If you want to get into Sons of the Forest but are worried that it might have permadeath, we’ve got the guide for you. While Sons of the Forest is definitely brutal in that it doesn’t tell you what any of the stats mean, it isn’t as punishing as it could be.
Permadeath in Sons of the Forest, Explained
There is no permadeath in Sons of the Forest. While you will likely die many times, you won’t have to restart everything every time it happens.
Related: Do You Lose Everything When You Die in Sons of the Forest? Death Explained
There are multiple ways to die in Sons of the Forest, notwithstanding hunger and thirst, but when you do die, you’ll experience a “soft death” and a “hard death.”
The “soft death” is the first death you’ll always get depending on your difficulty. With this death, you’ll wake up in a cannibal area or somewhere nearby and need to get your bag and high tail it out of there. You’ll have another shot at survival.
You’ll then be given around two days for the “soft death” to reset. If you die before the two days are up, you’ll experience the “hard death.” This death will give you your run time and prompt you to load your last save, restart, or go to the main menu.
If you choose to restart, you’ll start Sons of the Forest from the very beginning. In this way, you can play Sons of the Forest with permadeath. If you don’t want that, simply load your last save. If you do restart, your saves will still be there as well.
The only other permadeath in Sons of the Forest is if you kill Kelvin. Kelvin will not come back if you choose to kill him in Sons of the Forest.
