One of my favorite indie horror games of 2014 was the indie horror game The Forest. It blends some of my favorite things — open-world horror, co-op, base-building, cannibals, assorted other monsters, all wrapped in a package that resembles both Cannibal Holocaust and The Descent — and on top of all that, developer Endnight Games has done an admirable job in constantly improving it since its release last May.

It’s because of this that I keep sharing these updates with you, because this is already a stellar horror game and it just keeps getting better. The latest update has added a bunch of new items and fixes, specifically for the multiplayer. You can also now die of thirst, hunger, cold and drowning!

Version 0.14 Changelog:

(Custom Building)Procedural foundations now auto fill with experimental floor making structures simpler to build.
(Custom Building)Added valid angle & distance gizmo to Foundations, Floors, Walls and Roofs
(Custom Building)Added option to auto fill points of walls, and roofs from in snapping range (press C)
(Custom Building)Added no wall option to experimental walls segment rotation
(Custom Building)New buildable item: Experimental Roof! Once placed aim upwards to select height. This means it is now possible to build complete structures!
Reduced log cost of foundations for all buildings
Added monitoring system to alert players if their save game has been corrupted beyond repair
Save script now uses the grabber system (adding items to item holder next to a shelter no longer saves the game unexpectedly)
Fix for vanishing items in weapon/explosive rack when picking up items while already having the max amount
Fixed white log with missing texture in world
Fixed bug where breaking apart coneflower would spawn a broken chicory plant
Cave stalagmites now have collision
Lethal starvation system ! Be aware of your food supplies as staying hungry too long will eventually cause you harm.
Lethal thirst system ! Stay hydrated and healthy by finding a clear water source every day, failing this may result in death.
Lethal frost system ! Cold will now eventually kill you. When you feel yourself shaking and the screen frosting over, build a fire!
New buildable item: Rain Water collector. Requires 4 sticks, 1 turtle shell.
New item: Carryable pot. Found at campsites around world. Can be used to boil dirty water.
Can now drink at ponds and lakes. Ponds can be polluted and thus require water to be boiled.
Blue berries now give small amount of water
Fixed bug that would block an explosive holder slot when attempting to place a small rock/tennis ball on it
Fixed bug that caused the full screen to turn frozen after having a lag spike or pressing alt-tab while being cold
(audio) Added timeout before re-triggering ‘Sighted by enemy’ sfx to avoid issue where it’s called dozens of times in a row as new enemies see you
(audio)Startle, hit and die sounds added for deer, rabbits, raccoons and squirrels
(audio)Advanced tree wind effect added! Tree leaves will rustle as you move past them.
Fov slider added to options menu!
Dead mutants will sometimes have loot (meds, chocolate bars, soda)
Fixed bug where explosives wouldn’t affect distorted enemies
Rope trap now requires rope to construct
Improved regular mutant reactions to explosions
Increased inventory bomb carry limit to 5
New buildable item: Trip wire explosive!
Survival book traps pages reorganization. New small traps section (moved rabbit trap here, and renamed to ‘animal trap’ Food section in book renamed to Food and Water and water collector moved to old position of rabbit trap.
Home & yellow hammer overlay icons now disabled while in caves
Added option to always disable home & yellow hammer overlay icons to options menu
Any object that can’t be stashed now has G to Drop hint
(multiplayer) Fixed issue where lizard armor wouldn’t show up for other players
(multiplayer) Fixed player climb rope animation not showing for other players
(multiplayer) Fixed Log sled position and contents not syncing correctly
(multiplayer) Fixed bug where after time passes player avatar moves away from actual player location, while players name stays with players true location.
(multiplayer) Fixed Issue with screen re-positioning and orientation bugs that could occur after time
(multiplayer) Fixed walls disappearing after too many placed
Enemies will now switch to a burnt material when set on fire
New item added: Rebreather! Equip to dive underwater (there are several hidden throughout world)
New recipe added: Waterskin, 2x deer skin, 1 x rope
Bombs will now also explode dead bodies
Optimized fish a.i. and fixed some instances of no fish appearing in ponds
all animals can be killed with explosives now
Player can now swim underwater for a brief period of time (look for rebreather to swim underwater longer)
New item added: Turtle shell! Can be taken from killed beach turtles. May be used in crafting structures or as a makeshift shield to block attacks! (or even as a weapon)
Turtles now provide 2 delicious pieces of generic meat
Improved various bugs with noose trap
Fixed issue that would eventually cause a massive lag after burning trees down
Optimized a bunch of physics objects over time. Should fix general performance slow down after cutting down hundreds of trees and plants.
Optimized billboard script to improve cpu usage by roughly 10%
Improved cave physics use – which was causing some major performance issues even outside caves.
Optimized work scheduler to reduce lag spikes in greeble intensive areas (areas with large concentration of ferns)
Timer on title screen switches to yellow text that reads NEW PATCH RELEASING TODAY when time runs out (just in case we miss deadline by a few hours like last patch)

The Forest is available now on Steam for $14.99.