The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna

Every few months or so, I get to play a new game from Tonguç Bodur and so far none of them let me down. They maintain a relaxed / casual pace overall and offer an emotional experience that fits perfectly with a rainy Saturday mood. This one in particular is infused with a sad narration, maybe even more so because it has deep roots into an unforgiving reality. The story of [i]The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna[/i] is told from an observer’s point of view and follows a regular guy who returns to his natal village after he finishes his studies. Instead of welcoming arms, he finds a world filled with hate for no apparent reason. Devoured by jealousy, his childhood friend stole his girlfriend in his absence and together with two other accomplices is now playing all sorts of mean tricks on him. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1660047395 The action takes part in a Romanian village called “Ranchiuna” - a word that expresses a combination of hate, jealousy and thirst for revenge. This emotion became ingrained in the Romanian psyche of the people living in villages because of the hardships that they had to suffer throughout the centuries. Life as a farmer is merciless: the amount of land that you own decides your fate and your limits and this situation is prone to generate a lot of conflicts, even with people close to you. Your best friend can turn over night into your worst enemy and finding out ways to gather the money needed to support your life most often turns into a real struggle. Although [i]The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna[/i] doesn’t touch these delicate aspects like some of the traditional Romanian novels do, it still expresses very well this psychology of greed born out of hate and competitiveness. In that regard, I was extremely surprised (positively) to see how spot on the creator of [i]The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna[/i] was, even more so because he managed to express this psychology so well, without having any prior connections to the Romanian culture. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1660045789 The environment of the game maintains a moody / nostalgic atmosphere and the beautiful music compliments this extremely well. There are a lot of elements that are reminiscent of the Romanian culture: not only the flowers on the fields, but also the interior design of the houses and even the subtle flute nuances in the music. All of these combine to deliver an unique experience that might be more impactful for me as a Romanian native, rather than for you as a foreigner, but the emotional facet is still pretty strong either way. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1660046497 This walking simulator is neither too long or too short; it takes around 2h to complete it, after which the player unlocks an encore-mode in which they can teleport to various parts of the map to explore the beautiful world further and reach a some spots that were not previously accessible. [quote]More reviews on the [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/11354094]Lilly's Corner Curator page[/url][/quote]

This ranks among the worst games I have ever played. I am stupefied by the positive reviews here. I love Myst-type games and enjoy a good walking simulator such as What Remains of Edith Finch. But this "game" is 99% walking around. Literally. You just follow a path for several hours. You walk by houses, lookout towers, and other structures, but you can't go in them. There is literally NOTHING to interact with. There are a few "puzzles" where you have to flip a switch to open a door. That's it. You can run, but it is painfully slow. Thankfully there is a hotkey where you can toggle walking so your finger doesn't tire out. The story is terrible. It makes no sense. It is a bunch of babbling recollections of something that I really couldn't care about. The acting is poor as well. I had no clue why I was walking around. Definitely the most boring game I have ever played.

The last walking sim released before the pandemic? Just realised that this I'd skipped while I'd played 7 walking sims by Mr. Bodur, all released after [b]Drizzlepath: Deja Vu[/b]. [b]The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna[/b] is on par with the rest: beautifully done sim with long walks and great accompanying music. To tell you the truth while I liked the usual narration (with the exception of the toilet used as a metaphor for life) throughout gameplay, I didn't really like the 3 ghosts appearing from time-to-time that, if I'm not mistaken, are meant to be the antagonists in the story. I noticed this can be played from the 3rd person perspective and also running can be toggled. You can just "sit back" and let your character walk or run while you change directions with the mouse. There are some puzzles that stop you while en route. An annoying one was the one in the cave where a pallet needed to be dropped. I ran around in circles and eventually it happened but I don't recall interacting with anything. There is also a house that cannot be entered but when the front door is approached, we see a key popping up. Not sure if this means no entry or that a key is lying around. I just continued the story and managed to complete it without this. Perhaps a secret location? This is a fine walking sim and perfect for screenshot aficionados like myself.

