Far and away the best Obra Dinn-like that isn't Obra Dinn.
Obviously loses some points on the presentation side of things but gets them right back for being just, like, a free game you can play in your browser literally right now. Kinda difficult to really get mad at the AI photos, no matter how ugly they may be, when the dev's not charging admission and is also working on a Steam upmake with actual art instead.
Sat down with it yesterday night and it hooked me harder than any game has for several months. If you loved Obra Dinn and have played any number of Outer Wilds or Golden Idols trying to chase that high (both of which are good, but not quite scratching that same itch), I'm happy to say that this is the best attempt anyone's made yet.
Obviously loses some points on the presentation side of things but gets them right back for being just, like, a free game you can play in your browser literally right now. Kinda difficult to really get mad at the AI photos, no matter how ugly they may be, when the dev's not charging admission and is also working on a Steam upmake with actual art instead.
Sat down with it yesterday night and it hooked me harder than any game has for several months. If you loved Obra Dinn and have played any number of Outer Wilds or Golden Idols trying to chase that high (both of which are good, but not quite scratching that same itch), I'm happy to say that this is the best attempt anyone's made yet.
While in theory this game is appealing, the art was jumbled together through Midjourney, giving it an off-putting vibe and inconsistent visual style. I played it for long enough that I can say the experience is overall disappointing. Heavily inspired by "Her Story" and "Obra Dinn", but doesn't manage to live up to them. Neither the story nor the mechanics bring nothing new to the table, which makes it feel like an extensively derivative product.
I checked Roottrees out at 9:50pm thinking I'd take a quick look, see if I was interested, then save it for another day. Instead I stayed up all night and finished it at 7:20am because it ended up being so damn engaging. I practically did the same thing when I played Obra Dinn, though that game was big enough that I needed two sessions. But that is to say, Roottrees truly scratched the same itch as Obra Dinn. Great game.
DISCLAIMER:
This review is entirely for my own sake. You are welcome to read it but it may or may not contain spoilers for the whole game.
Man, what can I even say.
I knew going in that it was going to be real detective game with true investigational freedom like Obra Dinn. But as a free browser game, I did not expect it to have as much depth and polish as it ended up having. A great surprise.
There being mandatory identities as well as optional characters and people with multiple photographs made the moments where you confirm 3 identities more exciting.
Figuring out The Big Mystery of the game wasn't as comlex as I had expected at the start, but it was equally as satisfying to keep getting evidence confirming my theory throughout the second half of the game.
Conversely, I had a lot of trouble pinning down those last few identities and I am not ashamed to admit that not only did I not get all of the optional names and pictures because I missed some articles, but I also had to brute force the jobs of my last two characters and only after having the answer revealed did my brain click to exactly which evidence was supposed to point me to the answer. I blame this on me binging the end of this game at 3 in the morning (the same time I am writing this)
Overall, I think this was and incredible videogame that could be sold for a considerable amount of money and I would still come out as satisfied. Greatly recommended for detective game fans.
This review is entirely for my own sake. You are welcome to read it but it may or may not contain spoilers for the whole game.
Man, what can I even say.
I knew going in that it was going to be real detective game with true investigational freedom like Obra Dinn. But as a free browser game, I did not expect it to have as much depth and polish as it ended up having. A great surprise.
There being mandatory identities as well as optional characters and people with multiple photographs made the moments where you confirm 3 identities more exciting.
Figuring out The Big Mystery of the game wasn't as comlex as I had expected at the start, but it was equally as satisfying to keep getting evidence confirming my theory throughout the second half of the game.
Conversely, I had a lot of trouble pinning down those last few identities and I am not ashamed to admit that not only did I not get all of the optional names and pictures because I missed some articles, but I also had to brute force the jobs of my last two characters and only after having the answer revealed did my brain click to exactly which evidence was supposed to point me to the answer. I blame this on me binging the end of this game at 3 in the morning (the same time I am writing this)
Overall, I think this was and incredible videogame that could be sold for a considerable amount of money and I would still come out as satisfied. Greatly recommended for detective game fans.
Obra Dinn but for free and with a less satisfying ending.
The dev said they were inspired by Her Story so I'm taking off half a star.
The dev said they were inspired by Her Story so I'm taking off half a star.
Knocked it out of the park. Played with family and had a blast making breakthroughs and piecing together the Roottree family tree. The way it all fell into place was so so so satisfying. If this sounds interesting to you, just play it! It's free! (though you can donate to the dev if you want)
Obrastory > Metroidvania
EXCELLENT Obra-like
The AI art is really distracting (everyone looks like a fucked-up fashion model) but the game is pretty great.
