Go rather play The Forest.

TLDR:
Pay 30 euros to feel like you should just play The Forest instead. Much less content and ridiculously easy - easy enough to leave you standing around, doing nothing. If you are looking for a similar experience - an unique survival challenge - you will be disappointed. If you are looking for a story game, most of the time you will be walking around.

--DIFFICULTY--
Essentially, you have no reason to build a shelter and rarely feel as if you are in danger. It is borderline IMPOSSIBLE to die of thirst, hunger or other elements commonly present in survival games. Food, clean water and shelter are all abundant. Even if you didn't bother to collect any food items, collecting meat remains easy as animals have next to no survival instinct and they are everywhere. If you do bother building just a couple traps and spikes, deer seem to have a deathwish and run into them themselves. Not that you really need to eat or drink anyway - even if you have both icons completely empty, you do not take damage, at least not immediately.

Shelter:
Aside from food and water, you also have an unlimited supply of shelter - meaning that you can place a tarp anywhere, anytime and sleep. THIS IS ESSENTIAL FOR SAVING - a game such as this definitely needs the ability to save anywhere - BUT the given ability to sleep anywhere makes building shelter almost obsolete.

Enemies:
The enemies, on the other hand, are moderately challenging in single player, but it doesn't actually matter since they almost never try to storm your base. On day 27, not a single mutant aside from babies has attempted to attack my base, and cannibals do so one at a time, max.
THERE IS A HARD MODE, which might solve these issues (yet to try). However, making the normal mode so easy that you find yourself sitting around and doing nothing, since you already have a finished base, food, water and weapons makes the normal mode rather boring.

--LESS CONTENT--
Weapons:
This game has more content in one certain area in comparison to its predecessor: weapons. There are a ton of weapons in this game, weapons that I do enjoy. However, as I previously stated, such an arsenal is left useless when enemies hardly care about you.
Building options are rather limited in Sons of The Forest in comparison to The Forest. This means less traps and less defenses, mainly.

Mutants, animals:
Technically there is about the same amount of mutants in each game, but Sons of The Forest does not have big, powerful ones like The Forest which also kinda defeats the entire point of the game. And its not like they attack your base anyway. When me and my friends played through the game, we were waiting when we could see "the actual" mutants. Those never show up. LATER ON they've added a returning mutant from the original Forest, but despite my best attempts on a day 30 save, I have not encountered it - it can only be seen after completing the game. The game has been completed on said save, but whether or not the game realizes that in the context of spawning this additional mutant I do not know. Withholding this mutant until completing the game is, in my opinion, stupid.
As of now, I also believe the amount of different animals also remains lower than that of The Forest.

The notebook:
One of the biggest downgrades, honestly one of the biggest downgrades in the history of gaming in my opinion, is the notebook. In The Forest, it is full of building options, traps, your own notes, text, instructions, its a fascinating little piece - one that dynamically reacts to your actions and actually provides NOTES. In Sons of The Forest, it only has building instructions and options, that also happen to be much more limited.

Cave systems:
Remember how in The Forest the caves were extremely dark, dangerous and almost impossible to navigate, creating one of the most uniquely unsettling atmospheres in gaming? This game doesn't have that. They've managed to create a much different vibe which I do enjoy, but the lack of heavy-hitting mutants and the extremely linear cave design leave nothing to fear. The caves themselves are not bad per se, but they are way too safe and linear. It is highly possible that Endnight has an ambitious goal of connecting the caves together like in the Forest, which would massively improve them.

About the story (Obviously spoilers):
The story has vastly improved over updates. Originally, you accomplished nothing, except your own survival. Now there are three bosses, only one of which I would consider bad. The final boss fairly good and a pretty equal match with the Forest's final boss in terms of the design and the experience, and also story-related. As the lore is also good in my opinion, the game may have finally reached the point where it could be somewhat recommended for its story, after multiple lore-pickup additions, three bosses and cave improvements.

--IMPROVEMENTS--
During these months, this game has been improved. The following shortcomings/issues have been fixed:
- Log sled has been added
- Bosses have been added, including an actual final boss (prior one was a reskin placeholder final boss)
- Defensive wall gate has been added (originally, you could only build walls)
- A midgame boss has been added
- A clean/dirty water system has been added, although its effects are almost nonexisting
- Added story elements make the game more clear and interesting
- Added location mechanic makes the world much more easy to navigate
- Added compass to the GPS makes the direction your going much clearer
- Added vehicles Knight V and the golf cart make the game less of a walking simulator
- Multiple building options have been added, some unique to this game: the stone system is new and more logical, and the addition of electricity, now with its improvements, is also very nice

Many of these changes were suggestions of the community, all of them are positive, and many of them have fixed and improved things that this review has discussed - the game has hope and potential.

I believe the key component to turning around my own viewpoint, as well as that of my friends and many others, is making the game an actual survival game. One with the caves I so feared, the mutants I had to desperately struggle against. A survival game where I can die of hunger or thirst.

