The Forest

If you haven’t played the first game in the series, The Forest, now is the time to do so. It isn’t as clear as the sequel and all of its improvements, but it is still worth your time.

The title forest and all of its scary mutants are back, but the plot about the billionaire is gone. If you play the game that came before Sons of the Forest, you’ll get a much better idea of why people were so excited about it.

Choo Choo Charles

Sons of the Forest is about mutants who want to eat people. Choo Choo Charles is about a demon train with spider legs.

In this game, your base is your own train, which you can equip with tools and weapons to help you explore your surroundings and stay away from the evil train entity that is after you. It’s an odd game, for sure, but it’s very similar to Sons of the Forest in terms of tension, survival gameplay, and crafting.

Rust

Another survival game set on an island, but this time with a focus on PVP. In Rust, you build bases and weapons out of scraps you find on your island in order to stay alive and beat other players who want to do the same thing.

It might not look as good as Sons of the Forest, but that shouldn’t stop you from playing this cult classic. 8 Ball Pool is a great choice if you want a similar game with a bit more of a human element.

Ark: Survival Evolved

It can be a little scary to run into mutant cannibals in the middle of the night. Ark: Survival Evolved might be your game if you liked the tension of Sons of the Forest’s crafting and survival elements but thought the bad guys were a little too scary.

In this game, the bad guys look like dinosaurs. Which are still very dangerous, but less likely to give you bad dreams. Unless you were too young to watch it when it came out.

Grounded

This is another survival game where the scary parts have been toned down a little bit. If you are afraid of spiders, you can ignore that information. Or at least turn on the options for people who are afraid of spiders before you play Grounded.

Yes, there are a lot of creepy spiders in this game, which puts you in your own backyard as a kid. Fight creepy crawlies, build bases out of twigs, and try to find your way back to normal size.

The Long Dark

The Long Dark is the perfect survival game if you also want to walk around and experience a tense story.

Your plane has crashed somewhere in the frozen Canadian tundra because of something like an EMP. In this kind of post-apocalyptic survival game, you have to stay alive, find your friend, and learn about the world around you. It doesn’t have as much fighting or scary moments as Sons of the Forest, but the setting, sounds, and story make for an interesting time.

Far Cry 3

If your adventure on a deserted island needs a little more FPS, you should try Far Cry 3.

After a tropical party goes wrong and you get separated from your friends, you get stuck on an island chain and are hunted by the crazy pirate Vaas and his crew. But not the kind that are fun. The kind that holds you hostage and hurts you. The only way to stay alive is to turn into your own monster.

Outlast

Outlast might be for people who thought Sons of the Forest could be scarier. For a news story, you are asked to look into a mental hospital in the mountains.

Sad to say, the strange things you’ve heard about aren’t even half of it. Monsters follow you as you try to get out of the building. You only have your camera to help you find your way through the confusing hallways.

Minecraft

Even though there are no scary mutants in Minecraft, the creepers and zombies can still make you jump.

This is the best crafting game ever, and it’s just what you need if Sons of the Forest made your heart beat too fast. You can even use the creative mode to build the tree house of your dreams, and Kelvin won’t be there to mess it all up this time.

No Man’s Sky

In No Man’s Sky, you can go to a lot of different planets, meet a lot of different creatures, and make a lot of different things. It got off to a rough start, but it has grown a lot since then.

It’s not nearly as scary as Sons of the Forest. There are alien creatures that could hurt you, but your biggest enemy is the empty space, which is scary in its own way. If you want to add more sci-fi to your survival game, you can craft and explore a lot.