Unlike many other survival games, Sons of the Forest features a complete story to uncover! It picks up directly after The Forest, but you can enjoy it without prior knowledge. You can play through the story at your own pace — there’s no time limit. And even after the ending, you can keep building your base and exploring the island, so there’s no definitive end. We recommend not waiting forever to progress the story, but do gear up properly so you’re prepared for anything! With this guide, you’ll make it from start to finish — low on spoilers and packed with practical tips.
Sons of the Forest Story: Cave guide, gear, and first steps
Once you’re comfortable with the basics, it’s time to brave the caves. They hold the first clues to what happened on the island. Before you go, make sure you’ve found at least the flashlight, the modern axe, and the pistol.
- Diving gear: Head to the northern part of the map and search the cave there for the diving gear. You’ll need it later to get through submerged sections.
- Rope Gun: With the diving gear, head to the cave containing the Rope Gun — a key item for story progress and for your building projects.
- Shovel: You’ll need both the diving gear and the Rope Gun for the third cave to grab the Shovel at the end. You’ll also get a glimpse of a strange underground facility.
We already have a very detailed guide to every cave if you want exact directions (Sons of the Forest Caves: Best Order, Locations & Tips) . The important thing is to collect the story-relevant items and hold your own against the first mutants.
Bunker guide: Find keycards, defeat the Puffton bosses, and open the Luxury bunker
The Shovel is the key item you’ll need for the next steps. Many secrets on the island are buried underground — including bunker entrances used by the Puffton family. That’s your next destination if you want to follow the story. We also have a dedicated bunker guide (Sons of the Forest Bunkers: Best Order, Keycards, Loot & Tips) . For the story, your main goals are to find the keycards and unlock the Luxury bunker.
- Maintenance A: In this bunker, make sure to grab the Maintenance Keycard so you can access later bunkers.
- Food and Dining bunker: Your first major boss fight awaits here. To get the next VIP Keycard, you’ll have to face the Puffton couple. They’re basically slightly tougher Puffies. We recommend moving behind the glass wall at the back of the room and fighting from a rock there. The shotgun is excellent for this!
- Entertainment bunker: You’ll find another keycard here — the Guest Keycard. You’ll need it to open the next bunker and unlock the gate to the game’s ending.
- Residential bunker: This bunker is packed with loot and important items (like the Katana) and it’s a crucial step toward the ending. With the Guest Keycard, you can open several doors and, at the end, in a room full of monitors, enable the door to the Luxury bunker.
- Luxury bunker: Head there right away after unlocking it. Even though you can’t explore everything yet, you’ll find an important blueprint that points you toward your next objective. At the end you’ll see a golden door and, beside it, a skeleton holding the instructions for the Ancient Armor.
Ancient Armor and Solafite: Find rare artifacts in caves
To open the golden door in the Luxury bunker, you must wear a specific armor set. You can only craft it by finding the armor pieces and upgrading them using the blueprint you discovered. That means heading back into the caves for both the armor and the required material. You can tackle these two targets in any order.
- Cave with Ancient Armor: You’ll need the diving gear again here. This is the longest cave on the island, with multiple entrances on the east and west sides of the big mountain. We recommend the entrance to the southwest near the larger lake. Explore thoroughly to find the Ancient Armor.
- Cave with pickaxe: You’ll also need Solafite ore, which you can mine in another cave south of the golf course. It’s shorter than many other caves. Deep inside you’ll find a pickaxe, and right next to it the golden Solafite ore you can mine. Take as much as you can carry! You’ll need 12 Solafite to upgrade the armor. Tip: torches and flares help you spot enemies early.
Endgame walkthrough: Luxury bunker, Hell cave, and final boss fights
Use the Armor Plater, the Ancient Armor, and the Solafite ore to transform the armor, then use it to open the golden door in the Luxury bunker.
- Luxury bunker: Return to the Luxury bunker and open the golden door. This unlocks the Hell cave, letting you delve even deeper into the island’s mysteries.
- Hell cave: The Hell cave is dotted with red lava but fairly linear. You won’t be alone — Tim LeBlanc (son of the protagonist from The Forest) will fight alongside you. Push through to the end and defeat the large demon in the boss fight.
- On the beach: After a longer cutscene, you’ll wake up on the beach and can face the real boss of Sons of the Forest: a mutated Jianyu Zhang, the man who knocked you out at the beginning. He has turned into a Sluggy you must defeat.
After the boss fight, the game presents multiple endings. You can board the helicopter or pick up your backpack and remain on the island. Your friendship with Kelvin and especially Virginia also influences which ending you can get.
Conclusion: Story explained and tips for finishing
Sons of the Forest builds on the story of its predecessor and sheds more light on the forces behind the island’s mutations. You’ll explore much of the island, uncover clues, and gradually piece together its secrets.
It’s even more fun to play through with friends. [Rent a Sons of the Forest server from us]{.underline} and use our guide to reach the end of the story.
