- Games
- The Forest
The Forest
Friends build a camp and search dark caves while surviving attacks on a wooded peninsula.
Online co-op for up to 8 players.
- 8 online
Where to buy
Playing together
- Online co-op8 players
- Local co-opNoOnline only
- Not confirmedFriends on different platforms, such as PC and PlayStation, can play together.
- Not confirmedA friend can join or leave while you are already playing, without starting over.
- NoEveryone needs to buy itFriends play free with a Friend's Pass or similar.
- Steam DeckPlayableValve's own rating
About the game
You survive a plane crash and search for your missing son on a peninsula inhabited by cannibals and mutants. You gather food, chop wood, craft tools and turn a patch of forest into a camp. You can put up cabins, lay traps or make a larger base with your own layout. Caves beneath the surface hold equipment and clues.
Friends join you online to share the work and face the danger. You decide how much time to spend building before heading out to investigate. Fighting is one option, while hiding can help you avoid an encounter. The mystery gives your group a reason to explore, but you also have room to set your own goals. Playing together softens some of the horror and makes space for fooling around.
How it feels
Kind of game
One lasting world your group settles. You gather, build and push into dangerous places together.
- At its heart
- Now and then
- Laughter and chaos
- Calm and coziness
- Working in sync
- Time to hang out
- Physical comedy
- Getting better
- Sessions
- Ongoing world
Rated on our own feel scale. 4 sources back these ratings.
Screenshots
From the Steam store page. Open one to see it full size.
If you liked The Forest
You will probably enjoy these too. Each one says why.
Sons Of The Forest
Why it scores 91%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Shared survival world
- About
- Wilderness survival, Monsters and Scavenging
- Notable in both
- Fear, Tension and danger, Planning ahead, Fighting, Unlocks and progress
- Core to both
- Exploring, Building and creating
- Sessions
- Ongoing world
- Co-op
- Online co-op for up to 8 players
- 8 online
Both give your group a hard world to survive in together. Both are about surviving in the wild and monsters that hunt you. Both are often scary.
No big difference from The Forest.
Once Human
Why it scores 86%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Shared survival world
- About
- Wilderness survival and Monsters
- Core to both
- Exploring, Building and creating
- Sessions
- Ongoing world
- Notable in both
- Tension and danger, Planning ahead, Fighting, Unlocks and progress
- Co-op
- Online co-op
- Online
- Crossplay
Both give your group a hard world to survive in together. Both are about exploring places you have not seen. Both let you build things together.
No big difference from The Forest.
Green Hell
Why it scores 85%
What they share
- Kind of game
- Shared survival world
- About
- Wilderness survival
- Notable in both
- Story, Tension and danger, Planning ahead, Unlocks and progress
- Core to both
- Exploring, Building and creating
- Sessions
- Ongoing world
- Co-op
- Online co-op
How Green Hell differs
- Fits a smaller group than The Forest
- 4 online
Both give your group a hard world to survive in together. Both are about surviving in the wild. Both have a story you follow together.
But fits a smaller group than The Forest.
All co-op facts
Last checked 24 October 2026. The small numbers link to the page that states each fact.
Co-op
- Fewest players online
- Not confirmed
- Most players on one screen
- Does not apply
- Split or shared screen
- Does not apply
- Separate-device co-op
- Not confirmed
- Most players on separate devices
- Not confirmed
- Free base co-op
- No
The checked computer full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
- 14
- Confirmed free setups
- Does not apply
- Crossplay
- Not confirmed
- Crossplay between
- Not confirmed
- Friends can join mid-game
- Not confirmed
- Voice chat by distance
- Not confirmed
Sources
9 pages
store.steampowered.comStore page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Online co-op, Release status, Release date, Genres, About, Fighting, Free base co-op.
- Online co-op: The feature list confirms online co-op.
- Release status: The base game is released and can be added to the cart.
- Release date: The store gives 30 April 2018.
- Genres: The maker calls it a survival horror simulator.
- About: The maker describes surviving outdoors, finding supplies and fighting mutant inhabitants.
- Fighting: Weapons, stealth and defending a base are recurring actions.
- Free base co-op: The checked computer full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
store.steampowered.comStore data, read 24 October 2026
Backs Steam app ID, Platforms.
- Steam app ID: The returned game identity uses app 242760.
- Platforms: The PC platform list confirms Windows.
store.steampowered.comStore data, read 24 October 2026
Backs Steam Deck.
- Steam Deck: Valve rates the game Playable on Steam Deck.
store.playstation.comStore page, read 24 October 2026
Backs Platforms, Most players online, Free base co-op.
- Platforms: The exact PS4 product explicitly supports PS5 playback with possible feature differences. This is compatibility, not a native PS5 edition.
- Most players online: The PS4 version supports four. The advertised PC group is eight on historical maker and current press evidence. A technical server default does not independently establish a different ceiling.
- Free base co-op: The checked PlayStation full-base edition has a paid base-game access model. Demos, trials, guest passes, platform sharing and temporary grants do not establish ongoing free base co-op.
blog.playstation.comOfficial news, read 24 October 2026
Backs Kind of game, Laughter and chaos, Physical comedy, Calm and coziness, Working in sync, Building and creating, Planning ahead.
- Kind of game: Endnight describes shared building and survival with freedom to choose goals.
- Laughter and chaos: Endnight describes friends messing around with turtle-shell sledding.
- Physical comedy: Turtle-shell sledding supplies a minor physical-comedy element.
- Calm and coziness: Endnight describes tranquil initial surroundings and a separate peaceful mode. The score refers to quiet stretches during normal play.
- Working in sync: Friends can build and explore together without fixed paired roles.
- Building and creating: The maker describes custom structures, forts, traps and linked tree houses.
- Planning ahead: Players choose shelters and defences or a mobile approach before danger arrives.
gamespot.comPress, read 24 October 2026
Backs Fear, Tension and danger, Sessions, Getting better, Time to hang out.
- Fear: GameSpot, 2 June 2018. Caves, sound and stalking enemies create horror, but friends reduce the impact.
- Tension and danger: Unpredictable patrols and attacks keep pressure between gathering trips.
- Sessions: The reviewer develops and defends a settlement over many in-game days.
- Getting better: Survival improves as players learn food safety, resources and enemy behaviour.
- Time to hang out: GameSpot, June 2, 2018, describes shared settlement work and voice chat reducing exposure during co-op. This supports task-centered company at level one. Substantial unrelated conversation is not established.
destructoid.comPress, read 24 October 2026
Backs Story, Exploring, Unlocks and progress.
- Story: Destructoid, 10 May 2018. Environmental clues lead to a complete ending, alongside freeform survival.
- Exploring: The cave network is a major destination for discoveries.
- Unlocks and progress: Found resources upgrade weapons and provide new equipment that supports later exploration.
web.archive.orgOfficial site, read 24 October 2026
Backs Most players online.
- Most players online: An archived copy of the maker page from 4 September 2026 says up to 8 player co-op. The PS4 version takes 4 players.
coopgames.comPress, read 24 October 2026
Backs Local co-op, Only one of you needs to buy it.
- Local co-op: The August 2020 authored review explicitly describes online-only co-op. This is historical press fallback, with the current PS4 product independently allowing one local player.
- Only one of you needs to buy it: The August 2020 review explicitly requires one copy per online player. This is historical press evidence, not an inferred rule from a paid offer.