Sons of the Forest heavily emphasizes the "survival" portion of survival horror, as players need to craft tools from scratch and make one of mankind's most significant achievements, a fire. Essential to cooking food, fires give players a much better opportunity to overcome hunger, perhaps the most consistent obstacle in the game. Thankfully, the tools needed to build a fire for a campsite or just in the wilderness during the exploration can be found fairly quickly as long as players have space in their inventory.

The only two items players need to make a fire are 2 Sticks and a Lighter, the latter of which may be found simply by gathering tools from around the helicopter crash site. Players can get a Lighter almost immediately after they get used to the basic controls within Sons of the Forest. Sticks, on the other hand, are found everywhere in the forested areas of the island players find themselves trapped on. While these bare twigs and branches are also used to build structures and other helpful items, players can always set a couple aside to make their fire.

Related: The Forest: The First Places You Need To Go (New Player Guide)

How To Start a Fire in Sons of the Forest

Sons of the Forest Different Stick Prompts for Player to Either Break Them for Fire or Stick One in Ground

Equipping a Stick gives players two new prompts when looking at the ground, either indicated by two small white lines or a circular mark on the surface below. Picking the first of these options breaks the stick into pieces; a step players need to select to make a fire. Players will need to break multiple sticks in the same spot to have a longer-lasting longer and, therefore, should consider sticks an essential item to get in Sons of the Forest for this task. Although a fire can be started using one stick, it won't be around long enough to cook food or illuminate a busy night.

Players can break two sticks for a decent lasting fire

Once players have broken at least two sticks for a fire, another prompt appears through their interaction button (defaulted as "E" on PC). This option automatically lights the sticks on fire using a leaf, beginning a simple flame for players to use. The amount of sticks used in this process determines how long the fire lasts, as players cannot add more broken sticks to the fire after it has already started. Incredible for lighting up areas and cooking multiple pieces of food to eat in Sons of the Forest, a fire must be a top priority for players when starting their journey in this game.

More: The Forest: Best Weapons For Survival (& How to Find Them)

  • Sons of the Forest Poster
    Sons of the Forest
    Platform:
    PC
    Released:
    2023-02-23
    Developer:
    Endnight Games
    Publisher:
    Newnight
    Genre:
    Survival Horror
    ESRB:
    M
    Prequel:
    The Forest
    How Long To Beat:
    12h 1m