I played this game solo and IMHOI this will end up the same way as the original first game 'the forest'.
The assets are very good, the island is nice, tree chopping excellent, everything created by the visual department is very good. Sound, is also very good, building has improved a bit over the first game, the canibal AI feel a step back to 'the forest'. But like the first game, stiching everything together into a compelling game is a serious let down.
Survival? A joke.
-Hunger just simply doesn't exist. Yes you have a meter, but just ask Kelvin to go get fish and tadaa, problem solved forever from the start of the game.
-Water? no problem, just drink out of any river, no worries, no problem, no sickness, no challenge.
-Building? not needed, you can, but you do not have to. Just go from place to place setting up and breaking down your trusty tarp.
-Combat? No need for it, just run away, you don't need a base, don't have a base, so why protect something you don't have, just move away.
This feels like a sandbox where you COULD do base building, but is optional. Once you kinda found your bearings and figured it out, you notice the game goes to the earliest form of game prolongment = you need x color card to enter this door and throw some 'keycard/equipment needed' points over a map. just like doom did decades ago.
Like i said, the assets ARE there, but whoever is responsible to create a game out of them is lacking vision. To me (again) this feels like a game that is sewn together as they went along, without any real long term vision from the start. Can it still end up a great game? yes, but like the first one, i don't see that happening.
IMHO i would implement following things ASAP :
1-the MAIN story line has to be clear, no documents, no fluff. Elaborate aside the main story line, but point clearly what the next objectives are and the story is. Build this, locate this item somewhere in this area, etc. Want lore? you can find it, but that has to be found out in the wild.
Drop the forced tie ins with the first game. The first game story was kinda meh, and most didn't even cared for it because it was for many too hard to piece together. I think more than half had to check youtube to even make head or tails of the first story because it just wasn't very clear. And now, they do the same thing again, only now it is even more difficult to understand as it has to tie in with the first game that the player likely never played. Half documents, obscure pictures. all good, for optional stuff, the main story needs to be clear, as should the objectives be.
2-Combine the building with survival and exploration. You need to set up a base, bacause you need to construct something (like a dish for your map phone thing to work). And you need to be able to keep it safe. Giving Kelvin and eventually virginia an actual task, defending while you are on the obligated quests out on the island.
I am dissapointed. and feel bad for all the people that put in heart and soul in the really good an innovative things you can find in this game.
