The Tree Reviews

The Tree is a serious contender in the category of "Terribe Ideas For Video Games". It's a cardgame vaguely (very vaguely) reminiscient of Settlers of Catan, but not quite as interesting. You create a "tree" using cards. In terms of metagame, placing more cards than your opponent is the goal, and you accomplish this by matching pairs and wildcards and so on, and placing them in the structure of branches etc on the playing board, which takes the shape of a tree. The mechanics are convoluted and yet at the same time don't scratch the itch that most avid card game players tend to have... this is more like Old Maid than Magic: The Gathering. From a technical perspective, the game doesn't meet basic minimum requirements that most PC gamers expect as standard. It's a little buggy and unpolished, starting the game takes a few minutes to load up even though the file size is tiny. The game is comprised of somewhat mediocre hand drawn 2D illustrations instead of professional looking 3D game assets. It's unclear if this is due to lack of budget to arrange someone who can create graphical assets properly, or lack of talent. Regardless, the overall visual quality of the game is very low, beneath what PC gamers have come to expect in this era of cutting edge photorealistic 3D graphics. At least it's not pixel "art", but if you're looking for contemporary, immersive visuals, this game is a fail. While there are options to change the resolution for the game, all this does is scale up the simplistic 2D art assets used to make the game, which makes little or no difference to the graphics quality. Without any other substantial graphics tweaks, it's not possible for gamers to improve the lacklustre 2D visuals. The controls can't be customised because the game has such a dumbed down, simplified interface that it's just iPhone screen tapping stuff. The fact that the interface is this dumbed down might be seen as a problem in itself, however... this is a fairly shallow experience if you're the kind of gamer that likes to play games with deep, rich control schemes and interaction. You'll get none of that here. This is indistinguishable from a mobile app, but they put this on Steam instead of the app stores by mistake. Was it rejected by Apple and Google (they do have more rigorous quality standards than Valve does for Steam, after all)?. Regardless, for all intents and purposes The Tree might as well be a mobile app, it has the same limitations and dumbed down qualities. It's impossible to recommend such a game to PC gamers. We don't spend all this money building gaming rigs so we can pretend they're iPhones. These technical defects push this game below acceptable standards for any modern PC game. The poor quality of this game is reflected by how many people spent time with it. At the time of this review, SteamDB shows the all-time peak player number was only 3 players. This is a remarkably low number, and now, the only player activity occurs once or twice a month, presumably someone loading it up to see what it is then quickly uninstalling it. Considering there's over 120 million gamers on Steam and well over 110,000 games for gamers to choose from, the overwhelming lack of interest in this low quality game is to be expected. So, should you buy this game? Is this one of the best of the 110,000+ games on Steam? The Tree has the ridiculous price of around $8 USD, it's not worth it given the defects and shortcomings with the product, especially considering the sheer number of completely free, much higher quality games on Steam. For comparison, the $8 asking price for this game could get you games like "Prey", "Mass Effect Andromeda" or "Metro Exodus". Quality, professionally made games like those are frequently on sale cheaper than this.

The Tree presents itself as a notable entry in the realm of "Terrible Ideas For Video Games." This card game bears a faint resemblance to Settlers of Catan, yet lacks the engaging elements that make it captivating. Players are tasked with constructing a "tree" using cards, with the primary objective being to place more cards than opponents. This is achieved through matching pairs and utilizing wildcards, arranging them into a tree-like structure on the game board. The gameplay mechanics are intricate but fail to satisfy the expectations of dedicated card game enthusiasts, resembling Old Maid more than Magic: The Gathering. From a technical standpoint, the game falls short of the basic standards that most PC gamers anticipate. It suffers from bugs and lacks polish, with lengthy loading times despite its small file size. Visually, the game features mediocre hand-drawn 2D illustrations rather than polished 3D assets. It remains unclear whether this is due to budget constraints or a lack of artistic skill. Regardless, the overall visual presentation is subpar, failing to meet the expectations of modern gamers accustomed to high-quality, photorealistic graphics. While it avoids pixel art, those seeking contemporary and immersive visuals will find this game lacking. Players are invited to cultivate a symbolic tree in various worlds inspired by well-known folklore, such as the Brocéliande forest, Native American legends, Viking tales, and Medieval Japan. Each participant has a limited number of components to grow their tree—branches, leaves, buds, fruits, and golden flowers—with the first to successfully place all their pieces declared the winner. Players can utilize cards and guardian spirits to expedite their tree's growth or hinder their opponents, making timing and strategy crucial. Although the game boasts decent art and sound design, it is plagued by bugs and an inadequate tutorial. Players often encounter issues with placing pieces, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.

I randomly stumbled upon this game during a recent sale and decided to take a chance on it, despite it having no positive reviews at the time. This is a sincerely made card game with novel mechanics that I have not seen in any other card game before. The premise is that you and your opponent(s) take turns building a tree from the trunk out -- first branches, then leaves, then buds, and finally flowers and fruit. Your cards represent the items that you can place on the tree during your turn. The goal is to place a certain number of each item onto the tree; the first player to place all required items is the winner. I successfully completed about a half dozen matches and I did not encounter any bugs. Both the mechanics and the interface are somewhat unusual, which I suspect leads some players to give up on the game too soon. I recommend playing through the tutorial twice to ensure that you fully grasp the concepts; the tutorial is short and it explains everything that is needed to play the game. While I do like the game overall, it does have some shortcomings: - The single player AI is weak, and you will never lose to it unless you do it on purpose. - The game supports up to four players, however adding more players does not make the game more interesting; if anything it makes it even easier because there are that many more branches and leaves to build on. - The multiplayer is dead and you will never find an online match. - The game does not support local hotseat mode, which is a damn shame because that would be the best way to play this game, alongside family and friends. The Tree frequently goes on sale for under two dollars, and at that price the art and music alone make it a good value. If you like card games, and if you are willing to take a chance on a game that tries to do something new and partly succeeds, then I think it is worth a look.

I didn't even get past the tutorial. It's complicated, slow, dull, and I just cannot be arsed. You have to put things on in a certain order but that order is not visible anywhere I see on the screen, plus the slow hand-holding confusing tutorial? Not interested.

Good art and sound design, but the game is too buggy and the tutorial is bad. Sometimes I can't place pieces anywhere and the game doesn't let me do anything.