While The Forest might be one of many survival games, it easily stands out among the rest.
What makes it different is that while you’re trying to keep yourself alive, you’ll soon find that the forest is inhabited by cannibalistic tribes. Fun!
Where the game really shines is in how the AI can be unpredictable, lending to more tension since you never really know what they might do. And if you’re looking to pick up this game again, you might want even more new stuff with even more unpredictability.
Mods are plentiful for The Forest, and there’s so many that you probably won’t know where to start.
Our list here offers plenty to keep you entertained, with mods for long-time fans and newcomers alike.
To start you off, here’s a simple little graphics mod to make The Forest look just a bit better.
Tides adds another layer of realism, allowing for the tide levels to change as the day passes.
With one tide cycle passing every 13 in-game hours, you’ll find that high tide will mean that most of the beach will be covered, and inversely, there will be more explorable beach area when the tide drops.
It might not do much compared to other mods. But who doesn’t welcome additional realism and immersion?
Speaking of the tide – you’re probably going to have to jump into the water every now and again.
Once you do, the first thing you’ll notice (as it’s impossible to miss) is the insane amount of blur applied to the screen when underwater.
It’s basically impossible to see anything down there.
This isn’t even a matter of making the game a bit easier to play, as the blur is so bad it can even make you a bit dizzy. And swimming can’t really be avoided.
Clarity offers a simple fix to the problem, reducing the amount of blur to make everything appear much clearer under water. The blur isn’t completely removed, because the modder explains that doing so causes even more issues, but it’s lowered enough to make it more than bearable.
Some games are meant to be played in the first-person while others are better enjoyed in third.
That’s just become the way of the world, and it just so happens that The Forest was made in the first-person perspective.
Having the ability to toggle between the two isn’t a common feature in games, as every aspect of every game is built around the perspective the developers intend for you to play in.
I mean, imagine playing Assassin’s Creed in first-person, or maybe Doom in third.
It might be difficult to imagine. But thanks to modder Hyperatox, you won’t have to in your next session.
This mod lets you play the entire game in third-person, simple and straightforward.
Up next is another simple mod, but one you’re surely going to wanna try this out.
Introductory cutscenes can get annoying pretty quickly. Especially if you’re up to your 5th, 6th, 20th playthrough.
Games usually provide the ability to skip these videos. But just in case you want to get right to the action as soon as possible – SkipPlaneCrash is the mod you need.
It simply hits spacebar so you don’t have to, automatically skipping the opening sequence every time you start a new game.
There are tons of mods aimed at making your life on the island a bit easier to manage.
Survival games are known to be pretty tough, and just keeping yourself alive is already challenging in itself. Since The Forest throws mutated cannibals into the mix, it can get quite overwhelming – especially for those who aren’t veterans of the genre.
More Shortcuts is the first you’re going to need, giving you an additional assignable shortcut slot for quick access to something you use most often.
If this isn’t your first dip into survival games, you’re probably aware of how important inventory management is.
You’re basically left to make use of whatever materials you can find in your surroundings. And you’re limited by what you can carry at any given time.
To make things a bit easier, the Bigger Backpack mod allows you to give yourself infinite inventory space, so you can pretty much just grab anything you see.
Keeping a close eye on your health, energy, hunger, and thirst levels is just as important as finding the resources to satisfy those needs.
While everything is pretty clearly displayed on the HUD, the Caloric Deficit mod makes it just a bit easier to monitor, making for a more visual representation of your hunger level.
The mod makes the stomach icon in the HUD smaller if you’re burning more than you’re eating, so you’ll be able to easily identify when it should be time for your next meal.
Personal health-related numbers aren’t the only ones you’re going to have to watch for, of course, as some encounters with the cannibals will be more action-packed than others.
When they do decide to take a more aggressive approach, you’re going to want to be ready to fight back.
In those cases, the Damage Numbers mod is going to be a huge help – adding a health bar to each enemy you have to face, so you at least have a better idea of how you’re doing in each fight.
