As the lone survivor of a passenger jet crash, you find yourself in a mysterious forest battling to stay alive against a society of cannibalistic mutants. Build, explore, survive in this terrifying first person survival horror simulator.
The Forest PC Keyboard Controls
Every control option on the PC version of The Forest. These are the default keyboard shortcuts for the game The Forest.
| Options | ESC | Opens game options |
| Inventory | I | Opens the inventory |
| Survival Book | B | Opens the Survival Guide |
| Previous Chapter | Previous Chapter in the Survival Guide | |
| Next Chapter | Next Chapter in the Survival Guide | |
| Previous Page | Previous Page in the Survival Guide | |
| Next Page | Next Page in the Survival Guide | |
| Horizontal | ||
| Right | D | Strafe Right |
| Left | A | Strafe Left |
| Vertical | ||
| Up | W | Move Forward |
| Down | S | Move Backwards |
| Jump | Space | Jump |
| Mouse X | Mouse Horizontal | Moves view left & right with mouse |
| Look Right | Can be set with a key, could be used for recording footage | |
| Look Left | Can be set with a key, could be used for recording footage | |
| Mouse Y | Mouse Vertical | Moves view up & down with mouse |
| Look Up | Can be set with a key, could be used for recording footage | |
| Look Down | Can be set with a key, could be used for recording footage | |
| Run | L Shift | Run/Sprint/Swim Fast, has a toggle option |
| Crouch | L CTRL | Crouch, has a toggle option |
| Fire1 | LMB | Attack |
| Alt Fire | RMB | Special Attack/Block/Zoom |
| Take | E | Take item/Interact |
| Drop | C | Store item |
| Rest Key | Z | Sleep |
| Save Key | C | Saves game when used on relevant buildings/objects |
| Lighter/Torch | L | Equip lighter or torch, whatever is equip |
| Light Object | Hold L | Lights the object, weapon, arrow, fire etc. |
| Craft | C | Switches between custom & auto mode with custom buildings |
| Utility | P | Selects last left handed item |
| Map | M | Equips Map if obtained |
| Item Slot 1 | 1 | Equips quick slot item 1 |
| Item Slot 2 | 2 | Equips quick slot item 2 |
| Item Slot 3 | 3 | Equips quick slot item 3 |
| Item Slot 4 | 4 | Equips quick slot item 4 |
| Walky Talky | Q | Equips Walky Talky |
| Pick Up Rabbit | E | To pick a rabbit up from a trap |
| Drop Rabbit | G | Drops the rabbit, sets it free |
| Place Rabbit in Cage | C | Places the rabbit in a Rabbit Cage when aimed at |
| Kill Rabbit | LMB | Kills the rabbit in the players hand |
| Check Arm | \ | Checks arm for cold/blood/mud |
| Drop/Stow Held Item | G | Drops or stores held right hand item |
| Rotate | R | Rotates building around if relevant |
| Change Type | R | Changes certain building types, like small and large stick holders |
| Build | E | Places blueprint/places materials |
| Cancel Blueprint | C | Cancels the blueprint |
| Place Multiple Buildings | Hold L CTRL | Allows you to place multiple blueprints of the same building repeatedly. |
| Auto/Custom Mode | C | Switches between custom & auto mode with custom buildings |
| Place Custom Point | LMB | Places a custom point of a custom building blueprint, such as a custom wall or stick fence. |
| Remove Custom Point | RMB | Removes last custom point of a custom building blueprint. |
| Join Custom Point | R | Completes the custom blueprint after the 3rd point or above. (Complicated to explain) |
| Batch | L CTRL | Super fast placement of items |
| Equip | LMB | Equips item from inventory |
| Combine | RMB | Combines item on crafting mat |
| Clear Crafting Mat | G | Clears crafting mat in inventory |
| Remove item from crafting mat | RMB | Click on the item itself |
| Slow Batch | Hold RMB | Batch items for faster crafting in inventory |
| Place Upgrades | LMB | Places each permanent upgrade on the select part of the weapon |
| Remove Upgrades | C | Place cursor over upgrade weapon first. Will remove all permanent upgrades. |
| Player List | TAB | Checks player list in multiplayer, with options |
| Message Players | ENTER | Allows messages to be sent to other players |
| Cycle Selection | R | Cycles through items on storage or fires |
| Skip Plane Crash | SPACE | Skip opening plane crash |
| Open Console | ~ | Opens console if enabled |
| Use Boat | E | Allows control of the boat |
| Paddle Forward | LMB | Paddles the boat forward |
| Paddle Backwards | RMB | Paddles the boat backwards |
| Turn Left | A | Turns the raft to the left |
| Turn Right | D | Turns the raft to the right |
| Grab/Release Climbing Rope | E | Grabs the climbing rope, press E again to let go. You might fall and die. |
| Climb Up Rope | W | Moves the player up the climbing rope. |
| Climb Up Rope Fast | Hold Shift + W | Moves the player up the climbing rope fast, it requires stamina. |
| Climb Down Rope | S | Moves the player down the climbing rope. |
| Slide Down Fast on Rope | Hold Shift + S | Moves the player down the climbing rope fast, it uses stamina though doesn’t require it. |
Input refers to the options that can affect controls within the game:
- Crouch Mode – Options are Hold & Toggle. Hold means the player has to hold down the button to crouch. Toggle means the player can press it, and they will crouch until they toggle is off.
- Sprint Mode – Options are Hold & Toggle. Hold means the player has to hold down the button to sprint. Toggle means the player can press it, and they will sprint until they stop or running out of stamina.
- Gamepad Cursor Mode – Options are Free and Snap
- Invert Mouse – Inverts the mouse movement. For example, left will go right and up with go down.
- Mouse X Sensitivity – Sensitivity of the mouse when moving up & down. It is changed in a percentage format.
- Mouse Y Sensitivity – Sensitivity of the mouse when moving left & right. It is changed in a percentage format.
- Mouse Smoothing – Controls the smoothing of the mouse. It adds somewhat of an ‘input lag’ to make the game feel more smooth when looking around. A more natural feel. It is changed in a percentage format.
- Advanced Controller Support (XINPUT) – Used for using controllers, possibly require for most gamepads such as Steam Controllers, Xbox Controllers, and PS4 DualShock controllers
Button Bindings
Here’s a list of all currently known keybindings for The Forest. They are listed as per the games menu. Some key bindings are not listed and are actually hidden from the player. They are listed in the category ‘unlisted’.
Most keybinding, mouse and gamepad controls can be changed. If your mouse has extra buttons, they can be assigned to most functions like the lighter, inventory, survival guide etc. The blank sections in the table indicate that they are not are ‘NOT SET’, as in they do not have a binding.