In their latest bid to refine Sons of the Forest, the sequel to the well-received indie title, The Forest, Endnight Games have rolled out Patch 05. This new update ushers in a myriad of enhancements, tweaks and bug fixes. The thriving survival horror genre sees the debut of eagerly awaited titles such as Dead Island 2 and the Resident Evil 4 remake, alongside upcoming instalments in the Outlast and Layers of Fear franchises.
The Survival Horror Genre: A Thriving Landscape
Sons of the Forest, which hit early access a few moons ago, has already seen a slew of considerable updates, underscoring the developer’s commitment to perfecting the game before the final release. The game’s unique blend of horror and cooperative gameplay mechanics sparked significant interest at launch, shifting two million units within the first 24 hours. While the initial excitement has somewhat waned, the sequel retains a loyal fanbase.
Endnight Games continues to nurture Sons of the Forest, and Patch 05 is no exception, introducing a wealth of improvements to the game. As divulged in a recent post on the game’s Steam page, this significant update brings a gamut of changes. Among these are the addition of 79 new ponds and 34 lakes, the ability for players to strum a guitar, a range of new clothing options, an updated GPS map featuring the fresh locations, and much more. On top of these enhancements, the patch also squashes a host of bugs, most notably eliminating players’ ability to consume lava, and tweaks Kelvin to render him a more useful character.
Kelvin, the standout NPC in Sons of the Forest, serves as both a helper, executing a range of commands such as collecting wood, and a companion for lone players. While Kelvin isn’t without flaws, particularly given the game’s current early access status, ongoing improvements are being made. Patch 05 expands his repertoire, enabling him to reset traps and stock log sheds.
As previously touched upon, Endnight’s game was met with a flurry of anticipation both prior to and following its release, though this buzz quickly subsided. However, there was a time when Sons of the Forest clinched the top spot on Steam’s most wishlisted games, even outpacing Starfield. A remarkable achievement indeed for a small indie studio trying their luck.
Patch Notes For Sons of The Forest Update 05
General Fixes
| Details |
|---|
| Can no longer drink lava |
| Fixed under lava visuals |
| Fixed snow and wetness occlusion volumes used in specific world locations not initializing properly |
| Fixed a visual arm pop on player that appeared sometimes when landing from a fall or jump |
| Fixed Twins not always turning towards player before taunting |
| Fixed fingers stuck in standing idle after burning death |
| Fixed projectile impact FX for flesh and hard surfaces not replicating to other players in multiplayer |
| Fixed player sometimes being able to interact with other triggers when notepad was open, which could get player into stuck state |
| Fixed cannibals not staying snapped to tree edge while shimmying around the tree |
| Fixed bug where cannibals could take dismember damage while blocking |
| Fixed muddy cannibal getting angry at player if hit by a rock thrown by another muddy |
| Fixed some cases of cannibals getting blocked by collision at or above head |
Gameplay Features
| Details |
|---|
| Buildable basic and advanced log sled |
| Tree regrowth (setting is on by default) with a 10% chance to randomly regrow when you sleep |
| Findable cooking pots and new advanced cooking system |
| Can now add tarps to log structures |
| 2 new found footage clips added |
| Beached sail boats location added |
| 79 new ponds and 34 new lakes added to map |
| You can now play the guitar |
| Added Timmy mutated arm to demon battle scene |
| New wearable clothing item added |
| New Kelvin commands added to reset traps, fill log sleds and fill drying racks with fish |
Audio
| Details |
|---|
| Improved player audio for other players in multiplayer |
| Added some Timmy voice acting to Gold Room cutscene |
| Made chainsaw transition to cutting sound faster |
| Reduced fade time on intro helicopter crash music |
| Made first look guitar sting 3d |
| Added beeps to opening helicopter crash |
| Improved demon boss audio |
| Set some various small objects in bunkers/morgue to have surfaces tagged for impact sounds and get melee impact physics |
| Added ragdoll impact sounds to deer and baby |
Improvements
| Details |
|---|
| Days Survived now shows the correct readout if the player died during the final interactive cutscene by jumping into the propeller blades |
| Cannibals in villages will now sometimes engage in a test of strength fight with another cannibal |
| Cannibal fear is now affected by group size, single cannibals will have more fear, large cannibal groups will have less |
| Shotgun rail is now on side of gun instead of top to avoid blocking vision |
| Turtles will now only lay eggs on sand |
| Muddies will sometimes get bored with the player and run away if not angry |
| Added Timmy mutant arm visuals to demon boss cutscene |
| Lowered priority for female cannibals stealing logs |
| Eagles may now steal dead fish |
| Throwing dead bodies on spring traps now sends them flying into air |
| Moldy food and dead flowers added to banquet hall |