Sons of the Forest: Ending explained and full walkthrough
Learn how to reach the ending in Sons of the Forest, and what it means
Want to have the Sons of the Forest ending explained? Sons Of The Forest has a rather complicated ending in its current early-access state. Not only is it hard to find, but it's also quite confusing to watch. Whether you've seen it play out on a stream, or have just wrapped up your own survival adventure, you're sure to have plenty of questions as the credits roll. Fortunately, we're here to answer them!
In this guide, we explain the Sons of the Forest ending, covering what it means and other relevant details that you can find throughout the game. We also provide a full walkthrough on how to reach the ending in Sons of the Forest.
On this page:
- Sons of the Forest ending requirements
- Sons of the Forest ending walkthrough
- Sons of the Forest ending explained
- Sons of the Forest secret endings
Sons of the Forest ending requirements
To complete Sons of the Forest, you must first get the following items in order:
- Rebreather
- Rope Gun
- Cross
- Shovel
- Maintenance Keycard
- VIP Keycard
- Guest Keycard
- Golden Armor
The order is important because certain items require others before you can find them. For example, the Rebreather and the Rope Gun allow you to get the Shovel in Sons of the Forest, which you can then use to find the keycards.
Sons of the Forest ending walkthrough
There are seven steps to this walkthrough, with the first six focusing on the items listed above (two are found in the same location). The final step guides you through the VIP Bunker, within which you'll witness the ending of Sons of the Forest.
1. Get the Rebreather
The first item you need to find is the Rebreather, which you'll find in a cave on the North side of the map. You can find the exact location on the map below:
The cave itself is fairly linear, but it's best to bring a weapon, as you'll encounter plenty of mutants throughout.
We'd recommend tracking down the Pistol, as it's an excellent early-game firearm that you can get before finding the Rebreather.
2. Get the Rope Gun and Cross
The Rope Gun and Cross are found in a cave on the West side of the island, right by one of the possible spawn areas. You can find the exact location marked on the map below:
As above, make sure to bring a weapon. There are some mean mutants lurking within the cave, and you'll likely need to fight at least a few as you explore.
Head in and make your way towards the large chamber ahead. Here, you can walk over to the light source ahead to find the Cross.
Then, take the passage out of this chamber to find a Sluggy trapped in a gap in the wall, with some Time Bombs scattered around on the floor. Use a Time Bomb to destroy the trapped Sluggy, and then continue through the cave until you find the Rope Gun.
3. Get the Shovel
The Shovel is now retrievable, so head to the cave found slightly to the West of the snowy mountain, marked on the map below:
Before you head in, make sure to gather some explosives, as you'll need them to escape the cave.
Once you're inside, use the zipline to cross the large cavern ahead. Then, dive into the underwater tunnel and swim to the other side. There, you must fight some cannibals before sliding down into another pool of water.
Climb out of the water and follow the lights along the nearby path. Continue through the caverns ahead, fighting the cannibals and mutants within, until you reach yet another pool. Dive in and swim to the other side of the underwater tunnel.
As you climb out of the water on the other side, you'll find the Shovel on a corpse overlooking a large chasm ahead.
4. Get the Maintenance Keycard
The Maintenance Keycard is found within an underground maintenance bunker, which you can only access by unearthing the hatch with the Shovel. You can find the exact location of the Maintenance Keycard marked on the map below:
After uncovering and climbing through the hatch and down the ladders, walk down the nearby corridor. Head through the doorway on your right to find the Maintenance Keycard on the desk ahead.
5. Get the VIP Keycard
The VIP Keycard is also required to fully explore the VIP Bunker, which is where the ending takes place. To find the VIP Keycard, you must go to the cave marked on the map below, found in the North-West corner of the map:
Head into the cave and climb down the hatch within. At the bottom of the ladders, use the Maintenance Keycard at the nearby door to unlock it and venture further into the bunker.
As you follow the corridors, you'll notice the water gets deeper until you eventually have to swim. Continue until you reach a locked doorway in a flooded corridor. On the left side of the flooded corridor, you'll find an open door that leads to a security office.
You'll find the VIP Keycard on a desk within the security office.
6. Get the Guest Keycard
The Guest Keycard is also important, as it allows you to reach the Surveillance Room. As of Patch 02, you'll need to head to the Surveillance Room to unlock the entrance to the final Bunker, where you can then proceed to the Sons of the Forest ending.
When you reach the above location, head into the cave and continue until you find yourself in a corridor. Continue ahead into the building and use your VIP Keycard to enter the next chamber.
You'll find yourself in a sprawling lab, and there are some stairs on the far side. Climb to the upper floor and head past the pool loungers to find a bar.
You'll find the Guest Keycard in one of the booths stretching along the right side of the bar. It's near the Night Club sign.
7. Get the Golden Armor
The Golden Armor is the final item that you need to get, as you must wear it to fully explore the VIP Bunker. Below, you'll find the location of the cave in which you'll get the Golden Armor marked on our interactive map:
This cave system is a huge series of interconnected tunnels, and it's full of mean mutants. To reach the Golden Armor, you'll need to delve deep into the cave, heading through underwater passages, tight tunnels, and down steep slopes as you fight back monsters.
Eventually, you'll find the Golden Armor displayed on a strange pedestal. Grab the Golden Armor, and then climb the nearby rope to start heading towards the exit.
8. Find the Surveillance Room to unlock the Bunker
Before you can access the Bunker, you'll need to head to the Surveillance Room. This is another addition in Patch 02, making the ending slightly more complicated.
