The Roottrees are Dead
Evil Trout Inc. · 2025 · Detective, Puzzle, Mystery, Point & Click, Investigation
PC
Overwhelmingly Positive97% · 8,93986Metacritic
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About The Roottrees are Dead
✦ AI summary
Investigate a billion-dollar inheritance mystery by using your dial-up modem to uncover family connections and deduce which relatives are true blood heirs through photo analysis and logical deduction. This retro '90s detective game gets progressively trickier as the family tree fills in, offering handcrafted puzzles and a charming armchair mystery experience across an enhanced Steam version and bonus "Roottreemania" case.
The year is 1998. A private jet belonging to the Roottree Corporation has crashed. On it were the Roottree Sisters and their parents. Combined, they were worth over a billion dollars.
Now, due to the eccentricities of their great-great-grandfather Elias, their money must be redistributed to the rest of the family. But who's actually a BLOOD RELATIVE? That's where you come in.
Armed only with the power of your mighty dial-up modem, you'll scour for photos, books, articles and other evidence. Then, you'll make connections and deductions based on the family relationships you uncover. With every spot on the tree you fill in correctly, the names and photos left in your possession will have fewer and fewer places to go — but the evidence will also be harder and more obscure to find.
Can you put together the final pieces of the puzzle?
The Acclaimed Armchair Detective Game, Re-imagined on SteamThe Roottrees are Dead was originally created for the Global Game Jam 2023 and released as a free browser game. It was beloved by many for its clever puzzles, retro computing interface and novel world-building. The Steam version is the same great game, but enhanced in many ways:
Now, due to the eccentricities of their great-great-grandfather Elias, their money must be redistributed to the rest of the family. But who's actually a BLOOD RELATIVE? That's where you come in.
Armed only with the power of your mighty dial-up modem, you'll scour for photos, books, articles and other evidence. Then, you'll make connections and deductions based on the family relationships you uncover. With every spot on the tree you fill in correctly, the names and photos left in your possession will have fewer and fewer places to go — but the evidence will also be harder and more obscure to find.
Can you put together the final pieces of the puzzle?
The Acclaimed Armchair Detective Game, Re-imagined on SteamThe Roottrees are Dead was originally created for the Global Game Jam 2023 and released as a free browser game. It was beloved by many for its clever puzzles, retro computing interface and novel world-building. The Steam version is the same great game, but enhanced in many ways:
- Hand-drawn illustrations from acclaimed board game artist Henning Ludvigsen.
- A 3D living-room perspective that ties together all the unique puzzle systems
- An enhanced user interface with many quality of life improvements to make your mystery solving easier to use and more intuitive
- Remastered music and sound effects, with fully voiced cinematics.
- A handful of Easter eggs and little touches for those who can't get enough of the late ‘90s charm
- Find out what happens to the Roottree family following the events of the base game.
- A whole new family tree to complete!
- Discover the scandals, lies, and infidelities that took place behind the scenes of America's largest maple candy empire.
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
Had a dream last night the Roottrees threatened me to try to stop my investigating - it didn't work. As a genealogical puzzle game TRaD had me in a chokehold. I would do a bit of research here, read some facts in the paper about the family, walk away to do some adulting, have an "ah-ha!" moment then need to race back to the game. It was insanely fun to comb through the information about the family members and discover their connections. Game gets bonus points for providing an ingame notepad which was easy to use and had a highlight function. Seriously, I was so happy to have that notebook.1 found this helpful
Great game!
Truly one of my favorite puzzle games. nothing better than doing some geaneology on your puter
Great fun!
As a genealogy nerd, this game is perfect!
Of course if you love Obra Dinn, this game's style is up your alley. I do also think the setting should be highlighted as well, though, for those who'd find value in looking behind the facade of retro Americana. That's not to say it's a particularly strong critique of that time, but it highlights the differences in truth between personal and public narratives, and how truth shifts over time, in a way that allows it to stand out in the genre. I also really appreciate the experience of trawling the early internet, replicated with just enough QOL improvements to remind you why you spent your childhood on a computer.
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