The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna is a Mysterious Indie about a Ghostly Village

Every once in a while a game comes out that turns the gaming industry on its head and The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna is one of those titles. The story involves a student from a university who returns to his home village only to find that some strange happenings are afoot. Odd apparations are appearing in front of him that are related to an event that took place while he was absent. Thusly, it also appears that the population has vanished without a trace. Evidently, there is some kind of rift between space and time that’s bleeding into this reality. This game will dabble into the notions of unfair justice of society all while intertwining the narrative with fantastical elements. It’s up to the player to explore this village and unravel the mystery with a unique control scheme within an immersive world.

There will be certain parts of the story that will be pretty nuanced with its storytelling. It will be wrapped around pure symbolism. Players will need to have keen eyes and, most likely, be well-versed with the art of environmental narrative. There will be clues riddled throughout the map. The main protagonist will be narrating the story throughout, kind of “thinking out loud” if you will. Of course, there will be a few mysterious NPCs to converse with that will also help flesh out the story. What will make this game flow without any interruptions is the fact there will be zero loading screens. Everything will be a seamless experience that will provide almost a cinematic trek through this village. The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna isn’t an epic jaunt like many games. Instead, this new title is a much more digestible and smaller approach toward video game adventures.

Complicated Roots

It is important to point out that The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna is a walking simulator through and through. There isn’t any combat to speak of. Much like the infamous game Myst, players will be exploring an area while trying to figure out how to bypass blockades and solve puzzles. Of course, this game is much more friendly with its controls than Myst was, due to the current generation of hardware. Players will have the option to control their character in a couple of ways. One is by manipulating the joystick to move the avatar to the desired location. The other way is by simply pushing a button to make him walk perpetually. Both of these control types are optional and are free to experiment with to see what works best for them. With that said, there will be a lot of walking in this game which will entail backtracking and traversing from point to point.

Luckily, there are other ways to get around the village in The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna. One particular way is by riding an elephant that can help get through some harrowing terrains. Additionally, gamers can either play this entire game from either a first-person or third-person perspective. There are some light platforming segments to traverse through in the map. The way players want to get over these obstacles is purely at their discretion. The puzzles are also with the environmental variety. It will mainly consist of making makeshift bridges and flipping switches in the proper order to activate something. It may not be the most inventive stuff when it comes to enigmas, but at least there is enough mixture to make every puzzle feel new.

Internal Battles

Players will see ghostly apparations walking around the map. They come in diverse colors and they will be one of the main focal points of the story. These ghostly imprints will signify the past residents of this village and will garner clues and exposition for the player to peel away the layers of this game’s mystery. They kind of help drive the player toward the right direction of what the major story point is the location to drive the campaign forward. It’s also worth noting that this game’s campaign is only a few hours long. A seasoned gamer could probably finish this tale in a single afternoon. The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna weaves a small, yet intimate yarn which will raise more questions and actually answer them. The ending does establish a poignant point and it does its best not to be too ambiguous. Also, the sound design does come with its own charm to it which brings this village to life with its voice acting and music.

The soundtrack in The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna is composed by Molo Dimolo. He has done other projects in the video game industry like Encoder and Levorium: Rise of Empires. The music in this game is rather somber and it will fluctuate during quiet and intense encounters in this title. It’s one of the highlights in this game and it really helps tie this world together. Although the voice acting be a bit “hit or miss” with their execution, they are essential with garnering details about this village. Even though this game has a short playthrough, it is rather dense and jampacked with exposition. This story can be philosophical with many of its points and it could be a bit of a turn-off for certain gamers. However, if someone is looking for a cerebral experience, then this indie might scratch that itch.

Homebound Harmony

This game was just recently released and it may have slipped under many gamers’ radars. The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna has garnered some mixed reviews and it’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. However, if a player feels like trying out a walking simulator that offers some old-fashioned mental stimulation might want to give this game a try. Sometimes, trying out something new can be a refreshing thing. The Dead Tree of Ranchiuna is now available for PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Nintendo Switch. It’s a pretty well-crafted indie that deserves a little recognition among the slew of AA and AAA titles that overshadow games of this caliber. Sometimes, a quiet adventure is exactly what the doctor ordered and this game provides precisely that.