When the first Golden Idol game came out, I desperately wanted to like it because it seemed to be way up my alley. Sadly, I could not get into it, so I put it aside. Then along came The Roottrees Are Dead. Someone in the RKG Discord was really pushing it, and I bought it when it was on sale one day. I tried it out, didn’t vibe with it, and uninstalled it. A few days ago, because of my detective game kick, I decided to give it another go, and I really dug it. So much so, I gobbled it up for the next few days.
Here’s the basic premise. There is a famous and wealthy business family named the Roottrees. They are a candy mogul/empire, and at the start of the game, the president, his wife, and their three daughters die in a plane crash. A mysterious person dropped off a bunch of infoon my doorstep with a note. I’m a private investigator/detective, and of course, I’m intrigued.
I have to figure out who all the members of the family are and how they are all related to each other. Why? Purportedly for the purpose of the will. Who gets to inherit and all that. I’m given a family tree with all the pictures, names, and occupations blanked out. All the ties are noted (like spouse, children, etc. And if someone divorced their spouse).
By the way, I’ve been ragging on point-and-clicks, but mentioned that Kathy Rain (Clifftop Games) was one I really liked despite the flaws of the genre–until the third act. I said because of how poorly it did, Clifftop Games scrapped the two planned sequels. For whatever reason, as I was looking up something, Kathy Rain 2: Soothsayer came up. Excuse me, what???? I Googled it and it was a sequel that came out about a month ago. My gob was truly smacked because I had not heard even a whisper of it. Apparently, diehard fans of the first game clamored for a sequel, and it finally gct made.
I also read that many people were not happy with the third act of the game. I’m glad it wasn’t me! In part it’s beacuse the marketing for it was very much “here’s a gritty detective noir story about a hard-bitten ’90s female detective that is grim and dark”. To have the ending come out of seemingly nowhere the way it did took many people by surprise, and that was one big reason people were not happy with it.
Now, of course, I have to buy and play the sequel. Oh, and the Director’s Cut of the original, which I already had in my inventory. I bet it was a free update for people who already had it, and I have it installed now. I just have to decide if I want to play that or the sequel next.
Anyway, back to this game. The first thing I’m instructed to do is lock in six (I think) Roottrees. Not their spouses, but those who are actual Roottrees. And it was from the notable (starred) Roottrees list that my mysterious employer gave to me.
The way I’m to do my research is by using the web (they have their own search engine, and you can look up anything on it. And they have a publication search engine (for magazines and such) and a book/author search engine as well. You have to use the words that will trigger the articles, which can be frustrating sometimes, but there is also a hint system if you get too stuck.
There are also tangible pieces of evidence that my employer gave to me along with the important things the computer prints out. Again, it’s what the game deems important, not me. There is also a notebook in which you can take notes. I didn’t use it for the first several hours, but I’ve found it really useful in jotting down possible clues now that I’m giving it a chance. It’s hard to keep everything in my mind, so making a note or two as I’m reading is very helpful.
This is set in the late ’90s, so it’s in the earlier days of the internet. I think it’s ingenious to give it an old-timey feeling and to make it so the game doesn’t have to deal with social media and more recent aspects of the internet.
I’m impressed with how much I’m learning about people simply by reading about them. One of the third (?) generation Roottrees is a musician, and the devs wrote whole-ass songs to be included in the game. Those songs are disco, and they go hard.
It can get unwieldy at times beacuse there are so many people with similar names. But the devs always manage to keep it just under control. I really think that having a hints system helps because I don’t ever have to get too frustrated. I mean, I’ll try several different things because I prefer to do it myself, but in the end, I do want to make progress. If that means getting a small hint, so be it.
I played Her Story (Sam Barlow) compulsively until I got stuck about 75% of the way through it. I tried dozens of new words/phrases, but could not advance the story. I looked it up, but could not find anything helpful. I was so frustrated that I gave up and never finished the game.
At the end of the day, the purpose of playing a game is to enjoy it. I enjoy getting stuck and a bit frustrated. I like it when I can puzzle things out on my own. I felt absolutely brilliant when I finally got the first six notable Roottrees locked in. Then, my employer came back and told me I had to lock in six more. Or was it all the notable Roottrees? At any rate, I felt the same way I did when they told me I had to lock in the first six.
How the hell am I going to do that?
And yet, little by little, piece of evidence by piece of evidence, I did it. It’s astounding how the smallest thing can be an important piece of the puzzle. And how following a single slender thread can lead to a whole blanket. Er, that metaphor ran away from me, but I think I got my meaning across.
I really like that this game has handled ‘difficulty’ mode in such a simple way. There are hints if you want them, but you never have to use them. I know that’s something that many games do, but it feels very unobtrusive and subtle in this game. And funny. You squeeze a rubber duck if you want a hint.
This game seems so simple and yet, is so complex. Or rather, the mechanics of it are very simple, but the way everything is woven together is very elegant. I feel like any mistake I make is on me and not on the game. In some detective games, I feel like the deductions are just guesswork more or less. Not in this game. Yes, I may have to make a leap of faith now and again, but for the most part, it feels intuitive/logical.
I really like this game and am glad I gave it a second try. I would heartily recommend it to people who like to dig deep for dirt, who consider themselves search gods, and who like to read tons of information about many different people and things.