Game Roundup #5
The Roottrees are Dead, Botany Manor, Many Nights a Whisper
Game Roundup is a series where I briefly introduce some games that I’ve played and give my thoughts on it along with a short review.
Personal update
As I mentioned in my thank you note, I’ve entered what I imagine will be a pretty busy time of my life, and now I can finally tell you why:
I’m moving to Spain in just a few weeks!
I’m very excited but also very nervous. I’m trying to learn Spanish too, but finding time for a new language is not easy when you are an adult. If you have any resources you’d like to recommend, I’m all ears!
This change will bring many others with it, and I’ve been trying to focus more on smaller games that won’t take too much of my time to keep my sanity. I don’t think I can handle a playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3 or Disco Elysium right now (though I want to play both sometime this year for sure, when things settle down).
Now that this personal update is out of the way, we can focus on some of the short games that I played recently.
The Roottrees are Dead
Played on: PC
Play time: 9.5 hours
Difficulty: Default
I don’t remember when or how I came across this game and added it to my wishlist. But when it went on sale in December, I checked it out again and decided to get it. I’m very glad that I did, because it turned out to be a very fun deduction game.
They really nailed the ‘90s vibe in this game. Searching on the internet for clues, printing out flyers, and burning CDs (millennials know what I’m talking about). Using these clues, you need to figure out the entire Roottree family’s family tree. I loved the entire process, and discovering a few Easter Eggs here and there was very fun.
After you finish the game, you unlock another chapter called Roottreemania, but I’m saving that for another day - it looks even more complicated than the first chapter.
Botany Manor
Played on: Steam Deck
Play time: 4.4 hours
Difficulty: Default
I first started this game probably at the beginning of last year on Game Pass, but I was unable to finish it because I had cancelled Game Pass. Then I got it on Steam as part of Wholesome Snack 2025, and decided to play it to completion.
I’m so glad I did because I had a really fun time with it. I thought the puzzles were not too simple but not too difficult either. It struck the perfect balance for a non-intensive game session. Finding out more about the plants, figuring out the story and discovering the manor was very satisfying.
You do need to be paying attention to some of the more vague clues. There was one puzzle that I wouldn’t have gotten right without looking it up - and I still don’t get why it was solved that way. But that’s okay, because the rest was very fun.
Overall, it is a very chill game with some really pretty visuals. I came to expect some sort of “dark secret” or “that one spooky room” from these kinds of games, but I was pleasantly surprised that there was none to be found. It is very straightforward in its vibes from start to finish, which I enjoyed immensely.
Many Nights a Whisper
Played on: Steam Deck
Play time: 1.2 hours
Difficulty: Default
I had no idea this game existed, until I read Luna’s thought-provoking review of the game where she tells us of 3 different perspectives from 3 different players. I loved how different people can have such different approaches to the game, so I wishlisted the game and bought it on Winter Sale.
So, Many Nights a Whisper became the first game I played and finished in 2026, and I’m very happy that this game how I started the year. The Steam description is correct in saying that this is an interactive essay. It is meant to push you to ask questions, and to think.
The setting and the premise is very interesting. You are faced with some hard decisions, as well as some no-brainers. Trying to balance the decisions was not easy, and I felt tense throughout the decision-making process.
I won’t say more to avoid spoilers, but I found that it was an interesting thought exercise, rather than a fully-fledged game. For me, it was definitely worth the experience.
These all look like very fun games. The Roottrees are Dead is a game that I should add to my backlog. It reminded me of a game I played several years ago call Her Story where you have to solve a mystery by searching a police database. You watch clips from interviews with a suspect and use keywords from those clips to pull up more clips until you have enough to solve the mystery. Those kinds of mystery games are so enjoyable.
Good luck with the move.
These games looks sound so unique and fun in different ways. Thanks for sharing!