Choose The Forest
Choose The Forest if you want the LAN Co-op, Tracked Controller Support, and VR Supported side of the pairing. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 95.3% positive across 175,474 reviews.
The Forest vs Sons Of The Forest
The Forest and Sons Of The Forest both land in Action, Indie, Adventure on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Action, Indie, Adventure on Steam. The Forest (2018) is 6 years older than Sons Of The Forest (2024). The Forest scores higher on Steam reviews (95.3% positive) than Sons Of The Forest (88.3% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Sons Of The Forest
Choose Sons Of The Forest if it's the newer release (2024) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 113,459 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both The Forest and Sons Of The Forest sit in Action, Indie, and Adventure on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online Co-op, and Co-op, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 The Forest |  Sons Of The Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2024 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, Adventure, Simulation | Action, Indie, Adventure, Simulation |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Unsupported |
| Price | 19.99 USD | 29.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.3% positive (175,474 reviews) | 88.3% positive (113,459 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Online Co-op, LAN Co-op | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | Endnight Games Ltd | Endnight Games Ltd |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- The Forest (2018) is 6 years older than Sons Of The Forest (2024).
- The Forest scores higher on Steam reviews (95.3% positive) than Sons Of The Forest (88.3% positive).
- The Forest is currently ~33% cheaper on Steam than Sons Of The Forest (19.99 USD vs. 29.99 USD).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Steam Deck: The Forest is Deck Playable, Sons Of The Forest is Deck Unsupported.
The Forest vs Sons Of The Forest — FAQ
- Which is better, The Forest or Sons Of The Forest?
- On Steam reviews The Forest scores higher (95.3% positive) than Sons Of The Forest (88.3% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, The Forest is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play The Forest or Sons Of The Forest first?
- If you want chronology, The Forest (2018) came out before Sons Of The Forest (2024). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are The Forest and Sons Of The Forest similar?
- They overlap on Action, Indie, Adventure on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Do both The Forest and Sons Of The Forest have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: The Forest ships Online Co-op, LAN Co-op; Sons Of The Forest ships Online Co-op, Co-op.