After staring at a motionless screen, screeching bats fill the empty space giving a nice jumpscare to anyone who hasn’t played the game before. There is no scary monster that needs to be immediately fought though; instead, you are directed to the main menu. This starting page gives you options for multiplayer and solo modes.  

“The Forest” offers a lot of background story. It could be easily turned into a novel. Playing as Eric, the main character, your story begins on a normal passenger plane. Unfortunately, the plane crashes on a very … interesting island. Eric – and potentially other players – have to navigate the island to survive. “The Forest” gives you the ability to do many realistic actions such as cutting down trees, making fires, crafting, and constructing shelters. “The Forest” is unique in that the game requires players to cooperate in order to accomplish tasks. Unlike most games, all the players are forced to stick together because of the crazy things that inhabit the island. The game has high quality graphics and textures that come at a very high cost.

The most important part of “The Forest” is the storyline. Eric wakes up from the plane crash dazed, confused, very hungry, and armed only with an ax he finds nearby. There are items scattered around the plane such as meds, soda, and food. At this point, Eric’s only goal is to find help and get off the island, unless the player has other plans. There are many weird artifacts lying around and questions to ask about the situation. Why are there only a couple other bodies lying around? Where is everyone else? Where is the other half of the plane? As the days pass and the story progresses, the player will start to learn that they are not the only one on the island. Mutants are roaming around, ready to kill any intruders. The forest, however, isn’t their real home – they live in deep, underground caves. There are tons of different cave systems with unique items for the player to find – such as flashlights, chainsaws, or even a katana. The more the player runs around in the forest and in underground caves, the more information they uncover abut the mutants. This mysterious storyline only adds to the excitement. Along with this fantastic storyline comes some of the most outstanding gameplay I have played and seen.

Even though “The Forest” has a very deep and developed storyline, it still needs to be fun to play. The player is completely in charge – they can even make a treehouse overlooking the ocean. The creators made the game more realistic by adding endless options of things to do or make. There is also an option to craft or make any type of weapon or tool using the forest’s resources. The developers put in the right amount of items/buildings to craft so that there are many options, but not so many that it is confusing. 

Besides the endless creating, encountering a mutant will happen sooner or later. During the night, these mutants climb to the top of trees and shriek so piercingly loud that it sends a shiver down the player’s spine. This creepy vibe will get anyone’s heart pounding in seconds. When the player does encounter a mutant, it is not that hard to evade or kill it. The only bad part is that these mutants get smarter as the days pass. They will start traveling in packs or even carry their own weapons. The player will have to craft better weapons and build a fortified base to stay alive.

To have a more fun with the game, the player will need to gather some friends. The player is able to team up with seven other friends or players to figure a way off this island. Not working as a team will cause players to die. Power in numbers plays a very big role in this game both for the players and the mutants. When everyone works on the same project or goes into the same cave, the players are almost unstoppable. Being able to play with friends is definitely one of my favorite parts of the game. 

Although the game is only about four gigabytes, many players assume that the graphics will not be up to their standards. They are very wrong. “The Forest” has some of the most outstanding graphics and textures I have ever seen in a video game. Having it playable on PC means that it will bend to however the player wants the game to look. As long as the hardware this game is running on has enough power, the game can look more real, sharp, and colorful than any movie or console game that exists. The only drawback to these high quality graphics is the cost. To play in 4K (ultra high definition), it will cost a minimum of $2,000 for the appropriate hardware. It’s sad that PCs cost so much money because it turns a ton of people away from experiencing these more demanding, high quality games. Spending a fortune isn’t the only option, luckily. To play “The Forest” in a smooth 1080p (high definition), it will only cost up to $1,000 with the right hardware. A $700 laptop will allow the game to run, but not at the high quality every gamer dreams of. When played at these higher settings, the player will see life-like features such as grass shimmering against the sun, an ocean so real it feels like they are actually there, and perfectly angled, detailed shadows – just to name a few.

“The Forest” is not yet a very well known game, but with the player mode options, awesome storyline, and excellent graphic, it will be at the top of the charts once it is available on all platforms. This is one of the best free, world first person shooter games I have played. I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes video games. I have played my fair share of “The Forest,” and I’m learning the secrets of game.