Sons of the Forest Creative Mode explained
If you’re hoping to get creative across the island in Sons of the Forest, here’s how.
In Sons of the Forest, you spend most of your time trying to find a way off a mysterious and dangerous island, which just so happens to be riddled with hostile cannibals and strange mutant creatures. But, if you’d rather explore this vast island and all it has to offer at your own pace - without unruly cannibals or a risk of sickness - you can play Sons of the Forest in Creative Mode, to an extent.
While Sons of the Forest doesn’t explicitly have a creative mode to begin with, there is a way that players can enjoy the game however they please. Whether you just want a peaceful time or want to spawn in every piece of equipment you could possibly need all at once, here’s how to play Sons of the Forest in Creative Mode.
Sons of the Forest Creative Mode explained
As mentioned in our introduction, Sons of the Forest does not have an explicitly-labelled Creative Mode for players to mess around with from the beginning of the game.
Instead, Creative Mode is only officially unlocked after finishing the Sons of the Forest's story. Once you complete the game and reach your ending, you can then quit and start a new single-player game in 'Creative Mode', choosing the mode as you would a difficulty level! This mode is also only available in single-player as of right now.
Sons of the Forest's official Creative Mode features no hostile enemies and allows for free construction.
That said, players wanting an easier time or more freedom over how their game plays out have a few options if they're yet to unlock the Creative Mode, depending on just how creative they want to be.
Changing difficulty in Sons of the Forest
The first option is to start a save file of Sons of the Forest on ‘Peaceful difficulty.’ This will remove all hostile enemies from the game, so you can focus on exploring and surviving the elements first and foremost.
Using console commands in Sons of the Forest
The second option is to use console commands while in-game. To do this, players will want to type ‘cheatstick’ while in-game. After that, they can then open the debug menu using ‘F1’, which will present the player with dozens of console commands that can be used to customise their game.
We have a list of some of the best and most important console commands over on our guide on how to use cheats and commands in Sons of the Forest, but with these, you’ll be able to spawn in items, turn on God mode, teleport, change seasons, and more.
Using mods in Sons of the Forest
Players can also achieve similar freedom over their Sons of the Forest save file using mods. More specifically, save file editor mods. Using these, players are able to modify their save files to their hearts content using an external application, which some players may find easier than using console commands.
When it comes to installing mods, we always recommend doing your due diligence when installing unfamiliar files, but we do personally recommend SOTFEdit on NexusMods for Sons of the Forest. This is a mod we have used previously, which requires the installation of two other mod packages to work. Instructions for installation are detailed on the NexusMods page!
Once installed, you’ll be able to run the SOTFEdit application from your game files and edit your chosen save file from there. Then, simply boot up the game, open your edited save file, and every change you have made should be present. Using this application, you can change your relationships with companions, their outfits, what’s in your inventory, your game difficulty, and more with ease.
When it comes to playing creative mode in Sons of the Forest, there you have it! I will say that using console commands is the most straight-forward way of doing this that doesn’t require the installation of any third-party files, but if you don’t mind messing around in your game files, using mods to modify saves is much easier in the long-run!
It's also worth noting that save file editor mods can be a little buggy if playing in multiplayer, so we recommend reserving save file editor mods for your single-player adventures and using console commands if playing in multiplayer.
For more on Sons of the Forest, take a look at how to get your hands on Ancient Armor, which is required for the endgame, as well as where to find all weapons across the island.