Around spooky season this year, I decided to take up tradition and play some games fitting of the time! I admittedly played The Sinking Forest in early November, but who’s tracking? Fair to say, I got what I asked for: a survival horror experience that certainly found ways to create tension. While it fulfils the standard expectations for a decent survival-horror experience, especially for a game developed by a single person, I wonder how the mechanics and environment could be used to further flesh out the short runtime.
The Sinking Forest begins how many survival-horror titles do: our protagonist, Sota Miyazono, is looking for someone close to him. His sister, Sayuri, is missing, and it’s up to him (seriously, can’t the authorities help?) to find her. This exposition is merely the means to an end; at least we get context for the adventure. Upon exploring Sayuri’s apartment, we’re off on a journey to save her! Further exposition is provided throughout The Sinking Forest through notes found in the game. These notes spookily reveal details about the fates of the former residents of this village. For the sake of spoilers, I’m avoiding saying much more.
As we progress through The Sinking Forest, there’s a gradual build in tension. There were certainly a couple of unexpected moments that got me in the game’s first half, keeping me engaged and certainly on edge. Bear in mind, however, that I’m not amazing with true horror titles; Resident Evil 4 is, perhaps, my limit. Yes, I’m the guy who covers his eyes when he anticipates a jump-scare in a film.
Sound design plays its part in The Sinking Forest’s atmosphere. Although it’s nothing to write home about, it has a welcome place. Mannequins unexpectedly have a prominent role when it comes to atmosphere. And thanks to often-dim lighting, these occasionally caught me unaware. To me, mannequins are odd at the best of times and uncanny at the worst (thanks Call of Duty: Black Ops 6). I felt slightly uneasy (I’m seriously running out of words beginning with ‘un’ here) on occasion because of this.
Even with the consistency of lowly-lit locations, I appreciated the beauty of The Sinking Forest. When this is combined with the horror conventions, it almost encapsulates a sense of tragedy and makes me ponder the previous delights that have been torn away. As mentioned prior, just one person, @TonyDevGame, developed The Sinking Forest, making this control of atmosphere impressive. The unfolding visuals simultaneously captures beauty and tension to some extent, giving me a keenness to explore despite what could appear behind any corner.
As you progress into the second half of The Sinking Forest, the tension begins to pay off as genuine threats to the player appear, although it admittedly fades after an enemy kills you instantly. Taking a couple of hits in a desperate escape would up the ante, but that doesn’t come to fruition. Quickly finding methods to defeat enemies also eliminates some of the fear factor as the player becomes able to competently fight back too quickly for a survival-horror. Speaking of which, until enemies appear, to say The Sinking Forest is a survival-horror game would be an exaggeration.
At times during my playthrough, I compared it to Firewatch because of the similarities as a walking simulator. Understanding the differences between the two, Firewatch is famous for its emotional story and superb visual style, which The Sinking Forest doesn’t quite have. If you’re looking for a true survival-horror experience, I wouldn’t quite say this feels as such for a while into a playthrough.
Something else I mentioned in the introduction is how the mechanics and environment could be better used. Credit to @TonyDevGame, there are some puzzle elements involved encouraging the player to explore environments. However, I feel as though further integration of items into the environment for puzzle-solving could’ve fleshed out the game exponentially. The Sinking Forest could’ve also incorporated mechanics such as the camera better into the gameplay, but unfortunately, it didn’t. I’m not going to lose any sleep, of course, but I feel there could be something more here mechanically. Another minor, albeit nitpicky, blemish on The Sinking Forest is some of the menus not having full translation to English. This didn’t make it more difficult to navigate menus at least.
All in all, if you can grab The Sinking Forest for cheap, I would do so. It has some charm, enough to make a playthrough quite fun. Unfortunately, I sense some untapped potential with how far The Sinking Forest can stretch. For example, I long for more moments of puzzle-solving involving the environment, alongside more survival-horror conventions. The Sinking Forest is decent; I look forward to seeing what other titles @TonyDevGame has created as a result.
Developer: @TonyDevGame
Publisher: @TonyDevGame, Dojo System S.L.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows
Release Date: 28th October 2024
Gaming Respawn’s copy of The Sinking Forest was provided by the publisher.