Sons of the Forest impressed many fans on release, showcasing many new mechanics and the start of a brand-new storyline to boot apart from its predecessor. However, the nature of being an early-access game means it is understandably lacking in content at the moment. While players wait for more updates, they should consider giving Project Zomboid a shot.
In a lot of ways, Project Zomboid offers a gameplay experience that shares a lot of similarities with Sons of the Forest. In many of those ways, it often offers a notably more in-depth experience that players could enjoy. If this survival-type experience would scratch a particular itch at the moment, Project Zomboid may be the perfect game for Sons of the Forest fans.
Project Zomboid is a Zombified Sons of the Forest
With that said, it is important to mention the differences between the two games as well. Project Zomboid is a hardcore isometric rogue-like game that only ends with the player's death. Players have to worry about various factors, such as sickness, depression, infection, temperature, and even fitness.
There are also several skills in Project Zomboid that are necessary for player progression. It is arguably one of the most hardcore survival experiences in gaming, but that hasn't stopped it from being proclaimed by many to be one of the best out there. Despite those differences, it still manages to retain a few key similarities between it and Sons of the Forest.
Most survival games start out with a bit of scavenging, and it is no different for Sons of the Forest or Project Zomboid. The latter has the player scavenge nearby structures for supplies, but as time goes on, they will need to look to other means for finding food. For example, similar to Sons of the Forest, trapping and farming are two of the best primary methods players use in order to get food in the late game. Players will need to find essential tools in Project Zomboid rather than crafting them, but the end result will ultimately be the same.
Similar to Sons of the Forest, Project Zomboid is one of the best indie games to play with friends. This is largely due to the fact that Project Zomboid makes use of a character builder that has the player specialize in certain stats at the cost of taking on a few weaknesses. Utilizing this system, players can create builds that all makeup for each other's weaknesses, while also bringing out many of their strengths. For example, a player could create a carpenter that is great at building things, but terrible at sneaking around. They could bring a friend who is utilizing a sneakier build in order to collect their supplies, minimizing the potential risk.
Project Zomboid also shares one of Sons of the Forest's most iconic aspects: its environmental storytelling. Through various clues found throughout the game world, the player can find out more about what happened just before the apocalypse. These clues also help to illustrate a timeline of the events that led up to the eventual zombie apocalypse. This is not too different from Sons of the Forest and even The Forest, where players slowly unearth mysteries about the existence of mutants and the Obelisk. In that regard, Sons of the Forest is a very similar game to Project Zomboid.
And as a little cherry on top, Project Zomboid also has a plethora of mods to enjoy and experiment with. But overall, even though it does not offer a one-to-one experience, Project Zomboid expands on many of the things that make Sons of the Forest popular, and then some.
Project Zomboid is currently available on PC.