With the full release of Sons of the Forest just weeks away, I wanted to sit down with the Endnight Games folks and ask them a bit about the journey and changes they are excited for fans of the game to see with their huge update coming February 22nd.
Sons of the Forest follows the player character, sent to find a missing billionaire on a remote island; you find yourself in a cannibal-infested hellscape. With an incredibly vast map and hidden secrets strew about, it doesn’t take long to realize this island is hiding some dark secrets.
Dread Central: When we last spoke, the team was just getting ready to release into early access almost a year ago. In that year, Sons of the Forest has changed dramatically; what have been some of the team’s favorite changes?
Endnight: The addition of the findable artifact pieces has been really fun, giving us a way to expand the caves and also giving players a sense of curiosity about what the final completed artifact will do. The weapon plating and the ability to mine the fictional game mineral Solafite was also a fun addition. What we are most excited about, however, is what’s coming in the 1.0 release.
Dread Central: I have to ask how Shawn Ashmore ended up as Timmy. I think he does a fantastic job in his other VO work, and I can’t wait to see what he brings to Sons of the Forest.
Endnight: We really liked his performances in other games, movies, and TV shows. So, the team reached out to see if he would be interested. He did a really great job, and we are all really excited for players to hear Timmy and also for the expanded role he now has in the game.
Dread Central: With said voice acting being done for Timmy, does this mean the story has changed since launch?
Endnight: Along with an expanded role for Timmy, we have a bunch of new cutscenes and some big changes to the ending. Jianyu, who is the game’s villain character, has also been fully voiced, which we feel gives him a lot more character and detail. There are also other changes, including a new backstory for the player character and more that we can’t go into due to spoilers.
Dread Central: The main criticism of Sons of the Forest is the map density. Has the team worked on further populating it?
Endnight: We’ve been working a lot on adding more details and points of interest, along with making the world feel more alive and dynamic. It is a big map, so it has been challenging, but we are excited for the 1.0 release and to see what players think.
Dread Central: Is the current plan to support Sons of the Forest like Endnight did with The Forest?
Endnight: We are going to see what the response is to the 1.0 content and decide what is next and makes the most sense depending on player feedback.
Dread Central: Now that it is hitting 1.0, is there any chance we will hear about console ports or what is next for the team after a well-deserved break?
Endnight: Due to having to delay Sons Of The Forest a few times, we’ve decided to only announce things now when they are close to complete.
Dread Central: From all The Forest fans and Sons of the Forest fans like myself, I not only wanted to say thank you for giving us this world to play around in but also a great story that we can’t wait to see where you all take it next. To this point, is there something you would like to say to all the fans out there?
Endnight: We just want to say thanks to all of you for coming on this journey with us, and we are really excited for everyone to play 1.0.
It sounds like there are a vast amount of changes coming once Sons of the Forest launches its 1.0 version, not only changing and morphing the story but even building out the island a bit more to give players something to do when they group up with friends to try and survive.
Adding a voice-over to Timmy and the main antagonist is going to make Sons of the Forest feel like an entirely new game, and it sounds like Endnight Games is doing a great job listening to player feedback, just like they did with The Forest.
Whether it’s more Sons of the Forest updates or an entirely new project, I am excited to see what Endnight does in the space. Knowing the end of the Early Access story in Sons of the Forest, I am curious to see where they will take us next!
Categorized: Interviews Video Games
