Within a short space of time, Sons of the Forest has become meme-worthy, as fans show their appreciation for the loveable NPC Kelvin, despite the fact that he's not always helpful. While the 2018 horror title The Forest was a great survival game, the recent follow-up has captivated the community, which is equally impressive given the developer, Endnight Games, is an indie studio. Despite fierce competition, SotF has managed to stand out on Steam.While it's the horror elements, co-operative play, and crafting mechanics that have helped make the game popular so quickly, it's Sons of the Forest's AI companion Kelvin who's the real star. Fans have already fallen in love with this sometimes wacky companion. His main role is to assist the player by gathering resources, making him a vital part of the experience, especially on the solo campaign, but it's become evident that his presence does not always equate to a successful playthrough.In fact, Sons of the Forest players have noticed that Kelvin may not be the help he was originally advertised. A number of examples, as reported by PC Gamer, show the NPC actually hindering progress. Twitter user Ted Buddwell posted a clip of their playthrough, with the comment about how "Kelvin is the worst." In the brief video, the player is chilling in a tree house, putting together a campfire. Suddenly, they become aware of a chopping sound followed by the wooden base collapsing. Kelvin is then revealed to have been the one doing the chopping, his AI obviously not programmed to ignore constructed tree houses.
A user on Reddit who goes by CalienteJeff had a similar experience, in which, once again, the otherwise helpful NPC is set the task of collecting wood, which results in them chopping down the tree the player's base is built up. As amusing as it is to watch this hapless AI go about their chores, a lot of fans will be frustrated at having all their hard work undone. Many were no doubt excited when Sons of the Forest announced Kelvin, especially for those who wanted some company when playing alone, but it seems as though Endnight needs to do a little more work on this task-driven character.
That aside, the game itself is doing remarkably well. It recently topped the Steam charts, not to mention the speedrunning community has already been beating Sons of the Forest in under eight minutes. It's a shame that Kelvin is sometimes oblivious to his blunders, but at least it makes for some entertaining clips.
Sons of the Forest is out now in early access for PC.