of doing you some serious damage. But these trials are absolutely worth it, as you watch your castle ā€” and influence ā€” grow till youā€™re the baddest bloodsucker in the roost.

Green Hell (PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch)

Green Hell strands you in the jungle with natives who arenā€™t too happy to see you there. But youā€™ll spend more time worrying about diseases than you will about them.You wonā€™t want to go to sleep for fear of what affliction youā€™ll wake up with. Sleeping on the forest floor? You have worms in the wrist to look forward to. Yes, thereā€™s base-building, but youā€™ll spend just as much time wrestling with the jungleā€™s hazards.

a list of all the games like sons of the forest - green hell

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey (PC, Xbox, PlayStation)

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey has all the survival monkey business you could want, literally. It sees you shepherding a hominid clan through eight million years of evolution. Survival is the only thing that matters. Think tigers are scary? Youā€™ll have to avoid being chomped to death by a sabre-toothed cat. Forget firearms, just crafting something as simple as a spear feels like a huge win.

Stranded Deep (PC, Mac, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch)

Like Sons of the Forest, Stranded Deep is one of those games that dumps you on an island. But in this case, itā€™s just part of a massive archipelago. And since your island doesnā€™t have the resources to keep you fed, youā€™ll have to brave the perilous trip across the water. Thereā€™s plenty of base-building fun, but what youā€™ll remember is the time a shark bumped your boat from below and you held your breath, hoping it wouldnā€™t flip.

Raft (PC)

Raft is another ocean-going survival game, but instead of setting up camp on an island, the raft is your home. Youā€™re regularly on the move, fending off attacks from sharks and ensuring you donā€™t starve before the sharks get you. Throw in a few other players and youā€™ve got a recipe for daft sea-based shenanigans.

a list of all the games like sons of the forest - raft pc game

Ark: Survival Evolved (PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch)

Ark: Survival Evolved is a survival game with dinosaurs and other weird and wonderful creatures. Its resource-gathering isnā€™t exactly enthralling, but the setting and story go a long way. After all, this is a game where you can ride a Tyrannosaurus rex. If youā€™ve had an interest in dinosaurs, now or as a child, itā€™ll give you a big grin.

Valheim (PC, Xbox)

Valheim sees your deceased Viking warrior roaming a Norse purgatory in an effort to prove theyā€™re worthy of going to Valhalla. Thereā€™s plenty of land-based crafting and combat, but youā€™ll also get to roam the seas, tackling sea serpents and so on. And with over a thousand mods, you can tweak the game to your own tastes.

So then, Sons of the Forest could be just the start of your survival adventures with all the other games like it available to you. Be warned, any of these could absolutely consume your free time.


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Chris McMullen
Chris McMullen is a freelance contributor at The Escapist and has been with the site since 2020. He returned to writing about games following several career changes, with his most recent stint lasting five-plus years. He hopes that, through his writing work, he settles the karmic debt he incurred by persuading his parents to buy a Mega CD. Outside of The Escapist, Chris covers news and more for GameSpew. He's also been published at such sites as VG247, Space, and more. His tastes run to horror, the post-apocalyptic, and beyond, though he'll tackle most things that aren't exclusively sports-based. At Escapist, he's covered such games as Infinite Craft, Lies of P, Starfield, and numerous other major titles.