Go rather play The Forest. TLDR: Pay 30 euros to feel like you should just play The Forest instead. Much less content and ridiculously easy - easy enough to leave you standing around, doing nothing. If you are looking for a similar experience - an unique survival challenge - you will be disappointed. If you are looking for a story game, most of the time you will be walking around. --DIFFICULTY-- Essentially, you have no reason to build a shelter and rarely feel as if you are in danger. It is borderline IMPOSSIBLE to die of thirst, hunger or other elements commonly present in survival games. Food, clean water and shelter are all abundant. Even if you didn't bother to collect any food items, collecting meat remains easy as animals have next to no survival instinct and they are everywhere. If you do bother building just a couple traps and spikes, deer seem to have a deathwish and run into them themselves. Not that you really need to eat or drink anyway - even if you have both icons completely empty, you do not take damage, at least not immediately. Shelter: Aside from food and water, you also have an unlimited supply of shelter - meaning that you can place a tarp anywhere, anytime and sleep. THIS IS ESSENTIAL FOR SAVING - a game such as this definitely needs the ability to save anywhere - BUT the given ability to sleep anywhere makes building shelter almost obsolete. Enemies: The enemies, on the other hand, are moderately challenging in single player, but it doesn't actually matter since they almost never try to storm your base. On day 27, not a single mutant aside from babies has attempted to attack my base, and cannibals do so one at a time, max. THERE IS A HARD MODE, which might solve these issues (yet to try). However, making the normal mode so easy that you find yourself sitting around and doing nothing, since you already have a finished base, food, water and weapons makes the normal mode rather boring. --LESS CONTENT-- Weapons: This game has more content in one certain area in comparison to its predecessor: weapons. There are a ton of weapons in this game, weapons that I do enjoy. However, as I previously stated, such an arsenal is left useless when enemies hardly care about you. Building options are rather limited in Sons of The Forest in comparison to The Forest. This means less traps and less defenses, mainly. Mutants, animals: Technically there is about the same amount of mutants in each game, but Sons of The Forest does not have big, powerful ones like The Forest which also kinda defeats the entire point of the game. And its not like they attack your base anyway. When me and my friends played through the game, we were waiting when we could see "the actual" mutants. Those never show up. LATER ON they've added a returning mutant from the original Forest, but despite my best attempts on a day 30 save, I have not encountered it - it can only be seen after completing the game. The game has been completed on said save, but whether or not the game realizes that in the context of spawning this additional mutant I do not know. Withholding this mutant until completing the game is, in my opinion, stupid. As of now, I also believe the amount of different animals also remains lower than that of The Forest. The notebook: One of the biggest downgrades, honestly one of the biggest downgrades in the history of gaming in my opinion, is the notebook. In The Forest, it is full of building options, traps, your own notes, text, instructions, its a fascinating little piece - one that dynamically reacts to your actions and actually provides NOTES. In Sons of The Forest, it only has building instructions and options, that also happen to be much more limited. Cave systems: Remember how in The Forest the caves were extremely dark, dangerous and almost impossible to navigate, creating one of the most uniquely unsettling atmospheres in gaming? This game doesn't have that. They've managed to create a much different vibe which I do enjoy, but the lack of heavy-hitting mutants and the extremely linear cave design leave nothing to fear. The caves themselves are not bad per se, but they are way too safe and linear. It is highly possible that Endnight has an ambitious goal of connecting the caves together like in the Forest, which would massively improve them. About the story (Obviously spoilers): The story has vastly improved over updates. Originally, you accomplished nothing, except your own survival. Now there are three bosses, only one of which I would consider bad. The final boss fairly good and a pretty equal match with the Forest's final boss in terms of the design and the experience, and also story-related. As the lore is also good in my opinion, the game may have finally reached the point where it could be somewhat recommended for its story, after multiple lore-pickup additions, three bosses and cave improvements. --IMPROVEMENTS-- During these months, this game has been improved. The following shortcomings/issues have been fixed: - Log sled has been added - Bosses have been added, including an actual final boss (prior one was a reskin placeholder final boss) - Defensive wall gate has been added (originally, you could only build walls) - A midgame boss has been added - A clean/dirty water system has been added, although its effects are almost nonexisting - Added story elements make the game more clear and interesting - Added location mechanic makes the world much more easy to navigate - Added compass to the GPS makes the direction your going much clearer - Added vehicles Knight V and the golf cart make the game less of a walking simulator - Multiple building options have been added, some unique to this game: the stone system is new and more logical, and the addition of electricity, now with its improvements, is also very nice Many of these changes were suggestions of the community, all of them are positive, and many of them have fixed and improved things that this review has discussed - the game has hope and potential. I believe the key component to turning around my own viewpoint, as well as that of my friends and many others, is making the game an actual survival game. One with the caves I so feared, the mutants I had to desperately struggle against. A survival game where I can die of hunger or thirst.