Back in 2018, Endnight locked in the world map of The Forest into a permanent summer setting, with a large snowy mountain in the very north. However, things are shaping quite differently in the Sons of the Forest, which is getting a seasonal feature. From some teasers, we know there is going to be behaviors that change over time, which will affect the gameplay. Since we know winter is coming, we’ve figured we’ll let you in on what we know about the Sons of the Forest seasons feature.

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Endnight confirms the new Seasons feature in Sons of the Forest, which means winter Is coming, and you need to prepare. Image via Endnight.

Sons of the Forest Seasons Explained¶

The Sons of the Forest Season feature will begin with your natural daylight, Spring’s fauna growth, Summer’s warmth, and food abundance. During the summer, Salmon are plentiful in the water, and even turtles come to lay their eggs on the beaches. It seems the game’s marine life is very much active during this period.

But, as winter rolls in, the weather will change, so food will become scarce, and the days and nights colder. To give you a better idea of what to expect the seasons change as follows.

Typically, the standard save starts in summer, unless you created custom rules. So, you start in Summer, and then by day 6, it turns to Fall, and, by day 10, it is Winter, with day 16 returning to Spring.

Sons of the Forest: Winter Strategy & Tips¶

As stated by the game’s official Steam Store page snippet, Endnight states:

• “Pluck fresh salmon directly from streams in spring and summer. Collect and store meat for the cold winter months. You’re not alone on this island, so as winter rolls in and food and resources become scarce, you won’t be the only one looking for a meal.”

The game implies that part of your strategy for surviving in the game is to prepare the best you can. You will likely need somewhere to store dried meat, and then consume that while you’re in the winter. There’s also reduced growing periods as well, which will make farming harder, and your reliance on blueberries even harder. Blueberries and other berries are very common in Summer and Fall, but less so in Spring as the bushes haven’t fully popped. In Winter, there are no berries at all, except for Snowberries. So, part of your strategy will be to dry your food in Fall, then prepare for Winter.

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You can store packaged meals, smoothies, raw meats and berries. Image via Endnight.

However, don’t fret too much about prepping, as there are areas you can find MRE Packs. You can also get Noodles, Energy Bars, and Canned Food as well. These can come in handy if you’ve ran out of food. So, scavenging and stockpiling will help you out. Feel free to save and reload near a food source area, as doing so will cause items to respawn. This can allow you to fully stock back up on perishable foods if you need to. It’s cheesy, but if you plan on playing the safe for many hundreds of days, the feature needs to be utilized at some point anyway.

The other big hint about the Sons of the Forest seasonal mechanic is that since food is scarce, therefore, expect competition. You’re not the only humanoid in the area that needs food in winter, and if there’s less, then it’s going to get tough. You will see cannibals foraging boxes, just like you in pursuit of food. Their camps will also go barren, as their shallow tents are plunged into snow.

This is where the cannibal tribe raids come in. You’ll likely have to fend off cannibals and mutants off, maybe even resort to cannibalism yourself. The AI is also supposed to learn more about you and then improve its behaviors to challenge you better, per the game’s new AI technology. Perhaps they’ll be learning to raid your food supply, since we have seen in trailers the cannibals and tribes will raid you and attempt to steal your resources, such as logs. It won’t be too much of a surprise to steal a bite to eat in the winter time either.

Reads More: New Sons of the Forest Features

The other notable thing about the season changes is the change of clothes. You will experience the cold and wet season, as will the enemies, so get those clothes that have better warmth and wet resistance, as you will feel it more. You will also need to rely on fires more, and use more energy maneuvering in the cold. So, it’s safe to assume there’s likely something in this game that offers more adequate protection to cold regions of the map and the winter changes.

Therefore, if you’re going to survive Sons of the Forest’s seasons, you’ll need to plan your meals and clothing much better than you do in the first one. Good luck stockpiling those clothes and food sources, and defending them. If you want to read more Sons of the Forest tips, we’ve a dedicated page for that.