Have you ever seen a trailer of a Roblox game where it is written “Based on a true story”, and your mind immediately said “Is this true?”?
Exactly this is what happened when I saw the promo of 99 Nights in the Forest. A creepy jungle, missing kids, and a mutant deer and it was said that all this is based on a true story. But when the developers never explained it properly, then curiosity naturally arises, right?
So let’s go into full investigation mode today and see what was the real inspiration of 99 Nights in the Forest.
Spoiler alert: this is a great combo: a real-life survival story plus a horror game classic.
Real Story or Clickbait?
A message blinks on the start screen of the game: “The game is based on a true story. Some details have been changed.”
Now what does this mean? Is the game based on a true story or is it just a stunt to attract people?
Well, after a little detective-work, two major inspirations have come to the fore:
- The Forest – A horror survival video game
- 2023 Colombia Amazon Plane Crash – A real-life miracle where small children stayed alive in the jungle for 40 days
First Inspiration: The Forest Game
If you have ever played or seen The Forest game, then the gameplay of 99 Nights will instantly feel familiar.
The story of the game begins with a plane crash. A man – Eric and his son Timmy survive. But after the crash a creepy man takes Timmy away. Eric goes out to search for him… in the jungle where mutated cannibals live.
Build a shelter during the day to survive, escape from the monsters at night, just like 99 Nights.
In the end Eric reaches a secret lab, and the story turns into science-fiction and horror. This is what inspired the “supernatural touch” of 99 Nights.
Second Inspiration: Real-Life Jungle Survival
In 2023, a plane crashed in the Amazon forest of Colombia. There were a total of 7 people in the plane but only 4 small children survived: 13, 9, 4 years old and one just 11 months old.
These children survived in the jungle for 40 days without any adults. Ate fruits, built small shelters, and avoided jungle predators. Humans, right?
Their elder sister Lesly, who was only 13 years old, kept her siblings alive using her indigenous skills.
Your main mission in the Roblox game is also: to find lost children. There is also a crashed plane in the game’s map, clearly inspired from this real incident.
Mutant Deer & Wendigo – Fiction Add-on
Now a question: In the real-life jungle, there were no mutant deer or ghostly creatures, right?
Exactly. This part is clearly inspired by The Forest, where supernatural horror was added. In the Roblox version too, a mutated deer – aka Wendigo is creating terror in the jungle.
Wendigo is a mythical creature – a hybrid of man and deer. Creepy. In the game, this monster is worshipped, cults are formed around it, and you have to save not just the children but yourself as well.
Bullets don’t work, only light can stop it. That adds a whole new survival twist.
Hidden Lore & Clues
Everywhere in the game, you find Hunter Logs, Ranger Diaries, and creepy notes. All of these hint that the forest was once a research facility, where experiments were being conducted on animals. And then everything went out of control.
So all this together, the game becomes a hybrid story which has the emotional depth of real-world tragedy, and the thrill of supernatural horror too.
Final Verdict: How much truth, how much fiction?
So dears, 99 Nights in the Forest is not completely true, but it is not a complete lie either.
It’s a creative mix, taking a real-life Amazon survival story and adding a twist of horror, mutants, and wendigos.
This kind of storytelling is pretty rare in Roblox. When every other game has become an overdose of skibidi toilet and memes, then the one game that brings both real emotion and thrill – that’s special.
So next time when you play the game, remember this is not just a game. This is a story with some truth hidden in it.
