Adventure · January 15, 2025
The Roottrees are Dead (2025)
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 Steam The 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 Includes 'Roottreemania', a brand new mystery 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.
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Community Tag Signals
Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.
- Mystery · 141
- Puzzle · 140
- Detective · 136
- Point & Click · 108
- Atmospheric · 107
- Story Rich · 98
- Investigation · 96
- Singleplayer · 92
- 1990's · 91
- Adventure · 83
- Logic · 76
- Interactive Fiction · 60
- Retro · 50
- Indie · 45
- Stylized · 38
Peer Adventure titles
Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.
Position in Adventure
| Metric | This title | Genre position |
|---|---|---|
| Review volume | 2.5k Steam reviews | Top 82% in Adventure |
| Positive rating | 98% positive | Genre average: 87% — this title sits in top 8% |
| Metacritic | 86/100 | Genre average 77 — top 13% of Adventure titles |
| Concurrent peak | 217 players | Top 13% in Adventure by live player count |
| Engagement hours | 9 h average | Top 37% for session depth among Adventure |
Reception Metrics
Steam community
98%Overwhelmingly Positive · 2.5k reviews
2.5k positive · 50 negative
Metacritic
86/100 critic aggregate
Curator recommendations
4.2k
Peak concurrent players
217
Press Quotes
“This is a game for the quiet hours at your desk, your lamp low and the coffee steaming away, and one of the best games about unglamorous detective work.” 87 – PC Gamer “...a massive logic puzzle that will make you feel like a deductive genius. I don’t even want to say anymore. Just go play it.” Bloomberg “The Roottrees Are Dead makes sleuths of us all” New York Times
Localization Coverage
Interface / Subtitles (5)
- English volume_up
- French
- German
- Spanish - Latin America
- Simplified Chinese volume_up
Full audio (2)
- English
- Simplified Chinese
Engagement Profile
All-time avg
9h
short (5–15 hours)
Median
11h
Typical completion time
2-week avg
5h
Current engagement
Achievements
22
Steam unlocks available
Release & Availability
| Release date | Jan 15, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Evil Trout Inc. |
| Base price | $15.99 -20% |
| DLC / Add-ons | 1 released |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Estimated owners | 100k–1M |
| External links | Official site · Metacritic page · Support · [email protected] |
Features & Capabilities
Community
- Steam Achievements
- Steam Cloud
Other
- Single-player
- Family Sharing
Editions & Packages
Buy The Roottrees are Dead











