Sons of the Forest is a new survival game in which players must both survive and complete their mission to locate the Puffton family.

But after crash landing on a strange island, your main priority before continuing your rescue is to ensure your own survival. Only once you’re able to navigate the environment’s dangers will you be able to consider finding the Pufftons.

Since the game gives you little-to-no guidance on how to get started, here’s everything you need to know:

Getting Started

When you first spawn in Sons of the Forest, you’ll find yourself in one of 3 locations:

• The Beach
• The Forest
• The Mountains

Each of the spawn points comes with its own introductory cutscenes but essentially the beginning of the game is the same. You’re left stranded on a mysterious island with few resources and little in the way of assistance.

But you’re not entirely alone out there.

How to Use Kelvin

Kelvin is your AI companion that survives the helicopter crash with you but is left deaf and mute. You’ll find him on the ground at your initial spawn point, and you can interact with him (E) in order to write him instructions to follow.

Kelvin is very useful throughout Sons of the Forest, taking care of much of the manual labor for you. Write ‘Get Fish and Give to Me’ and you’ll never need to worry about food again.

Alternatively ‘Get Wood and Drop Here’ will help you make a great early start on your new base camp.

You can even craft some storage items such as Log Storage (B) and have him drop his new finds in an appropriate area, giving you plenty of resources with little hassle.

Make a Camp

Making camp is important in Sons of the Forest, as it will not only give you somewhere to sleep (preventing exhaustion), but it’ll also provide you with a save point.

It’s easy to set up a small shelter. Simply open your inventory (I), grab the Tarp and place it down anywhere. Then grab a Stick and left-click the corner of the material, crafting a makeshift home.

To make a fire, hold a stick in your hand and look at the ground. Left-click and you’ll snap the stick in two, throwing it down.

Do this twice and you’ll have the option to light the pile, creating a fire capable of cooking food, burning bodies, and providing light.

But you shouldn’t just set up camp anywhere either. Try and find a natural water source, such as a river, and build in that area.

That way, you’ll always have plenty to drink and you can stop worrying about dehydration. What’s more, if there are fish nearby, you’ve already got an easy source of food.

Open up your crafting menu (B), find the Drying Rack under Storage and with just 13 sticks you’ll have a great way to store any fish caught for later.

Just be careful to scout around before settling down. If you end up building near a mutant camp site, you’ll have a few unwanted visitors lurking around before you know it.

How to Make a Spear

To make a Spear in Sons of the Forest, first open your inventory pack, then add the following items to your crafting space:

• 2 x Sticks
• Duct Tape
• Utility Knife

Then right-click the gear in the top right to craft your Spear.

You can use the Spear to hunt wild animals, spear-fishing, or even protect yourself from the forest’s other dangerous inhabitants.

Burn the Bodies

If you encounter any of Sons of the Forest’s mutants and you’re forced into a fight, don’t forget to burn the bodies. Take your new kill to a campfire and leave it on the flames to turn it into a pile of Bones.

You can use these Bones to craft yourself Bone Armor, offering a little more protection to aid you in future fights.

Some cannibals can even be skinned, giving you the rather unappealing ‘Hide’ or ‘Creepy’ Armor. Wearing it might make you feel queasy but your character will be just fine, and more protected than ever.

Quick Select Items Without Opening Your Inventory

One of Sons of the Forest’s most handy items is the Backpack, which allows you to quickly equip items without opening out your entire inventory. This is very useful when you need to get an item fast (like when you’re under attack).

To get your backpack out, hold the “I” Key or Down on the D-Pad. You can then grab an item that you’ve added to quick storage.

To ready the Backpack, first open your inventory and right-click the Backpack. Then right-click on your favorite items which will add to the pack, allowing them to be quickly equipped at any moment.

You can now pull out the Backpack at any time to quickly select one of the items that you prepared earlier – without rolling out your entire inventory.

Free, Easy Supplies Trick

If you’re struggling to survive in Sons of the Forest and need a little extra assistance, there’s one trick that you can abuse for some free supplies. Almost all items and chests will respawn, allowing you to loot them again, once you log out and log back into the game.

Head back to your spawn point where there are tons of containers waiting to be opened, and reload your game.

This will restock all the supplies that the game initially gave you to start your adventure, and provide you with infinite flares, food, duct tape and other essential items.

We don’t recommend repeating this too many times, as it’ll detract from the game’s overall experience, but it’s certainly a worthwhile trick if you find yourself struggling.

Find the 3D Printer

One of the most essential items in Sons of the Forest, very surprisingly, is a 3D Printer. This handy tool is located at the area on the map shown below:

At this location, revealed by a blinking circle on the GPS map, you’ll find a small cave, but don’t worry about there being any enemies inside – it’s completely safe!

Instead, inside the cavern you’ll find remnants of an old lab, as well as a 3D Printer! Gather up all the nearby Printer Resin (the machine comes stocked with 850ml too), and you’ll have plenty of resources to help you print.

Interact with the laptop next to the printer and you’ll be able to choose an item to print. Here are some of the most handy resources you should use your valuable Printer Resin to craft:

• Flask (Can Hold Drinking Water)
• Mask (Can be Worn to Deter Mutants From Attacking)
• Tech Mesh (Can be Turned into Tech Armor by Crafting With Wire, Duct Tape, Circuit Board, & Batteries)

By now, you should have a good idea of how to kick off your Sons of the Forest adventure. However, the island has plenty of mysteries (and danger) to discover.

Now that you’re all set up, you might feel confident enough to pull up that GPS (M) and head toward those strange purple markers.