When you reach the cave, head down the stairs and go through the yellow door on your left. Here, a cutscene will trigger in which some pals come along to help you kill a Sluggy. When the cutscene ends, get up and head through the door on the opposite side.
Continue down the corridor and head down the stairs on the opposite side. When you reach Floor 2, head down the corridor once again. At the end, you'll find a well lit Surveillance Room.
Timmy will appear on one of the screens and attempt to enter the Bunker. To open the door for Timmy, interact with the computer nearby. This will also open the door for you, allowing you to enter the final Bunker.
9. Explore the VIP Bunker
After collecting all of the items listed above and opening the door from the Surveillance Room, you must make your way to the VIP Bunker on the East side of the map. You can find the exact location of the VIP Bunker marked on the map below:
When you arrive at the Bunker, head inside and go down the stairs and take the left door. Continue through the corridors ahead and kill any mutants lurking within. We'd recommend using powerful weapons, such as the Revolver or Katana, as you'll be fighting a lot of baddies.
At the end of the corridor, head down the stairs again and continue down the connecting corridors until you reach a penthouse-style apartment.
Explore the apartment to find a ruined bathroom. Within, you'll find a secret tunnel hidden behind some billowing smoke. Head through the smoke to find a golden door. Fully equip the Golden Armor, and then interact with the door to continue further into the caves below.
Pass through the tight tunnel and kill the Twins mutants at the bottom. Use a strong weapon such as the Shotgun to clear the room.
It's fairly linear from here, as you simply need to keep following the streams of lava through the cave. The caverns can stretch quite far, but you'll always find another tunnel on the far side that leads to the next area.
Eventually, you'll find a gap you can squeeze through. On the other side, you'll enter a Golden Cube.
Inside, there is a man holding a laptop, and Kelvin will run in shortly after. Then, the man will look at you and show you a 15 second countdown on their laptop, before freaking out and temporarily projecting other images of himself. Very normal.
When the projections disappear, the side of the cube bursts open and you'll see a futuristic city in another dimension. However, after a brief moment, the Golden Cube will seal once again, preventing you from taking the leap out into the sci-fi setting.
As the cube seals, it'll open on the other side to show a Sluggy near the Golden Cube before cutting to black. When you regain control, you'll find yourself by a helicopter on the beach.
Sons of the Forest ending explained
Well, it's fair to say that the ending feels rather rushed, so it's unsurprising that many have questions about what they just witnessed.
Let's start with the Golden Cube. This is a mysterious artefact that was found by the various corporations who then fought over the island. The Puffton's eventually purchased the land and built some fancy bunkers around the place to study further.
The Golden Cube activates every eight cycles, which is an amount of time that's currently unknown. However, the soldier that you saw upon entering had a timer counting down, so presumably there is a defined gap in-universe.
When the Golden Cube activates, it turns everyone on the island who is not standing within the Cube into mutants. It also causes the dimensional slip that those inside the Cube witness.
The dimensional slip shows a futuristic city that looks more like Cyberpunk 2077 than anything to do with The Forest franchise. And yet, now we know it's out there, and you have to wonder if we might visit the city in a sequel. We don't know more on the city right now, as details are surprisingly sparse.
Actually, sparse defines much of the Sons of the Forest ending right now. While some fans suspect that the man in the Golden Cube (and his companion with the shotgun, who appears in the cutscene before finding the Golden Armor) are Eric and Timmy from the original Forest game, there's little evidence to actually confirm this theory.
We also don't know if future titles will let us explore the futuristic city that you glimpse from the Golden Cube. Of course, that'd be a huge departure for a franchise about surviving in cannibal-infested forests, so we'll have to wait and see.
If you've come away from the ending feeling a bit disappointed at how rushed it was, then bear in mind that The Forest felt similarly rushed during Early Access. Over time, though, the developers fleshed out the story into what it is today, so hopefully we can expect the same for Sons of the Forest.
Sons of the Forest secret endings
There are technically three endings for Sons of the Forest, but they all largely play out the same. However, each is tied to an achievement, so we'll cover them all here.
Keep Your Friends Close secret ending
The secret ending involves Virginia and Kelvin, so you'll need to keep them both alive and befriend Virginia before heading into the VIP Bunker. If you do, they'll both dart into the Golden Cube in the final cutscene and witness the dimensional slip by your side.
When you reappear on the beach, get in the helicopter and they'll both join you, allowing you to all leave the island together. This unlocks the "Keep Your Friends Close" achievement.
Fought Demons main ending
The Fought Demons ending plays out almost exactly as described above, with the exception that neither Kelvin or Virginia need to survive. To get this ending, simply reach the Golden Cube regardless of whether your companions are still alive.
When you reappear on the beach, take the helicopter and leave the island to get the "Fought Demons" achievement. This should also pop alongside the secret ending achievement if you have both Kelvin and Virginia alive.
Fight Demons ending
The Fight Demons ending involves reaching the Golden Cube, with one key difference directly after. When you awaken on the beach, do not go to the helicopter. Instead, turn around and grab your gear from the floor. As you take your bag, the helicopter will leave without you, leaving you stranded on the island.
As the helicopter flies off, you'll unlock the "Fight Demons" achievement.
This is the only ending that allows you to continue surviving on the island after finding and entering the Golden Cube. You can keep playing with the others by reloading your save, but that'll put you back before the ending takes place.
That wraps up our guide on the Sons of the Forest ending. If you want to find everything on the island before reaching the end, make sure to check out our interactive Sons of the Forest map. If you opt to stay on the island, take a look at our guide on the best base locations in Sons of the Forest to set yourself up for long-term survival.