The Forest Torrent is a survival game developed and published by Endnight Games. The Forest commences like the inaugural episode of Misplaced, where you crash-land on an airplane in an unexplored setting with no technology. I must confess, for as fleeting a cinematic as it was, the plane crash is a thrill and reminiscent of how Bioshock commenced. Once you come to, you and your comrades have free rein to navigate the island and do everything it takes to endure. You’ll immediately find this is easier said than done, as you encounter your first batch of other humans.
The adversaries in The Forest are tribal warriors who will annihilate you if you’re not cautious. They vary from intelligent survivalists to frenzied savages, to repulsive monstrosities. Other than the axe you are given from the plane, you can also craft spears for swift attacks, bows for adversaries far away, and even set your foes ablaze. Adversaries tend to battle in packs, so it’s crucial that you and your comrades collaborate to dispatch them.
The primary allure of The Forest Torrent is ironically not the regions within the trees but instead, the immense caverns spread across the island. You’ll discover key items in these dim, extensive areas, like flashlights, chainsaws, and climbing tools for craggy rock. Beyond this, you’ll need to manage your hunger, thirst, and body temperature. At times, the best sustenance available is the tribal warrior you just defeated, making cannibalism seem like a normality for survival. Morality is genuinely out the window in this game.
Unlike so many video game adversaries, the cannibals aren’t suicidally aggressive, and that’s what makes them so disconcerting. At times they flee. At times, they’re content to trail you at a safe distance to discern where your base is so they can report back to their allies. Sometimes they’ll charge you to test your mettle but stop short if you don’t yield.
For refuge, you can construct a pleasant shelter with the resources scattered about your surroundings. Felling trees feels great, watching them descend with excellent physics and a subtle creaking sound as they plummet to the ground. Once your dwelling is erected, you can preserve your progress. Unfortunately, I did encounter a universal crash and forfeited 30+ minutes of progress at one point, so an autosave feature upon entering/exiting caves would be welcome instead of the ear-splitting bats.
In the survival game Panorama, I’d still rank The Forest Torrent very high on the list of quality, as the game clearly reaped the rewards of its protracted development time and player input. It’s always fantastic to witness a game emerge from Early Access and garner Overwhelmingly Positive reviews on Steam. If you have a group to play with, it’s easy to endorse The Forest at this juncture, even several years after its initial popularity, as it’s been a delight for me so far!
The Forest PC/System Requirements
- OS: Windows 7
- Processor: Intel Dual-Core 2.4 GHz
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT
- DirectX: Version 9.0
- Storage: 5 GB available space
