External Links
- Original 2023 version on Itch
No longer updated. (Uses generative AI for illustrations.)
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About the Story
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 current, commercial version was released on Steam in 2025; it has fully hand-drawn illustrations and remastered music/sound, user interface improvements, and an extra mystery Roottreemania. The initial, free 2023 version is also still available on Itch.)
Page Update History
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v.7: 15-Jan-2025 17:59 -
JTN
(Current Version)
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Changed cover art, license type, description, Web site URL, download links |
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v.6: 01-Mar-2024 22:52 - JTN Changed description | |
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v.5: 05-Feb-2024 15:20 - jakomo Changed author | |
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v.4: 04-Feb-2024 19:20 - EJ Changed development system | |
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v.3: 04-Feb-2024 18:46 - jakomo Changed external review links | |
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v.2: 04-Feb-2024 18:46 - jakomo Changed external review links | |
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v.1: 04-Feb-2024 18:35 - jakomo
Created page |
2 Off-Site Reviews
The Short Game
"exciting free entry into the Obra-Dinn-like mystery game sub-genre"
The famous Roottree sisters and their parents, heirs to a billion dollar candy empire, have suddenly died in a plane crash. The inheritance is in question, with a massive family tree full of potential beneficiaries... Fortunately, it’s 1998 and you know how to use the internet.
See the full review
A.V. Club
Every internet detective should be playing The Roottrees Are Dead
Oh, but what a pleasure it is to slowly put together a picture of the family’s complicated situation, understanding why one cousin fell out with another, or teasing out smaller mysteries (like who divorced who, or which jerkward doctor cousin-in-law was trying to glom on to the family name to get himself a little heat).
See the full review
Game Details
