Games like The Forest
- Sons of the Forest
- Green Hell
- The Long Dark
Good for
- Co-op groups who want survival horror with building mechanics
- Players interested in emergent enemy faction behavior
- VR users who want a survival experience with motion controller support
- Fans of open-world survival games with a clear narrative endpoint
Avoid if
- You want polished survival systems — resource management is shallow compared to dedicated survival games
- You are highly sensitive to horror and body horror content
- You expect consistent enemy AI behavior — pathing can be erratic
Why pick The Forest
The catalogue tracks 4 genre signals for The Forest, and a few of them line up in ways that make this entry stand out from the rest of our action shelf:
- Broad audience appeal — 4 distinct player profiles call The Forest out as a fit, which is unusual for the action category
- Self-published by Endnight Games Ltd — direct developer ownership rather than publisher-branded distribution, which usually correlates with continued post-launch support
- Strong family resemblance to 3 other entries we track — if you've enjoyed one of those, the transition into The Forest is short
- Released 2018 — The Forest has had time for community patches and community-made guides to mature
How we look at action games
The Forest is one of those entries that survives contact with a wide range of players — the 'Good for' list spans multiple play styles, so The Forest is harder to bounce off than most action entries in this catalogue. At $19.99, The Forest sits in the standard indie band. Cross-check The Forest's runtime via HowLongToBeat in the sidebar before pulling the trigger.
We don't try to declare The Forest "great" or "bad" — those words don't survive contact with how different players use their gaming time. Instead we ask three questions for every entry in our action catalogue: who is this for (the 'Good for' list), who will bounce off (the 'Avoid if' list), and what does it remind us of (the 'Games like' list). Match those signals against your own taste before trusting any single review score on The Forest.
Frequently asked questions
Who is The Forest really for?
Based on the audience profile above, The Forest fits a broad indie audience. The 'Avoid if' list above is honest about who will bounce off it.
How much player agency does the story offer?
Narrative indies range from purely linear visual novels through branching paths to systemic emergent stories. Treat The Forest's 'Good for' list as a signal: if "meaningful choices" or "branching" appears, expect replay value; if not, plan for a single playthrough.
How forgiving is the difficulty in The Forest?
Indie action games often skip difficulty sliders, so the curve is what it is. If reflexes or precise inputs are flagged in 'Avoid if', expect a stiff curve. Genre veterans report most action indies in this database take 8-20 hours to clear.
How long are typical sessions of The Forest?
Strategy and management indies tend to feel "one more turn" — a single session can swallow 2-4 hours easily. If your free time comes in 30-minute chunks, look for explicit "save anywhere" or "quick session" callouts before committing.
Is The Forest worth the asking price?
$19.99 is the standard indie price band. Worth waiting for a 30-50% sale if you're unsure, since most indies hit that discount within 6 months.
What should I play if I want something like The Forest but already finished it?
The "Games like The Forest" list above is hand-curated — start there. The "You might also like" sidebar surfaces other entries in our database that share at least one genre tag, which catches looser matches the manual list might miss.
How long does The Forest take to beat?
Main story runtime varies — check the HowLongToBeat link in the sidebar for community-reported hours (Main / Main+Extras / Completionist). For most action games in this database, expect 6-15 hours for the main story, double that for completion.