GameWiki
GET YOUR BEARINGS
About The Roottrees are Dead
Set in 1998, a crashed private jet leaves the Roottree family’s billion‑dollar fortune in limbo. Players act as a dial‑up‑powered detective, hunting photos, books and articles to determine who truly belongs on the family tree. Each correct placement narrows the pool of remaining names and makes later clues scarcer. The game blends retro computing aesthetics with a modern mystery‑solving loop.
Originally a free browser title for the 2023 Global Game Jam, the Steam edition adds hand‑drawn art, a 3D living‑room view, voiced cinematics and a brand‑new mystery called “Roottreemania.” Quality‑of‑life upgrades and extra Easter eggs deepen the late‑90s charm while preserving the core deduction gameplay.
01 / THE GUIDE
Story premise
A private jet owned by the Roottree Corporation crashes, killing the Roottree Sisters and their parents. Their great‑great‑grandfather Elias stipulated that the family’s wealth must be redistributed among blood relatives, prompting a frantic search for lineage proof.
Players must sift through archival material to verify relationships, gradually filling out a sprawling family tree. Each accurate entry reduces the number of possible heirs and simultaneously makes remaining evidence harder to locate.
- Start by confirming obvious parent‑child links before tackling distant cousins.
- Document each discovered connection to avoid re‑searching the same source.
02 / THE GUIDE
Gameplay mechanics
The core loop revolves around gathering digital artifacts—photos, books, articles—and using them to make deductions about family ties. The interface mimics a retro dial‑up modem, reinforcing the late‑90s setting while presenting clues in a searchable format.
Correctly placed nodes on the tree unlock new, increasingly obscure pieces of evidence, creating a feedback loop where success begets tougher puzzles.
- Use the search function to filter clues by name or date.
- Cross‑reference multiple sources to strengthen a deduction.
03 / THE GUIDE
Visuals and audio
The Steam version features hand‑drawn illustrations by board‑game artist Henning Ludvigsen, giving each character and clue a distinctive look. A 3D living‑room perspective ties together the various puzzle systems, adding depth to the investigative environment.
Remastered music, sound effects and fully voiced cinematics enhance immersion, while subtle Easter eggs reward players who appreciate the era’s aesthetic.
- Pay attention to background details; they sometimes hint at hidden clues.
- Adjust audio settings if voice lines become hard to hear during intense research sessions.
04 / THE GUIDE
New content – Roottreemania
The added “Roottreemania” mystery continues the story after the base game’s conclusion. Players receive a fresh family tree to complete, uncovering scandals, lies and infidelities within America’s largest maple‑candy empire.
This expansion mirrors the original’s investigative structure but introduces new characters and relationships, expanding the narrative scope while retaining familiar mechanics.
- Treat the new tree as a separate puzzle; avoid mixing clues from the original scenario.
- Look for thematic parallels between the two stories to spot recurring patterns.
05 / THE GUIDE
Platform support
The game runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, offering broad accessibility for single‑player fans. Steam features such as Achievements, Cloud saves and Family Sharing are fully integrated, allowing progress to sync across devices and be shared with household members.
No multiplayer or controller‑only modes are mentioned; the experience is designed around solo investigation using keyboard and mouse.
- Enable Steam Cloud to protect your tree progress against hardware issues.
- Use Family Sharing to let others try the game without purchasing a separate copy.
COMMUNITY
Player discussion