Alright. [i]The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna[/i] is done and dusted. I actually thought I'd played this before, but turns out I hadn't, so no better time than now to remedy that. And it was another stellar walking simulator by [i]Tonguç Bodur[/i], who has more or less mastered the genre. This is, as is the case with his other games, very story-centric, set alongside the backdrop of a lush outdoors and mountain setting. This is also one of his lengthier walking sims, weighing in at about two hours plus another half hour or so to wrap up postgame content (which helps fill out some story points). The remaining hour of my time is me forgetting to close the game, lol. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3271655558 The story was interesting IMO. Well written as always, and with an interesting dynamic where the main story is more of a set dressing used to convey a sub story. Both focused on envy and betrayal ultimately. By my mind, the only sympathetic character in the game was Danielle, who was basically treated as a possession or distraction by literally all the other characters. Who were, by and large unlikable, and IMO, intentionally written that way. You have the presumed protagonist (Andrei) who leaves Danielle and his friends behind to pursue his life in the big city, never calls or checks up on anybody, then just shows up out of the blue years later expecting to continue his relationship with Danielle and resume the friendships he had abandoned. However, his friends all resent Andrei due to a childhood incident with one of them, but more realistically, also because they too covet Danielle. Such a twisted web. In contrast, the narration is more about reflecting on the nature of society as it pertains to trust, empathy, the nature of perceived strength and weakness, bullying, and so on. And while that does tie into the main story, it also creates a more introspective focus on what it means to simply be alive and interacting with society in our world. The voice acting was hit or miss. The characters were all done pretty well. The narrator OTOH had times where he was in the flow of the story and other moments where you could tell he didn't really know what emotion to convey. The soundtrack was all excellent, and it's always impressive how the songs are appropriate to the circumstances you hear them in. About to enter a dark cave. Enter a whimsically foreboding piece. About to enter a more mysterious place. Have some kind of ethereal tunes to accompany you. Very nicely done. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3271655641 The graphics lean in the grittier side of natural surroundings. You get the sense that this is an area that sees a lot of rain, and that the protagonist's mindset while viewing this is also somewhat darker. It's definitely a beautiful game, but don't expect huge splashes of color everywhere. They exist. They just aren't the focus here. Also, I thought some of the portraits and pictures hanging in a few places were very nice touches. Gameplay-wise, this is classic walking simulator with a couple lever puzzles and a few objects that need to be found. However, a new entry to Tonguc's game is a simplified version of a lockpicking mini game. That was cool. I also think it's noteworthy that Tonguc takes a more direct hand in deciding how fast your character can move. There is of course walking and fast walking, but there are sequences where he ramps up your speed to reflect the urgency of the moment in the story. Now, I think we all know the slow walking is something nobody is doing when they play the game, so it doesn't really need to be there, but the attention to your actual walking speed as a pacing device within the game is pretty cool. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3271655420 I thought this was a fun game and certainly one to look at if you enjoy walking simulators in general. [code]If you found this review helpful and would be interested in supporting my Curator group, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32549618/]Robilar's Reviews[/url], it would be appreciated. Cheers.[/code] [code]Also follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]IndieGems[/url] for more reviews like this one.[/code]

Another asset flip from Tonguç Bodur. As his other games, it's not worth anyone's time, it's an insult to game design everywhere, and might actually reduce the player's brain cell count.

Basically, long and boring. The protagonist goes for a 20 mile stroll, the pathway affording many beautiful vistas, lakes, streams, waterfalls, meadows. The narrator is supposed to be a young college graduate but the voice is a gravelly middle age male. We are captive to monotonous philosophical monologue which is presented as 'wisdom' but is objectively disconnected, doubtful, and often absurd. At times the music is very beautiful - gorgeous cello melodies with astutely crafted orchestration - alas, it is sparingly supplied. Puzzles are no-brainers, but walking on narrow planks becomes tedious. The ghosted dialogues include profanity, and the penultimate scene features a toilet, ostensibly to symbolize the meaning of life. That scene summarizes this computer game.

