Developer: Ghost Camp
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Genre: Casual, Strategy
Publisher: Ghost Camp
Forest of Deceit is a social deduction party game that throws players into a mysterious forest where trust is your greatest weapon but also your biggest weakness. The game is developed and published by Ghost Camp.
Everyone is divided into one of two secret roles: the Innocents, who must work together to gather enough resources to survive, and the Traitors, who secretly sabotage the group’s efforts from within. As the nights pass, members of the group mysteriously begin disappearing, leaving everyone questioning who can really be trusted.
Rather than focusing on an in-depth narrative, the game lets its atmosphere and player interactions create the story. Every accusation, every lie, and every vote shapes how each session unfolds, making every match feel slightly different depending on the people you’re playing with.
One of the biggest strengths is just how easy it is to get everyone into the game. Only one person needs to own a copy, acting as the host while streaming the game through Discord or another screen-sharing service. Everyone else simply joins using a browser on their phone, tablet, or laptop by entering a code and their name. Within minutes, everyone is connected and ready to play.
The randomised player avatars are a nice visual touch, although they’re more cosmetic than functional. Everything is handled through your personal device, making interactions feel smooth and accessible without requiring every player to purchase the game themselves.
I also really appreciated the narrated introduction. It immediately establishes the eerie atmosphere while explaining the basics of how everything works. That being said, I felt some of the mechanics weren’t explained quite enough. During my first few rounds, I often found myself unsure about certain systems, particularly how some of the more unique mechanics worked. It wasn’t enough to stop me from playing, but it definitely left me feeling a little lost at times.
I also encountered a minor issue on mobile where the interface appeared slightly zoomed in, causing parts of the cards to be cut off around the edges. It’s not a game-breaking issue, but it did make reading certain cards a little awkward.
At its core, Forest of Deceit follows the familiar social deduction formula but introduces its own twist through resource management. Every night, players receive resource cards and must decide which one to discard and which one to send to another member of the group. The parties are randomly assigned each round, adding another layer of unpredictability and making it harder to consistently trust the same people.
The Innocents must carefully build enough resources to complete the shelter before it’s too late, while the Traitors secretly work towards reducing those resources and preventing the group from succeeding. After each night, players openly discuss suspicious behaviour before voting to eliminate someone they believe is working against the team.
I really liked how the game changes the atmosphere of the forest each night, helping each round feel slightly different visually. There’s also a welcome selection of advanced settings that allow groups to tweak certain rules and customise the experience depending on how casual or competitive they want the game to be.
One mechanic I never fully understood was the missing person system. Characters disappear throughout the game, but I felt the purpose and impact of this mechanic wasn’t explained clearly enough. It left me feeling like I was missing an important piece of the experience.
The art is gorgeous. The dark forests, muted colours and subtle environmental changes create a genuinely creepy atmosphere that perfectly suits the game’s theme. Each new night feels slightly different as the forest evolves around you, helping maintain the unsettling mood throughout the match. The audio deserves just as much praise. The opening narration immediately grabs your attention and sets the tone incredibly well, while the soundtrack consistently builds tension without becoming distracting. Combined together, the visuals and music create an immersive horror-inspired atmosphere that elevates what could otherwise be a fairly simple party game.
Forest of Deceit is not a bad game at all. I genuinely think Ghost Camp has created something that feels fresh within the party game genre. The combination of social deduction and resource management is unique, and I love how accessible the game is thanks to only requiring one person to own it.
That said, after a few rounds I found the gameplay becoming a little repetitive. While every group will naturally create different conversations and accusations, I personally felt the overall gameplay loop started to lose its excitement quicker than I expected. Some mechanics also weren’t explained well enough, leaving me confused rather than intrigued.
Despite that, the social side of the game is easily its strongest feature. The absolute chaos that unfolds when everyone starts accusing each other of being the Traitor is hilarious. Watching friends confidently point fingers with almost no evidence, and somehow convincing everyone else to believe them, created some of the funniest moments of the night. Those interactions are where Forest of Deceit truly comes alive.
If you regularly host game nights or have a group of friends who love bluffing, debating and throwing wild accusations at each other, Forest of Deceit is definitely worth checking out. It may not have completely won me over, but it still delivered plenty of memorable laughs, and in a party game, that’s often exactly what matters most.
Overall: 6/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
