How to Save & Rest – Sons of the Forest

In most games, saving your game is simple and straightforward, whether it be a menu option, a bonfire, or some kind of checkpoint. Survival crafting games are different, however, and saving your game generally requires some extra effort — Sons of the Forest is no different in that regard. In this guide, we’ll go over how to save your game, and how to use the same system to sleep, fulfilling your characters need for rest.

Making a Tent

To save your game and rest, you need to construct a tent. To do so, you’ll need a tarp and a stick. A tarp can be found in one of the black and yellow supply crates that surround the crash site. Then you need your stick, which you can get by looking on the ground in the forest, or by using the tactical axe on a bush or small tree.

Next, open your inventory with /, and then equip the tarp with /. You’ll then be able to place the tarp on the ground with /. Stand by one of the corners of the tarp and look at it, and you’ll see a white arrow pointing upwards. If you have a stick in your inventory (which you should), you’ll be able to press / again to place a stick under the corner of the tarp, creating a tent! That done, you can stand in front of the open part of the tent, and you’ll get the option to rest or save, which you can do by holding the corresponding buttons.

Having Kelvin Make a Tent

Of course, that’s a lot of work just to save your game. If you like, you can instead simply ask Kelvin to help you. First you’ll need to “rescue” Kelvin by interacting him (look down and hold // ) while he writhes around near the helicopter crash site. (You can see him on your minimap as a blue circle with a K in it.) Once you’ve got him standing and ready to work, you can interact with him by holding // again, and then give him commands.

Scroll down to build, press / , then scroll down again to shelter and press / again. Kelvin apparently already has a tarp and a stick, and will build a shelter for you! You can have him take it down by choosing the “Clear shelter” option — if you don’t do this, he won’t be able to build another shelter someplace else, so definitely make sure you have him pack up the tent if you want to change your save location.

A More Advanced Sleeping Situation

While a tent works, it isn’t the classiest way to get your beauty sleep. Once you’ve picked a good spot for a base, you’ll want to build a house, and then put a bed in it. Lucky for you, we’ve got detailed guides on doing just that:

• How to Build a House
• How to Make a Bed

That’s all there is to it! If you have questions about saving your game or resting in Sons of the Forest, let us know in the comments below.