How to Save Your Game in Sons of the Forest

Sons of the Forest is a challenging survival horror game that doesn't forgive mistakes. Dangers lurk in every corner, especially early on, when you're just starting your first run. Saving is an integral part of any game, and it's essential here because you will need to save often to make any meaningful progress. But the game doesn't really explain how the save mechanic works. In this guide, we will show you how!

How to create a save game file in Sons of the Forest

To save your progress in Sons of the Forest, you need to create a shelter. Any shelter will do for this purpose, and for the most basic one, you only need a foil tarp and a single stick. You can find the reflective foil tarp at the beginning of the game in one of the containers at the helicopter crash site. Plenty of sticks are on the ground, especially in forested areas, so you should be able to find one easily. If you struggle, you can always use your axe to whack a small tree, and it will produce a single stick for you.

Related: Sons of the Forest Map, Map Size, and Locations

Once you have the necessary ingredients, just follow the steps above to create a tarp shelter:

• Press I to open your inventory.
• Move your mouse cursor to the top right and click on the foil tarp to equip it.
• While holding the tarp, look on the ground to find a suitable area to place it. Once the red tarp silhouette becomes white, right-click to place the tarp on the ground. You can also use the R and Q keys to rotate the outline.
• Aim at the corner of the tarp until you see a white dotted arrow pointing up. If you have a stick in your inventory, right-click again, and you will prop the tarp up using a stick. Your shelter is now complete.

You can now perform two actions when approaching your newly-constructed shelter: Sleep (by pressing and holding the Z key) and Save the game (by pressing and holding the E key). The shelter will appear on your GPS device, so you will always have a reference point to return to when you need to save your game again.

For more Sons of the Forest survival tips, check out How to get water in Sons of the Forest and Sons of the Forest crafting system, explained here on Pro Game Guides.