A very satisfying experience, continuing the slow trickle of knowledge-based deduction games that follow in the wake of Obra Dinn, Her Story, etc - and I'm always looking for more of those. Quite challenging, and I admit I brute-forced a few answers, but I also seem to have missed some potential evidence, so I feel confident a better player can figure it all out fairly. Very well-scoped for the game's small budget, a perfect way to spend an afternoon.
Super fun premise for a game. While the A.I Art is gross, I can forgive it due to it being a free product. There are so many Aha moments that are just satisfying to get spread throughout this game and the ongoing mystery was intriguing enough to keep me hooked! Playing with my girlfriend enhanced the experience a lot too as we both got to exchange notes and work the mystery out together. The game was perfect for that kind of teamwork. Can't wait for the steam release and how this can be improved.
I despise this fucking family
This review contains spoilers
The Roottrees can rest now.
interesting and intriguing game. i did not find all of the hints so for a few family members i had to resort to guesswork. still, i had a good time with it. loses points for the use of AI art, but at least the creator isn't profiting off it.
this is so good and cool and fun and scratches something in my brain that is now motivating me to FINALLY play obra dinn (and look into other deductive puzzle games) however. i cannot recommend this in good conscience with the AI art. definitely a bummer and not worth any money at this stage
I really need to find more games like this.
It was so satisfying trying to figure all this out and piece things together. The search engines worked very well, and the optional content really helped to bring the entire tree together. It seems like everything was clearly spelled out or had little hints here and there to not resort to guesswork. I loved how you needed pictures of each family member before being able to complete them. Unlike Obra Dinn, going back to look at old clues and evidence is very easy, as it's all done in the same area rather than walking across an entire ship. Though it loses out in the style of being pretty blank and generic, the experience carried it hard for me. Pretty crazy, this was free and took me a little over 6 hours to reach 100%.
It was so satisfying trying to figure all this out and piece things together. The search engines worked very well, and the optional content really helped to bring the entire tree together. It seems like everything was clearly spelled out or had little hints here and there to not resort to guesswork. I loved how you needed pictures of each family member before being able to complete them. Unlike Obra Dinn, going back to look at old clues and evidence is very easy, as it's all done in the same area rather than walking across an entire ship. Though it loses out in the style of being pretty blank and generic, the experience carried it hard for me. Pretty crazy, this was free and took me a little over 6 hours to reach 100%.
A great Obra Dinn-like about uncovering an entire family tree that spans almost 80 years, learning about each person and their involvement in the family business and through that the cause of a tragedy.
It needs a little more polish so it's easy to read long text articles on your fake PC (it has no scroll bar, so any wall of text gets shrunk to fit the fake PC's screen's height, making the text size incredibly tiny), and a better system to guide players to places they can find more clues, like a reminder to revisit sites you've already forgotten about that can tell you new things.
It needs a little more polish so it's easy to read long text articles on your fake PC (it has no scroll bar, so any wall of text gets shrunk to fit the fake PC's screen's height, making the text size incredibly tiny), and a better system to guide players to places they can find more clues, like a reminder to revisit sites you've already forgotten about that can tell you new things.
ETA: the developer is working on an upmake with real art that you can wishlist on steam now! i'm really glad.
https://jjohnstongames.itch.io/the-roottrees-are-dead/devlog/690887/the-roottrees-are-dead-but-for-real-this-time
6-10 hour family deduction and mystery. absolutely love this, especially as the work of one person almost totally alone. please don't pay for it, because the art is all AI generated -- that's a weird, bad choice the creator made and i don't understand why. the AI art is so bad that it does not ever add a sense of realism to anything, so it could really easily be simple line art or something similar. hell, he could have used visual novel sprites. if there's ever a release with real photographs or real art -- wait and pay for that.
https://jjohnstongames.itch.io/the-roottrees-are-dead/devlog/690887/the-roottrees-are-dead-but-for-real-this-time
6-10 hour family deduction and mystery. absolutely love this, especially as the work of one person almost totally alone. please don't pay for it, because the art is all AI generated -- that's a weird, bad choice the creator made and i don't understand why. the AI art is so bad that it does not ever add a sense of realism to anything, so it could really easily be simple line art or something similar. hell, he could have used visual novel sprites. if there's ever a release with real photographs or real art -- wait and pay for that.
While not without its rough edges, it’s supremely well made and just as satisfying as it’s inspirations.