The Forest cover

The Forest

Critic score4 critics
First release
Apr 30, 2018
Engine
Unity
Genres
Indie, Adventure, Simulator, Puzzle · Open world, Action, Horror, Survival

As the lone survivor of a passenger jet crash, you find yourself in a mysterious forest battling to stay alive against a society of cannibalistic mutants. Build, explore, survive in this terrifying first person survival horror simulator.

Also known as TheForest.exe

Attributes

No Attributes added.

Details

Storyline, release dates, time to beat, age ratings, modes, links, keywords

Storyline
The game begins with the player Eric Leblanc riding in an airplane with his son Timmy Leblanc when the plane mysteriously crashes on a remote island. The player and his son manage to survive the crash, but the player watches helplessly as his son is kidnapped by a man in red war paint. In addition to trying to survive in the wild and fending off hostile wildlife and feral, cannibalistic mutants, the player searches the peninsula for his son. The forest surface leaves clues to help the player puzzle out the story, but the majority of the plot takes place in the caves that riddle the underside of the peninsula. Eventually, the player discovers an abandoned underground lab complex that was studying an artifact capable of bringing the dead back to life, but requires the sacrifice of a child. The player discovers that the kidnapper intended to sacrifice the player's son in order to revive his daughter. However, the player discovers that the daughter had mutated into an aggressive, cannibalistic monster, similar to the other mutants that roam the peninsula. The player confronts the child, who seizes and mutates further before attacking him, leading to the daughter's death. The player then attempts to use the daughter's body to revive his son, but the process is a failure, since a live sacrifice is needed. The player explores the lab further and discovers a second artifact that functions as a type of EMP device capable of bringing down nearby planes, implying that it is the cause of his own plane crash. The player then uses the artifact to cause another plane to crash, intending to find a sacrifice to revive his son. One year later, the player and his son have apparently been rescued, and they are invited onto a talk show to promote a book that the player wrote, chronicling his experiences. However, during the show, the player's son collapses and begins to have a seizure, implying he is undergoing the same mutation that the daughter had.Read more

The game begins with the player Eric Leblanc riding in an airplane with his son Timmy Leblanc when the plane mysteriously crashes on a remote island. The player and his son manage to survive the crash, but the player watches helplessly as his son is kidnapped by a man in red war paint. In addition to trying to survive in the wild and fending off hostile wildlife and feral, cannibalistic mutants, the player searches the peninsula for his son. The forest surface leaves clues to help the player puzzle out the story, but the majority of the plot takes place in the caves that riddle the underside of the peninsula. Eventually, the player discovers an abandoned underground lab complex that was studying an artifact capable of bringing the dead back to life, but requires the sacrifice of a child. The player discovers that the kidnapper intended to sacrifice the player's son in order to revive his daughter. However, the player discovers that the daughter had mutated into an aggressive, cannibalistic monster, similar to the other mutants that roam the peninsula. The player confronts the child, who seizes and mutates further before attacking him, leading to the daughter's death. The player then attempts to use the daughter's body to revive his son, but the process is a failure, since a live sacrifice is needed. The player explores the lab further and discovers a second artifact that functions as a type of EMP device capable of bringing down nearby planes, implying that it is the cause of his own plane crash. The player then uses the artifact to cause another plane to crash, intending to find a sacrifice to revive his son. One year later, the player and his son have apparently been rescued, and they are invited onto a talk show to promote a book that the player wrote, chronicling his experiences. However, during the show, the player's son collapses and begins to have a seizure, implying he is undergoing the same mutation that the daughter had.

Release dates
PC (Microsoft Windows)
Apr 30, 2018
SteamVR
Apr 30, 2018
PlayStation 4
Nov 06, 2018
All 4 release dates
PC (Microsoft Windows)
May 30, 2014
Time to beatIGDB · recorded
Main Story
6h
Main + Extras
17h
Completionist
28h
Age ratings
PEGI 18ESRB M
Game modes
Co-operative, Multiplayer, Single player
Perspective
Virtual Reality, First person
Keywords
female protagonist, forest, plane crash, hidden object, digital distribution
… All 6, vr experience

At a Glance

Critic Score
86
Main Story (IGDB)
6h
Main + Extras (IGDB)
17h
Completionist (IGDB)
28h

Overview

Steam review summary

Steam users rate this Overwhelmingly Positive, 583,463 reviews in all languages, recorded 16 October 2026

Valve's summary of Steam user reviews. Valve counts only reviews from purchases on Steam, not key activations, and leaves out review periods it has marked as off-topic. It isn't part of the CritScore score.

Review summary: SteamSteam data provided via the Steam Web API (opens in a new tab)Not affiliated with Valve →

Multiplayer

  • Online multiplayerIGDB · 6 Nov
  • Online co-opSteam · 16 Oct
  • LAN co-opSteam · 16 Oct
  • Co-op campaignIGDB · 6 Nov
  • Drop-in, drop-out co-opIGDB · 6 Nov

Feature data: SteamFeature data: IGDBSteam data provided via the Steam Web API (opens in a new tab)Not affiliated with Valve →

About storefront and compatibility information

Compatibility, feature and availability information shown on this page is recorded from the storefronts and services named against each fact, on the dates shown. Steam and the Steam logo are trademarks of Valve Corporation; Steam data is provided via the Steam Web API. Other product and service names are trademarks of their respective owners. CritScore is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or certified by Valve Corporation or any other storefront or platform holder, and does not itself test or certify any game.