You’re sitting in a plane. Suddenly, the metal screams, the cabin decompressess, and you’re watching your son get carried away by a guy covered in red paint. It’s a rough start. But honestly, that’s the easiest part of The Forest on PS4. Once you step out of that wreckage, you realize you aren't just playing a survival game; you're playing a psychological experiment where the lab rats have clubs made of human teeth.
Endnight Games didn’t just port a PC title to the PlayStation; they dropped a nightmare into our living rooms. It’s been years since the 2018 release, yet the game still feels more visceral than half the AAA survival horror titles coming out today. Why? Because it doesn’t treat you like an idiot. There are no quest markers. No glowing trails. Just a book of blueprints and the sound of something giggling in the bushes.
The AI That Actually Watches You
Most games have "enemies." The Forest on PS4 has inhabitants. This is the biggest thing people get wrong when they start a new save—they think the cannibals are just zombies with better skin care. They aren't. If you see a scout watching you from a ridge, and you immediately run over and bash his head in, you’ve just told his entire family that you’re a threat.
The AI is genuinely creepy. Sometimes they’ll just stand there. They’ll tilt their heads, circle your camp, and scream to see how you react. If you build a massive wall, they’ll get curious. If you hold your ground without attacking, they might actually back off for a bit. It’s a weird, tense dance of aggression and observation that makes every playthrough feel slightly different. You start to wonder if you’re the villain, especially when you’re wearing a suit of armor made out of their bones.
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Survival is More Than Just Eating Blueberries
Let’s talk about the actual "game" part. You have to manage hunger, thirst, and energy, but the PS4 version handles the UI surprisingly well with the DualShock 4. Navigating the inventory—which is basically a giant tarp on the ground—feels tactile. It’s messy. It’s chaotic. It’s exactly how a guy who just survived a plane crash would organize his stuff.
You’re going to spend a lot of time chopping trees. Like, a lot. Building a base is essential, but where you build it changes everything. If you set up shop on a patrol path, you’re dead. If you build on an island, you’re safe from the cannibals (who can't swim), but you’ll spend your life ferrying logs across the water like a very stressed lumberjack.
- The Yacht: A classic safe spot. It has a bed and spawns supplies, plus it’s a great landmark.
- The Fertile Lands: Over on the eastern side of the map. Fewer patrols, lots of animals. It’s basically the "easy mode" of base building.
- The Sinkhole: Don't go there. Well, do go there, but only when you’re ready to see things that will make you want to uninstall the game.
The building system is freeform. You can make a tiny treehouse or a sprawling fortress that would make a medieval king jealous. Just remember that the bigger you build, the more attention you attract.
The Performance on PlayStation 4
Look, we have to be real here. The PS4 isn’t a supercomputer. When The Forest first launched on the console, it had some jitters. Today, on a base PS4, it runs okay, but you’ll see the frame rate dip when you have thirty fires burning and a dozen mutants charging your gate. If you’re playing on a PS5 via backward compatibility, the experience is much smoother, though it doesn't have a dedicated "Next Gen" patch.
The lighting is where the game shines—or doesn't, depending on how scared you are. Nighttime in this game is dark. Not "video game dark" where everything is just tinted blue. I mean "I can't see my own hand" dark. When you’re deep in a cave system and your lighter flickers out, the silence is deafening. The sound design is top-tier; the rustle of leaves or a distant snap of a twig will make you spin around 180 degrees every single time.
Why the Multiplayer Changes the Vibe
Playing The Forest on PS4 alone is a horror game. Playing it with three friends is a chaotic comedy-horror where someone inevitably falls off a cliff or accidentally blows up the defensive walls with a stray stick of dynamite.
The co-op is where the game found its second life. There’s something uniquely bonding about huddling around a fire, drying out small meat while your buddy keeps watch with a flare gun. It eases the tension, sure, but it also allows for massive construction projects. You haven't lived until you've built a multi-story gazebo in the middle of a cannibal-infested woods just because you could.
The Cave Systems Are the Real Star
If you stay on the surface, you’re only playing half the game. The story—and the best gear—is underground. The Modern Axe, the Katana, the Chainsaw; they’re all hidden in the dark.
The caves are claustrophobic. They’re damp. They’re filled with things that have too many limbs. Exploring them is a requirement to find Timmy, but it’s also where the environmental storytelling kicks in. You find drawings, tapes, and discarded items that piece together what happened on this island before you arrived. It’s subtle. It doesn't use 20-minute cutscenes to explain the lore. You just find a photo and go, "Oh... that’s not good."
Common Mistakes New Players Make
- Burning everything: If you burn bodies, you get bones for armor. But the smoke attracts attention. It’s a trade-off.
- Ignoring Sanity: Your character has a sanity meter. It doesn't do much for gameplay mechanics other than unlocking specific building structures (like effigies), but it's a cool narrative touch. Eating people lowers it. Go figure.
- Staying in one place too long: The longer you stay in one spot, the more the local population gets annoyed. Have a backup camp.
- Not using the Spear: The upgraded spear is arguably the best weapon in the game. It’s fast, has reach, and you can throw it at deer.
Actionable Insights for Your First 24 Hours
To actually survive the first few days without getting dragged into a cave, follow this loose logic. First, grab everything from the plane. Everything. Eat the food, take the booze, grab the pills. Don't linger there too long, though; the crash site is a magnet for patrols.
Head toward water. Find a spot with a clear view of your surroundings. Craft a spear immediately (two sticks). It’s your best friend for hunting and defense. Start small—a hunting shelter and a fire. Don't try to build a castle on night one.
Focus on gathering skins. Deer and lizard skins provide armor and warmth. You’ll need a waterskin (two deer skins) and a berry pouch as soon as possible because dehydration kills just as fast as a mutant. Once you have a steady supply of clean water and dried meat, then you can start looking for the caves.
The Forest doesn't care if you succeed. It’s a brutal, beautiful, and terrifying sandbox that rewards patience and punishes arrogance. Whether you're playing for the story or just to see how long you can last against the "creepy crawlies," it remains a definitive experience on the PlayStation 4.
Next Steps for Survival
- Locate the Map and Compass: They are found in Cave 2 (the Hanging Cave). You can get there easily by letting yourself be captured by cannibals for the first time.
- Prioritize the Tool Upgrades: Combine your axe with teeth (found on cannibals) and tree sap to increase damage, or feathers to increase speed.
- Secure a Water Source: Build a Water Collector using a turtle shell and four sticks. Wait for rain, and you'll never worry about thirst again.