Sons of the Forest is the long-awaited sequel to The Forest, a highly acclaimed Indie Horror Game where players must survive on an Island overrun by mutants and cannibals. The story followed the protagonist, Erin in search for his son, Timmy who was taken by The Red Man in an effort to revive his daughter through human sacrifice. The sequel moves away from their story and onto a new protagonist. An Operative in search for what remains of the Puffton family. But in your adventure you quickly realise that not much remains of the crew. A new device is found: the Golden Cube. These are the Sons of the Forest Endings Explained.
Sons of the Forest Endings Explained
All Endings have the same beginning, this is when the protagonist finds the Golden Cube. The Green Jacket man (Timmy) can be seen already inside, staring intensely at the laptop in hand as the timer ticks down to zero. Around the 30 second mark however, Kelvin and Virginia can be seen narrowly escaping the Caves and into the safety of the Cube. That is if these two companions are alive at the end of the game. As the door to the Cube closes down, you see the antagonist try to get in but fail. The timer continues to tick down, leaving the antagonist on the outside to whatever comes when the timer hits zero.
Related: How to Revive Kelvin in Sons of the Forest.
Once the Cube door closes, Timmy can be seen grabbing his head in agony, as his body is split into 4, each writhing in pain to the effects of the Cube. The door behind you opens to reveal a City, with flying cars and what looks like a destroyed Earth and the Moon in the distance. My interpretation of this moment is that the Cube is a time capsule, taking players into the distance future, thus freezing the effects of the any mutation. Whilst the Cube acts as a window into what looks like another world, its reach is far, as you are floating above the flying cars, away from civilisation. In that moment of incomprehension, the thought of entering this world seems far away due to how high up you are.
So the door closes once more and you return to the Island as if nothing had happened. Timmy, Kelvin and yourself remain human once more, whilst Virginia remains in her mutated form. The antagonist is transformed into a giant pound of flesh, with only the head intact at the Cave’s ceiling. It transitions to reveal that the helicopter is here to take you home. But the choice is yours as to whether you stay or go.
Good Ending
The Good Ending is revealed to be the choice of leaving the Island on the helicopter with the man who saved you from Sluggy and Timmy. When this is selected you enter the helicopter and begin to fly off, leaving the Island behind and crossing over the Sea. The credits roll and you know that you have left behind Kelvin and Virginia (if they are alive by the end of the game). But instead of staying and fighting the demon as your mantra suggests, you leave the Island, away from all of the terrors as the cannibals and mutants remain.
Bad Ending
The Bad Ending is the result of choosing to stay behind on the Island, picking up your backpack and resuming your hunt against the Demons. You will eventually return to your companions to continue your mission, thus continuing the open-world survival game that you have been playing. The game will go on as normal as a post-game from the final cutscene of witnessing the 8 month cycle of the Golden Cube.
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Bonus Ending
The Bonus Ending is only obtained if Virginia is with you at the end of the game. Whilst the ending plays out the same, the presence of Virginia is different to the others as she is already a mutant. Whilst her mind is intact, you question if she is a mutant like the others as she keeps her innocence and humanity. After returning to the Island, Virginia falls into the protagonist’s arms as the result of exhaustion, her body should have been transformed by the Island as the antagonists were. But the Cube preserved her humanity.
What Do The Endings Mean?
This is my interpretation of Sons of the Forest and is by no means backed by facts or science. This is what I believe to be the explanation for the endings of this game. I believe that the Puffton family outbid to win the Island in order to find a cure for Virginia. Their wealth likely comes from the golden ore found throughout the Island Caves. Through their digging, they locate the otherworldly object, the Golden Cube which upon investigation, opens every 8 cycles. This likely means that it operates after every 8 months. Humans find out that this Capsule preserves human life, taking them to another dimension, years into the future, with advanced technology.
The Effects of the Golden Cube
Both Virginia and Timmy react to the effects of the Cube, with Timmy having his place in time ripped into 4 as he goes through the Cube. Through obtaining notes, you learn that those who enter the Cube are safe as it is operating. The Golden Cube acts as some form of time capsule, preserving the current biological state of the person inside. Whilst many wonder if the City houses the rich who hide from the Island and return to obtain more of the gold ore found inside the Caves, I wonder if the City is the future and those who stand within the Cube have their biological life paused, creating an indefinite moment of immortality.
What we know for sure is that the Cube seems to pause the effects of the mutation as those on the Island transform into mutants. At least, everyone but the Cannibals. So why are they safe? Humans experience the mutations as a result of the Obelisk after the subject dies and is placed inside. This is shown through experimentation done by the Red Man in the first game. But it seems that the Golden Cube has a similar effect as everything within its nearby surroundings is transformed into a mutant. Their bodies twisted, minds broken, what we see as the beginning process of what was going to happen to Timmy.
The Cannibals are likely safe simply by being far away from the Cube’s radius. The Cube likely only affects those who are underground. As the Puffton bought the land and built a load of underground bunkers, their lives would be shortly snuffed out by the Cube as the cycle returns once more. This theory has evidence due to the fact that Eric is not transformed by the Cube as seen in the final cutscene of the game.
Is Virginia a Mutant?
As Virginia was kept away from the terrors of the Island, she never saw the inside of the Cube. Instead she runs around the Island trying to survive. However, we do not know whether Virginia always had these mutations. I do not believe that Virginia had these mutations when she originally went to the Island. Edward Puffton wanted to build luxury bunkers for rich people to stay at. But during their building, the Cube cycle hit so the parents and the entire crew working on the Bunkers were transformed into mutants, leaving Virginia alone. Virginia experienced the effects of the Cube, now rocking three arms and legs, but her mind remains intact. The Cube did not free her from the mutations but its effects mentally exhaust her, likely due to the fusion of other selves.
The mutations appear to be a fusion of multiple versions of the self, as Virginia’s links directly to her passion for ballet, where her feet are fused shut, resembling a ballet shoe. If this is the case as the Cube suggests to alter time by shifting through dimensions, keeping those inside within a frozen time capsule, then everyone transformed by the Cube is split versions of themselves fused together as a result of the artifact.
Other Theories
Other theories explore the identity of the antagonist. Has he come from the other dimension to obtain more ore as their form of currency or energy within the advanced civilization? We know that the effects of the Cube means that people can travel to and from dimensions and when you see where the Cube is placed in the City, all of civilization should be safe from its effects. It is unknown whether the antagonist has come from the City, but we know that they too understand the Cube’s cycle.
There is also the theory that Timmy came to the Island to heal himself of his mutations, using the Cube as the artefact to heal him. His reaction to the Cube of his identity being split may be seen as his bubbling mutation that we have seen in the ending of The Forest is being drawn out and destroyed by the Cube. It would at least explain his presence in the game and his knowledge on dimensional travel. The Obelisk from The Forest obviously behaves differently to the Golden Cube, so it would explain why Timmy had a reaction and Virginia did not.
That is our explanation of all Sons of the Forest Endings. For more Sons of the Forest content, we have many guides available, including How to Get the Maintenance Keycard in Sons of the Forest and What Happens When You Die in Sons of the Forest? Answered. Feel free to check them out if you are interested.