I strongly believe that this is one of the weakest games Tonguc has ever made. The voice acting is some of the worst I've heard, the world is unbelievably linear this time instead of open, and the story (in my opinion) doesn't really make sense. The characters actions and motivations in this game are far removed from what most humans actions and motivations would be in real life and that really took me out of the game. Now, DESPITE all this, the game isn't terrible. You may be wondering how I could possibly think that despite what I've just said above. Well, it's easily the most optimized game Tonguc has made. It does have brief loading hitches from area to area but otherwise runs really, really well. Also, the world is built out in a way that the landmarks really stand out. There are some really insane landmarks in this game and you'll just want to take your time standing there and admiring the scenery. There's also one scene in particular where you are riding a very large animal (I won't spoil what that animal is) and it's definitely a standout scene in my opinion. If we had a middle option, that would be where I rank this one. Despite it's faults, it still has enough here to attract the type of people that have liked Tonguc's previous games (games like Nephise, Bottle, and Drizzlepath). I will admit that in a lot of ways it was disappointing but in several others, it was beyond some of the stuff he's been able to accomplish in the past. There's enough to like here that I'm going to go ahead and recommend it. If you want to see what the game looks like in action and decide for yourselves if this is something that you would like to play, I've started a Youtube series. Also, for anyone who has completed the game and isn't afraid of spoilers, there's an extra guide I made and placed at the end of this playlist that shows you how to get the new game+ items. Just watch the last video on the playlist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzMRiP9K9Us&list=PL08FwntTpxPCVNu6VpOULR_dlz84FtSGC

[h1] Genre [/h1] Ein Story Driven Exploration Adventure [h1] Story [/h1] Wir spielen einen Mann der nach Jahren zu seinem Alten Heimatdorf zurückkehrt. Dort angekommen müssen wir feststellen das alle Bewohner fort sind. Wir werden von Visionen geplagt die uns verschiedene Personen zeigen. Was hat es damit auf sich? Das wollen wir herausfinden [h1] Gameplay [/h1] Die Story habe ich nicht wirklich ganz kapiert. Wir laufen in der First Person Ansicht durch das Dorf und Umgebung. Zwischendurch hält unser Charakter einen Monolog über verschiedene Dinge des Lebens und wir sehen Visionen aus der Vergangenheit (gehe ich mal von aus). Wir müssen auch 3 simple Türen Rätsel lösen, die wirklich total einfach gehalten sind. Bei dem Spiel geht es natürlich mehr um die Story als um das Gameplay aber wie gesagt die Story habe ich nicht wirklich kapiert. Grafik & Musik sind ordentlich. Auch das Voice Acting fand ich gut gelungen und die Deutsche Text Übersetzung ist ebenfalls gut [h1] Achievement Schwierigkeit 2/10 [/h1] Es gibt insgesamt 10 Erfolge. Hierfür muss man ganz einfach nur das Spiel durchspielen, die Credits ansehen und nach den Credits eine Tür knacken [h1] Pro/Contra [/h1] + Musik ist ordentlich + Gute Grafik + Voice Acting ist ganz ordentlich + Die Deutsche Text Übersetzung ist gut + Achievements + XBox 360 Controller Support +/- Die Story habe ich nicht wirklich verstanden [h1] Fazit [/h1] Wieder ein Ordentliches Story Driven Exploration Adventure vom Entwickler "Tonguc Bodur". Die Story habe ich zwar nicht ganz kapiert aber im allgemeinen fand ich auch dieses Spiel wieder sehr gut gemacht. Ich habe ja schon einiges von diesem Entwickler gespielt und die Spiele sind nie schlecht. Wer gerne solche Art Spiele mag, kann hier ruhig mal reinschauen 👑 Powered by HoI 4 Deu Curators group in German / English 👑⠀⠀⠀[list][*][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/30388691/] Follow Main group [/url][*] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/40282064/] Follow Second group [/url][*] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44688798/] Follow third group [/url][/list] and discover more reviews from me

The Dead Tree Of Ranchiuna, another game from developer Tonguç Bodur. The guy who creates games like they are cupcakes and probably holds the world record of creating most games single handedly..... well if you forget about the bought assets, hired voice actors and paid music ofcourse. Like most games from this developer, TDTOR is a walking simulator with some narration. To cut a long story short, I did not like the game. The story wasn't very interesting + the main voice actor bore the hell out of me. The surroundings also weren't that beautiful as in his other games so obviously if the main ingredients for a walking simulator aren't to my liking, I can't really recommend the game.

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]