Sons of the Forest promises stronger guns and explosives as well as a 3D printer in the woods somehow

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Don't question it, just enjoy the convenience

Sons of the Forest
(Image credit: Endnight Games)

Sons of the Forest is upping the ante with considerably stronger weapons for players to use in their latest fight against mutant cannibals on a mysterious island, and acquiring them ought to be easier thanks to its handy 3D printer.

As developer Endnight Games told us in our Big in 2023 showcase for Sons of the Forest, "we’ve introduced a 3D Printer this time, allowing players to print various items to help them survive." How does the 3D printer work out in the woods? I'm not entirely sure, but I'm willing to bet there's a calm and reasonable explanation for it. This wouldn't be the first survival game to add a straight-up 3D printer as a de facto Anything Machine – though it was easier to wrap my head around the idea with the likes of Subnautica – and there's no denying the convenience, so just go with it. 

"We’ve tried to keep this realistic, so you can only print things you would in the real world," the devs say. "The player also starts with a personal handheld GPS which helps with navigating the much larger world."

"Additionally, this time players have access to guns and more advanced explosives giving them even more ways of dealing with the island's inhabitants," Endnight adds. Can you 3D print parts or components for those guns and explosives? That will depend on how advanced those guns and this printer are, not to mention how "realistic" the game really is. Surely you could make a plastic trigger or something. I don't know, and I'm afraid I can't really look into that without ending up on a watch list. 

Sons of the Forest is more than a much bigger sequel; the devs say "everything is more detailed this time," too. 

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.