The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna

I really enjoy walking-simulators if they have a good story. This game is just boring and the story is dubious. I don't get all the good reviews. The ending is hilariously bad. [spoiler] They hang him because of a toy that he stole as a child? Come on man, this is just stupid. [/spoiler]

Друзья я много прошёл игр от этих разработчиков, но этой игре я ставлю самый , что не на есть душевный ЛАЙК. Атмофера просто потрясная , а какая музыка просто заслушиваешься молодцы постарались. Гуляем в горах , погода осенняя после дождика туманы , водопады, шум ветра , звуки сверчков , в тёмных местах включаем фонарик. Вообщем очень классно и расслабляюще получилось , я получил по максимуму то что хотел от этого жанра игры "погуляем". Достижения за одно прохождение в 2,5 часа . Есть гайд чтоб открыть замки с первой попытки ! Рекомендую без всяких поиграть и расслабится . Удачи

The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna is a walking simulator, which tells a story. The focus is on the atmosphere and the story. You won't get a lot of actual "gameplay", but rather you'll see yourself walking in nice landscape while a story is being told. If you're into this, the game is very much recommended!

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, but discovered it lead absolutely nowhere

While parts of the scenery are very pretty and that is probably the main part of this game, there is too much breaking away from the positive aspects of the game for me to recommend it. - As already mentioned some parts of the map are quite pretty but most of it is a very bland and boring canion/ mountain area with little to see. - The music is nice when there is any, most of the game is very quiet - The story is told though some kind of memories where people are represented by clouds, which is a cool idea. The story is very very stupid, though, and probably one of the worst i have ever seen in games. The conversations all sound fake and make no sense. the narrators monologues are not much better either. Also, the end of the game is just stupid. - there are a few "puzzles" if you want to call them that that are laughable and have no place in this game. They are a pure "trial and error" kinda thing and not very challenging either. If you like watching the same rock formation over and over again for 1,5 - 2 hours than this might be the game for you. I don't know who else would enjoy this extremely slow, boring and storywise BAD game.

Like others have said this is the weakest of Tonguc's recent games. The voice acting and character dialogue is pretty weak, and the long walk is a bit dull and tedious. Most areas tend to look the same after about 10 minutes. I(t could do with more music and/or more ambient sound, like a breeze, or wind in the tree's as it is, a lot of it is really too silent. On a few positive notes, what music there is is really good, and the narrative theme is thought provoking. it did run well on my old potato, with a few very brief loading stutters. While I commented on the ambient sound as being too little, what there is is well done, and works well on my surround speakers. Hearing crickets and whatnot behind me as I slogged along was nice. I'd say this is more a game for people who are familiar with the rest of Tonguc's stuff and know what they're in for.

I can't say whether I would actually recommend this or not. I enjoyed the game, yet also didn't. The beginning was rough. A muddled exposition. Okay narration with some music chucked in there in a way that felt obligatory. Then these flashbacks with godawful voice acting started popping up. It's not uncommon to hear bad voice acting in small-budget games, but it didn't match the tone of the game at ALL. Really just ruined the atmosphere for me. After maybe 10 minutes, the game opened up a bit to some beautiful visuals and music (some of the tracks were just gorgeous). This is definitely what kept my interest -- a meandering walking simulator with things for your eyes and ears to enjoy, and an introspective/contemplative narration that periodically chimes in. I didn't find interest in the story until about halfway through. It's not a particularly deep or complex story but it had something to say, and I always appreciate that. The story was impactful enough, especially experiencing it in 2020 as an American (though obviously it's a story all can understand/relate to). I thought having the player walk a full circle back to the beginning area was a strong choice. You almost forget what you first see in the game because you have no context for it. By the end you're just, like... oh. Wow, yeah. What I disliked and boy howdy did I friggin dislike it, was how many open-air rock corridors you had to walk through. Sure there are some nice grasses and flowers and trees but between every big visual "wow" moment, the game is just... rock hallways. Seems heckin' goofy to tote that the game has a "huge map" when it's 70% hallways. Sometimes you're gifted with a little music or some narration, and occasionally your poorly-acted flashback neighbors appear and like thank f*ck, yeah I'll listen to that crap over the sound of my footsteps in this empty boring rock hallway. You're just aching for ANYthing. There's an achievement called "I ponder as I wander" or something like that and I wasn't pondering the words spoken into my ears, which I assumed was the intention. The narration wasn't nearly poignant enough for my mind to stray to it. Instead I was pondering why someone would do me so damn dirty. So many hallways. So many. What makes things worse are the "gameplay" elements. Some bullsh*t gate puzzles, a few areas where you have the rare option of interacting with objects in the environment, some areas where you gotta do a little balance beam act and not fall off your walkway. A flashlight that you never really need (in a cave area that felt like a rip-off of Dear Esther, and felt out-of-place in this game). Do away with that piddly stuff. There's not enough of it and it felt too obligatory. Like someone would choose to play a walking sim and then complain that all you do is walk?? IDK. TL;DR the game felt absolutely tedious at times, but there was enough visual and musical beauty to completely hold my interest. It's obvious a lot of care was put into this game. If you're patient, or feeling introspective, you probably won't mind the pace of the game.

Tonguç Bodur's work is always a beautiful experience

I own all of Tonguç Bodur's games but there are a handful I'm just now getting to. Like many of his titles, this one is a walking simulator that tells a story. This is probably my favorite title of his so far. The graphics are excellent (Unreal Engine). I have a fairly solid gaming PC but with the settings cranked to ultra I could tell I was stressing my rig a bit. This isn't a criticism--the graphics & assets are very nice--almost photo-realistic in places. It took me a bit over 2 hours to get through the game, and that was moving pretty fast. It's a fairly long title for a walking simulator. If you enjoy stopping and taking photos along the route, your play time will be longer. Mr Bodur's walking sims are very unique and sometimes polarizing (based on reviews). Personally, I enjoy most of them. If you haven't played one of his games previously, this is a great game to start with because everything is executed really well. He's a developer with a vision, and this particular game seems like he was able to really capture that vision. Besides the graphics, the music is a real standout. In fact, I found myself more than once wanting more music because I found it so enjoyable. The story is revealed throughout the game and is a bit mysterious. I found this one of the best scripts/stories in any of his games I've played (so far). The voice acting is generally solid--the lead performer (in English) has most of the dialogue and did a great job. There are very, very minor puzzle and "skill" elements in the game, but they're so light that they will not present a real challenge. The only reason I mention that is that some walking-sim enthusiasts might want to know. I liked the design of this title as there is a single path, and it is impossible to get lost. This isn't an exploration game, and I don't like getting lost in walking sims--that aspect was executed perfectly. Once you complete the story, don't exit the game when the credits roll. There's more fun to be had. Without going into spoilers, I'll just say that this is the only title of Mr Bodur's that I've (yet) played that invites revisiting after your initial playthrough. In summary, I heartily recommend this title to fans of Mr Bodur's previous games. If you enjoyed his early games, this one is just all-around better IMHO. For people who are new to his work, this is a great place to start. His walking sims are unique for the genre. This title is executed very well so if you enjoy it, you can explore the rest of his games and better appreciate his style and vision.