labeled "Site 2" while still struggling to suppress his mutations. If Eric decides to shut down the artifact, he spares the lives of everyone on the plane at the cost of Timmy remaining dead. Eric then leaves the facility and burns a photo of Timmy, choosing to let go. After this final cutscene, control of Eric is then returned to the player, who can continue gameplay surviving on the peninsula. Development The Forest was inspired by cult films such as The Descent and Cannibal Holocaust and video games like Don't Starve, and was accepted as part of Steam Greenlight in 2013. Canadian-based developers Endnight Games have said that Disney was an inspiration for the game, commenting that they do not want the whole game to be entirely "dark and depressing." The game is being developed to be compatible with the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. After adding a co-op mode option during development, the team stated that they wished for the game to stay away from the massive multiplayer feel of other games, such as DayZ and Rust. The development team has a background in film visual effects, having worked on films such as The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Tron: Legacy. The initial budget for the game was $125,000. The game was first released for Windows via early access on 30 May 2014 before it officially released on 30 April 2018. It was later released for the PlayStation 4 on November 6, 2018. The game was built using the Unity engine. Reception The game received positive reception during its early access period. The game sold over 5.3 million copies on Windows by November 2018. IGN called the game a "memorable survival horror experience", praising the game for its enemy AI and multi-layered story but criticized its display settings, mentioning that the game can get too dark at times. The game's success spawned a sequel, titled Sons of the Forest which was released on February 23, 2023. In 2020, Rock Paper Shotgun placed The Forest ninth on their "The best survival games on PC" list. On their updated list in 2023, The Forest placed 21st. References External links Official wiki The Forest at MobyGames 2010s horror video games 2018 video games Castaways in fiction Early access video games First-person shooters Indie video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Open-world video games PlayStation 4 games Survival video games Video games about cannibalism