How does this compare to Grounded and Ark?

[Facemelter]

I'm a massive Grounded fan and have just started playing Ark. Is this game likely to tempt me to play while I have these two on the go?

[VampHell]

if you like dark and scary places yup this game is verry funny

the forest is diferent from both of ark and grounded the forest is to +/- to people that dont get scared easy and it has some content that its a little heavy but you have to see it for your self i recoment it

[RequiemsRose]

I have not played grounded, but I did play Ark quite a bit. If you happen to be an Ark Pvper, this game is a cake walk in comparison, cannibal AI simply cant be as aggressively irritating as pvpers in Ark. If you play exclusively Pve ark, then the survival aspects (like food and water, though Arks temperature system is more refined) are a little harder in forest but the chances of constantly dying are greatly reduced. Not quite the same *just spawned in* "oh look, an alpha raptor, guess im respawning!" level of unforgiving. Nowhere near as much grind either, especially if you play official Ark. Stats are also done differently, no actual levels to apply to certain stats. All you have is Strength and Athleticism and both are (incredibly slowly) raised by doing activities related to those stats (so running and diving for athleticism, logging, fighting, and lifting for strength) aaand those stats get reset to the default 20 if you fully die (in multiplayer, single player handles death a bit differently). Crafting also isn't as expansive as it is in Ark, nor are there any quality ratings. Only a few items have a direct upgrade from an earlier game version of it, though most weapons can be upgraded. The building...you kind of have to try for yourself. It's somewhat clunky and unintuitive but those who take well to it can do quite a lot with it as well.

[Charlie94]

its 4 gb

[jswarpaint]

My biggest gripe with The Forest is you can never extinct the bad guys they keep coming and coming no matter what you do .. they keep respawning .. However in caves or at least most of them once you wipe them out your done .. would be nice if this was at least an option above ground ... such as trees grow back or they don't ...

This is done though because it may get to quiet for some .. well maybe have it to where when you kill someone they do not spawn .. what back again in 15 min or the next day make it 3 days I don't know .. Make it to where you have time to build a base and enjoy building it instead of a massive panic attack... should be an option ...

Why bother with The Sons of the Forest its just gonna be the same mindset...

[Vazkulator]

if youre looking for "the game" with survival aspects and co-op youre probably better off waiting for the game "Rooted" and hope for the best, theres no telling if even the sequel of the forest is even going to be better or worse at this point and they dont communicate with their playerbase

[6teaNEIN?]

Grounded is very polished, but also very casual.

Ark, has more mechanics, but is buggy asf.

This, is pretty damn good. Fairly good story, great gameplay, and OKish building. I'd say building is much better in Grounded, and especially in Ark.

I do recommend this though, but what do I know. I'm just a psycho that enjoys slaughtering cannibals, and making effigies out of their corpses.

To me, it's relaxing and therapeutic, OK!

[william_es]

Well, all three of those games are "sandbox survival", but that's about where it ends.

Grounded is cute, but overwhelmingly kid friendly positive. Just a whole different tone.

Ark is majorly about taming dinos, and there's nothing like that in the forest.

The forest is pretty much a horror title. The cannibals are freaky. The mutants are just bizarre. And some of the encounters in the extensive cave system under the island where the game takes place are just terrifying. Mutilated bodies hanging from the ceiling, etc. The building system in the forest is a LOT more flexible then either grounded or ark. It doesn't have the snap together grid system like ark and grounded do. It allows for really customized shapes, and lot more creativity. The end product ends up looking kinda lumpy, slightly off kilter, and I love that. The final creations look more like the kinds of things real people might make in a similar situation.

[6teaNEIN?]

Originally posted by william_es:

Well, all three of those games are "sandbox survival", but that's about where it ends.

Grounded is cute, but overwhelmingly kid friendly positive. Just a whole different tone.

Ark is majorly about taming dinos, and there's nothing like that in the forest.

The forest is pretty much a horror title. The cannibals are freaky. The mutants are just bizarre. And some of the encounters in the extensive cave system under the island where the game takes place are just terrifying. Mutilated bodies hanging from the ceiling, etc. The building system in the forest is a LOT more flexible then either grounded or ark. It doesn't have the snap together grid system like ark and grounded do. It allows for really customized shapes, and lot more creativity. The end product ends up looking kinda lumpy, slightly off kilter, and I love that. The final creations look more like the kinds of things real people might make in a similar situation.

I agree with this, for the most part.

My main (if only) issue with building in The Forest, is how buggy asf it is. It becomes way more frustrating, than satisfying. If you enjoy it, more power to you, but for me, it's the opposite.

Watch this, it shows off a few of the problems, whilst not intending to XD

https://youtu.be/bQlqesmqNmY

[william_es]

Originally posted by Space Jesus:

My main (if only) issue with building in The Forest, is how buggy asf it is. It becomes way more frustrating, than satisfying. If you enjoy it, more power to you, but for me, it's the opposite.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2854423101

Yeah, it's buggy, but I grew to love the bugginess. That screenshot above is the entrance to main base. I didn't plan ANY of that random mess out, just kept adding on more and more layers, but it ended up working great. The cannibals can't even path to the front door, it's too confusing. Built suspended wood bridges on the backside of the walls, to make fighting platforms behind the walls. It's all kind of janky and out of alignment, but it works great.

and it's withstood attacks by bigger mutants, like armsies, and a worm.

[Barbaric Corgi]

It's got crafting and exploratory elements like Ark, but that's about all the similarities they share. There's no taming animals as far as I know. Your only objective is to find and rescue your son. Most of the "story" is just you upgrading your character enough to finally go rescue him. You'll have to explore far, wide, and deep to find those components. That's pretty much it. There is a lot of fun to be had with friends, can't say I personally enjoy it by myself like I do Ark.