There is no doubt thatSTALKER 2is the franchise’scrown jewel, at least as far as sales and popularity go. The 2024 releasebroke multiple recordsand became a global phenomenon, but it is not the only good thing to come out of GSC Game World.

TheMetroseries, one of thebest post-apocalyptic franchisesever made, was created after a group of disgruntled developers bailed after working onSTALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl.

stalker 2 poltergeist

STALKER 2 PS5 Version Not Planned By GSC Game World

GSC Game World has no plans to port STALKER 2 on the PS5.

With that blueprint in mind,STALKER: Call of Pripyatdeveloper Ruslan Didenko decided to shoot his shot. VG Entertainment has announcedForest Reigns, a single-playerpost-apocalypticadventureset in Paris.

Forest Reigns Paris 2

Paris Is Burning: Nature Strikes Back

The premise ofForest Reignsgets full points for originality. The city of Paris has been overrun by a sentient hostile forest, collapsing society as we know it in the process.

Unlike the usual post-apocalyptic greyed-out visuals,Forest Reignscontrasts the fall of Paris with a bright and mystical palettereminiscent ofOuter Worlds.

10 Best Survival Games With Unique Mechanics: This War of Mine, Kenshi, Frostpunk, Stalker

The reveal trailer andSteam pageshowcaseunique mechanics, including the ability to use the forest’s disdain for humanity to your advantagewhen facing other human enemies.

For example, firing a shot into an exposed root can cause it to raise itself from the ground, suddenly creating a cover that you can use in a gunfight.

Lego Fortnite, Raft, Palworld, Project Zomboid

The forest can also directly attack humans if provoked the right way, though this has a risk of backfiring: after all, you too are the enemy, as far as it is concerned.

10 Best Survival Games With Unique Mechanics

From city management to apocalyptic shooters, surviving in these games means very different things.

Based on the promotional materials, it looks likeForest Reignswill follow a near-futuristic aesthetic, combiningCold War weaponrylike the MP5 submachine gun or the F2 marksman rifle with high-tech survival equipment.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl

The tentativesystem requirementson Steam mention 16GB of RAM, 8GB of VRAM, and 100GB of storage space. Considering how the game’s development cycle is far from over, those are not to be taken at face value.

Forest Reignshas no release date yet.VG Entertainment has confirmed that it will come out for PC on Steam, with no additional information on other platforms or storefronts byMicrosoftor Epic.

10 Best Survival Games for Beginners

Surviving is fun if you pick the right games to do it with.