The Roottrees are Dead

The Roottrees are Dead is a beloved puzzle game worldwide. Featuring a sophisticated plot, players assume the role of detective, tasked with identifying Elias's true blood relatives and distributing the family's fortune, which exceeds $1 billion, to these relatives. Players must flexibly utilize various tools to search for relevant evidence on social media and in books to construct an accurate family tree. As the game progresses, players will face increasing challenges, including inter-family conflicts and missing evidence, which will test their logical thinking. I believe playing this game will leave you with a profound sense of accomplishment. Download it now to experience the ultimate deduction gameplay!

Features:

Hand-Drawn Illustrations: The game features beautiful hand-drawn illustrations by acclaimed artist Henning Ludvigsen, which enhance the storytelling and overall aesthetic. Each image adds depth to the narratives and characters, making the game visually captivating.

3D Living Room Perspective: Experience the game from a unique 3D living-room viewpoint, which not only grounds the piecing-together of mysteries but also immerses players in the Roottree family’s world. This perspective integrates various puzzle systems seamlessly, offering an engaging gameplay experience.

Enhanced User Interface: The remastered version introduces an intuitive user interface designed to streamline your investigative experience. Quality of life improvements make solving puzzles smoother, enabling players to focus more on the mystery than navigating menus.

Remastered Audio: Experience enhanced music and sound effects that elevate the game's atmosphere. Fully voiced cinematics bring the characters to life, providing a richer narrative experience that draws players deeper into the story.

New Mystery: Roottreemania: Dive into a brand new mystery with Roottreemania, where players discover the fate of the Roottree family post-crash. Encounter additional scandals and family secrets, expanding the narrative and providing plenty for fans to explore.

Developer Notes:

The response to The Roottrees Are Dead over the past few months has been fantastic, beyond my wildest expectations. The game was featured on a few high profile best of 2023 lists, some incredible podcasts, and I recently learned that PC Gamer magazine even reviewed it in their April 2024 issue.

That said, there are definitely things that I would do differently if I were to start over from scratch. Many of you have rightfully called out that the use of AI art. I'm the first to admit that in addition to the ethical problems that come along with the entire issue, there are some elements that can also distract and detract from the experience.

There's also the improvements that could come from better UI/UX. For example, better search abilities for names on the family tree and a better browser history that allows players to go back and find things quickly and easily, especially across multiple sessions.

So, I'm happy to announce, that for the past few months, we've been doing that. Starting over from scratch.

I say "we", because I am no longer the only developer tackling this issue. I'm not an artist, and I have heavy time commitments that prevent me from working on the game to the quality level that we're intending. Enter Robin Ward, aka "eviltrout", a fellow puzzle game developer who I met through some common interests. He has taken over managing the game's production, and is leading the programming effort. In the meantime, I'm working on the content: Transferring it from one database to another in such a way that it can be more easily sorted through and searched for in-game, translated to other languages if we so desire, and expanded upon with additional content and extensive notes to our artists meant to address the problems people have with some puzzles *cough*No more ambiguity on These Times*cough*.

The new version of the game will be released on steam, and will not be free, but will contain many improvements across many features meant to raise the quality level to a level worth paying for. At the moment, we don't have a release date or price point, but we are making steady progress, and recently pushed our steam page live with a trailer showing off some of that progress. It would do us wonders if anyone reading this could go and wishlist the game:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2754380/The_Roottrees_are_Dead/

Additionally, many of you have donated through the in-game link and by paying here on itchio. It's immensely appreciated, and helped push me to the decision that a paid release could be worth the time, energy, and of course, financial investment that it would cost from everyone involved to create.

That said, due to the fact that we'll be officially selling the game in the future, I am disabling those payment methods as of today. We don't currently have any plans to remove this free version of the game, but please, consider it a beta version of what's to come.

Thank you all so much,

-Jeremy Johnston

FAQs:

Q: Does the game have multiplayer features?

A: No, it’s a single-player experience focused on solving mysteries.

Q: How long does it take to complete the game?

A: The average playthrough is around 8-10 hours, depending on your pace.

Q: Are there any additional mysteries beyond the main game?

A: Yes, the game includes a new mystery called "Roottreemania" for extended gameplay.

Reviews:

Highly recommended, I had a great time playing the first (main) story and now wish I could forget everything and try again. Note that my play time listed has a lot of idle time. I'm about 2/3 done the second story (Roottreemania).The pros: excellent story, immersive setting (as somebody who lived through the nineties as a young adult, it's weird to be back in the world of dial-up modems and limited search engines; nostalgic but also sooooo frustrating at times!). This game is brilliant--super well-crafted. Funny, bittersweet, cynical, hopeful. There are no perfect characters, but it's not all doom and gloom either. If you enjoy being at a distance from the puzzle--no personal life-threatening situation, no locked doors--it's perfect. Definitely the kind of game you can chill with.The cons: you need either patience, or the willingness to use the Hint function; as somebody who is insanely stubborn (No Hints! No Hints!), it's been maddening at times; if you need action, videos, *something* that moves...this game is not for you. At all. Save yourself the pain and the game a poor review. I admit that at times I felt like I was in the worst of early 90s text games trying to figure the exact wording to Pick.Up.The.Damn.Sword/Rock/Apple. Kings Quest I'm looking at YOU.Thank you devs for this gem. Now I can hear the dial-up modem scratching screeching noise whenever I want. Looking forward to your next game!

An excellent and engaging mystery game which, like the best puzzle / detective games, makes you feel incredibly clever for figuring things out. I will confess to making a few deductive 'leaps' that ended up being true based on context clues and / or facial similarities. It's like 'Guess Who' meets Dynasty. Full credit for nailing the art style so that direct descendants actually look like each other...Plus, its actually two games in one! When i finished Scenario A i was craving more, only to find a more difficult (and fun) second scenario. That feeling you get when you're starting to piece together intricate twists is peak detective game, and Roottreemania was full of them.

So THIS game. I love cozy games! Not cozy in the traditional sense, but I LOVED it and it's expansion! You play as a late 90s detective/PI who is asked to use the (early) internet to put together a family tree. More "detective" than "cozy", but hours of gameplay with no tension, no jump scares, and no time limits or deadlines.

Conclusion:

The Roottrees are Dead is a premium narrative-driven puzzle game that immerses you in a genealogical enigma set against the backdrop of 1998. As a player, you're tasked with unraveling the mystery of the Roottree family after a tragic plane crash claims the lives of its wealthy members. Explore the early internet, discover hidden links, and reconstruct the family tree to identify legitimate heirs. Fans of investigative games like Her Story will appreciate the game's detective mechanics where you must piece together intricate narratives from scattered clues. The Roottrees are Dead offers an engaging blend of mystery-solving and storytelling.