Dark Forest

Biodata

Background / History

Meng Shu received Dark Forest as part of the Simple Game Development System's beginner package, including its development tutorial, concept art, promotional CG, art assets, trial demo, soundtrack, and the method for a first-person VR version. Having completed the game in his previous life, he regarded it as a small-scale horror title capable of creating exceptional oppression and fear. 1

He recreated the game using the system's development engine, beginning with Chapter 1 and releasing a live gameplay demo alongside a downloadable trial version. The demo's premise presented players with a sunless forest: they scavenged for supplies during the day and attempted to survive attacks from terrifying creatures at night. 2

The game gained broad attention through its demo, trial version, and monster-design reveal. It later launched in Early Access with its first three chapters before receiving an official release; three weeks after that release, it had sold 1.66 million copies and generated 114.5 million yuan in revenue. 7 9 11 22

A VR remake was later planned as more than a direct port. It preserves the original premise while adding new storylines, items, NPCs, quests, FBC lore, and the Forbidden Forest setting. 207 216

Setting

Dark Forest is set in a forest in a foreign country during 1987. An extraterrestrial luminous life form crashes there, causing the forest to mutate and grow wildly; trees block roads and sunlight, cutting residents off from the outside world. 2 207

The forest's inhabitants become infected by mushroom rot and mutate into hostile creatures. Its trees can absorb human bodies, while the deeper forest is perpetually dim, foggy, and choked with dense growth. 2 4

The original protagonist is an amnesiac investigator entering the forest to uncover the cause of the mutation. Later FBC material identifies him as an investigation and research specialist sent into the forest to investigate its source. 2 94

The Dream and the Giant Tree

The forest's apparent escape route ultimately leads to an eerie residential area. The true ending reveals that the forest is a dream within a giant tree, where trapped NPCs remain inside their own dreams. 21

• Good ending — The protagonist awakens from the dream and sacrifices his life by burning everything, escaping the forest. 207
• Bad ending — The protagonist remains trapped in the dream and is confined within a “warm family” inside his consciousness. 207

FBC Connection

The Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) first appears in Dark Forest through logos on abandoned military equipment, documents, tanks, helicopters, gates, and walkie-talkies. The organization handles bizarre incidents and is linked to 21 Points and Visage, establishing a shared setting. 47 94

Gameplay

Creatures

• Human Skin Great Tree — A colossal tree whose bark consists of fused human bodies and faces; it is implied to consume and digest people. 9
• Wild Man — A humanoid with tree sprouts growing from its head. 9
• Head-splitting Monster — A creature whose head and torso are split apart, connected only through its lower abdomen. 9
• Mushroom Man — A humanoid composed of clusters of mushrooms. 9
• Vengeful Spirits — Translucent spirits encountered among the forest's supernatural threats. 9
• Banshee — A hostile entity associated with nighttime attacks; in the VR remake it can extinguish lights, cause earthquakes, and spawn young upon death. 9 218
• Werewolf — An NPC in the VR version who recognizes the protagonist, knows details of his mission, and offers him a deal. 239

Dark Forest VR

New Content

The VR remake is a first-person, semi-open-world reimagining designed to feel unfamiliar even to original players. It includes a vast forest map, expanded NPC stories, more side quests and random encounters, greater night-event randomness, additional attacking monsters, and ghostly enemies. 216

The remake incorporates the Forbidden Forest, an ancient anomalous forest inhabited by humanoid entities. Its “Naming Hazard” allows these entities to steal a person's name if the person responds to the name they are given; victims lose their identity and eventually become part of the forest. 207

Veteran Benefit

Players who bought the original game at full price received a Desert Eagle with 72 bullets in Dark Forest VR. The VR release also includes the original game and adds support for multiple languages. 230

Reception

• The original game was credited with overturning the perception that horror games were a joke, opening the horror-game market and establishing the genre's place among other game categories. 169
• Its official release rapidly reached first place on the popularity ranking, while players developed guides for night defense, stamina management, and monster encounters. 21
• Dark Forest VR received a 9.8 score from CA, with praise for its lifelike visuals, large dangerous map, unavoidable night mechanics, random events, unsettling lore, and oppressive forest atmosphere. 229
• Common criticisms of the VR remake included weak quest guidance, complex puzzles, scarce ammunition, fragile melee weapons, fast day-night cycles, and the ease of becoming lost. 229