With wood being such a valuable resource in the game, it would be unfortunate to run out of trees to cut.
While you’re surrounded by them, only 10% of the total will respawn each in-game night – which is hardly enough to keep up. Especially if you’re building yourself a large base.
AllesKutEnter’s Tree Respawn aims to help with that, allowing you to instantly respawn trees so you always have enough for your building needs.
While the crafting system is an important aspect of The Forest, it surely isn’t its main feature.
Crafting and building appear to intentionally lack depth to keep your focus on other parts of the game, which of course leads us to this next mod by user Rurido.
Leave it to the modding community to add to whichever aspects of the game they feel is lacking, and this mod specifically expands on crafting.
More Crafting adds 5 new craftable items to the game, including cloth, fuel, and ammo.
To improve on building even further, you might want to check Moritz’s Better Blueprints mod.
While the mod doesn’t exactly expand on what can be built in the game, it makes it much easier to build what’s already included in vanilla.
You’re given additional building options like the ability to rotate buildings far easier, plus place them anywhere, and it even removes anchor point limits.
Getting some rest is as important as making sure you stay alive and healthy.
While there’s lots to do, the last thing you want to do is overwork yourself to death.
Sleep is also important, as it doesn’t just replenish your energy, it’s also time necessary to heal up wounds as well.
Other than that, it’s also the game’s way of allowing you to pass in-game time.
The No Sleep Cooldown mod can be very helpful here, basically allowing you unlimited sleep – which means you’ll be able to heal as quickly as possible, get enough rest every time, and pass enough time when needed.
Now if you’re looking to change the map completely, you might want to give Moritz’s Winter is Coming mod a try.
While winter-themed survival games aren’t anything new, this mod makes it possible in The Forest.
It doesn’t really change much in terms of how the game plays out. But it’s a good change of scenery and is a cool way (no pun intended) to change things up for when you get tired of all the green around you.
The Forest’s in-game time is designed to add to the game’s tension, as it often feels like the days are too short to accomplish everything you need to get done.
You could continue to scavenge for materials at night, though it’s probably more dangerous to do so.
If you feel that the game’s pace is too fast for you, AllesKutEnter’s Longer Days and Nights might be just the mod for you.
The mod does make the days run longer, allowing you to get more done – just keep in mind that nights will be longer as well.
Pretty much everything on the list so far has been geared towards helping you through surviving The Forest.
But I can’t forgot about those of you who have masochistic tendencies.
I wouldn’t want you to feel left out, so here’s a tougher mod for you.
As if the base game’s hardest difficulty wasn’t hard enough, More Enemies Mod Plus Deluxe Ultra doubles the number of enemies you’ll have to deal with.
If you’re looking to have more control over enemy spawns in the game, disi’s Day22SpawnChange might be what you’re looking for.
While some may enjoy the challenge of having double the cannibals, there might be others who are looking to take a break every once in a while.
This mod gives you the ability to do so, giving you complete control of enemy spawns in the world.
You’ll have access to sliders that allow you to change how often enemies appear, so you’ll be able to determine how often you get into hostile encounters.
Feel like going for a stroll without the possibility of running into some mutated freak looking to kill you for meat? Go on ahead.
Moritz’s Custom Enemy Stats enhances your control of the cannibals even further, allowing you to completely customize each enemy in the game.
If you’re finding that the game isn’t exciting enough on easy mode, but becomes impossible at the hardest difficulty level, then this is a really nice way to find that middle ground.
You’ll be able to create a completely customized difficulty level to fit your own pace, with the ability to determine health and damage levels for each of the enemy types.
While Custom Enemy Stats is a great way to gain control over all aspects of how enemies spawn, you might be looking for a quick and easy fix for an alternative difficulty level.
Better Mutants is exactly that – a Custom Enemy Stats preset that increases health across all cannibals.
To make up for the beefier enemies, damage made to buildings has been drastically decreased.
