As Sons of the Forest launches into 1.0, the devs recommend players wanting to fully experience the new features make a fresh save

A screenshot from Sons of the Forest showing a helicopter in a dark forest.

(Image credit: Newnight)

Sons of the Forest 1.0 is here, and it’s launched with a plethora of new features and improvements. However, while the full release is compatible with early-access saves, developer Endnight Games has recommended that some may want to start fresh for the full new experience.

Endnight Games’ open-world survival game has been available to play in early access for a whole year now, so the thought of potentially restarting precious saves may be daunting to some. With that said, there’s absolutely nothing stopping players from continuing as they were, if they wish.

“If you have an older save game it will still work, but we recommend starting a fresh save if you want to experience the story and all the new features fully,” Endnight Games wrote in the 1.0 patch notes.

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So, what are those new features in question? Perhaps most notably, a creative mode has been added, complete with an alternative creative inventory, if you want to have a slightly more chilled out time. If you’re planning on braving the usual survival experience, then you’ll have to watch out for the new sickness system, which can make your character ill if you eat bad food or drink dirty water (you can cure yourself with meds and clean water).

For those playing with friends, proximity chat has been added for a new way to communicate, and voice filters will be applied when you’re exploring underwater and in caves, which is a really neat detail.

Story wise, there’s a brand-new choice-based ending to aim for, as well as five new cutscenes and fresh voice acting in certain scenes. There’s plenty of new details to spot while exploring, too, including extra paths, mini caves, and partially dug tunnels. A whole new cave can be unlocked after the end game sequence, too.

This barely scratches the surface of everything new that’s been included in the 1.0 launch - if you want to look at the enormous list of changes, be sure to check out the full patch notes. You might want to grab yourself a cup of tea first though, because you’ll be there a while.

For more games like Sons of the Forest, be sure to check out our recommendations for the best survival games, as well as the best multiplayer PC games.

Catherine is a News Writer for TechRadar Gaming. Armed with a journalism degree from The University of Sheffield, she was sucked into the games media industry after spending far too much time on her university newspaper writing about Pokémon and cool indie games, and realising that was a very cool job, actually. She previously spent 19 months working at GAMINGbible as a full-time journalist. She loves all things Nintendo, and will never stop talking about Xenoblade Chronicles.