Between the new build of Project Zomboid, the just-announced sequel to The Long Dark, and the continued success of Rust, Valheim, and State of Decay, the survival genre is arguably stronger than ever right now. But The forest is still The forest. Ten years after it first appeared in full on PC, Endnight’s groundbreaking construction-and-brutality sim is suddenly more popular on Steam than ever before, and while its current resurgence can be explained by a seriously generous discount, the decade-long Its popularity is the result of something much more special: there is one thing that keeps The Forest at the top.
More than all survival game rivals, The forest is scary – what’s impressive about Endnight’s debut and most enduring work is how it feels both choreographed and written, but also organic and completely open-ended. Take, for example, the monsters that roam the forested island of the same name. Wherever you build your camp, they are designed to track, find and attack you. They come at night, and the sounds they make – those high-pitched, almost animalistic cries – are guaranteed to increase your heart rate. That’s the design half. But even if you don’t know it on the first playthrough, how you respond to the predatory inhabitants of The Forest is entirely up to you.
They will charge you a fine. They will try to intimidate you. They may even hit you a few times. But if you stay calm and don’t kill any of them, they’re less likely to see you as a threat, and they won’t escalate their attacks. They may show up again the next night, but they won’t take you with them. reinforcements, and they are less likely to try to kill you on the spot. On the contrary, if you brutalize them at first contact and kill a few of them, they will come back with better weapons and more people. Eventually they’ll release the dreaded ‘Armsy’.
That’s what makes The Forest so good. Endnight’s design keeps the pace, pressure and terror high, but at the same time gives you the space and freedom to find your own way. It is the beautiful middle ground between a tightly written story game and a DIY store sandbox game. No wonder that after almost 500,000 user reviews, The Forest still holds the prestigious and exclusive ‘overwhelmingly positive’ rating on Steam. But now it has just earned a new honor.
As of today, Monday, December 23, The Forest has just reached a new all-time concurrent player record: 97,964. In terms of 24-hour peak, that puts The Forest neatly above rivals like Project Zomboid, DayZ, Valheim and even its own sequel, Sons of the Forest. In terms of lifetime records, The Forest still comfortably surpasses both Zomboid and DayZ, as well as the original Dying Light. The recent increase is due to a huge discount. Right now, until Thursday, January 2, you can get The Forest on Steam for $1.99 / £1.54. All you have to do is click here.
Otherwise, try one of the others best horror gamesor maybe the best co-op games available today.
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