Spoiler Alert
Roots Devour is a puzzle solving game by Rewinding Games set in some dark woodland area, where players can play the villain! It borrows from H.P. Lovecraft‘s writings and perhaps Evil Dead too. That’s because the creature I’m playing had to seek not-so-innocent vertebrates to drink their blood! They give form I’m in the required essence to survive and grow. As the name suggests, it’s about extending a living tree’s roots to as far as they can go!
What’s effectively creepy is the fog of war which envelops this game. I’m never within it, and unless I extend the roots to explore, what’s revealed are either difficult terrain or playing cards. They represent either various aspects of a dying forest or victims I can either drain or have to figure a way around! This maze took more than a few tries to reach any place meaningful.
Sometimes these cards come in packs, which you need points to open. They also randomly sprout out when a root connects to an energy source. Whether that’s a cultist, flora, or fauna (usually a bat or deer), the randomness can occasionally frustrate; when random draws are part of the equation, to get those cards required while unpacking is a gamble.
Unlike other games which monetize the problem by selling boxes with what you require, there’s none here. I’m thankful because this added measure of difficulty makes staying healthy truly challenging. Even in demo mode, I’m trying again to find what I need. Random map generation always makes me wonder what’s around the corner. When the map is randomly generated, I’m always wondering what’s around the corner.
As for the story, not much exists. I am curious why the game begins with misleading players to think the ranger turned into the monster; I like to find out why. Also, other than wondering why cultists are sulking around, sacrificing chickens and what not in the name of some unknown god. I figure the avatar is a spawn of Shub-Niggurath. It is named the Black Goat of the Woods, after all! With that in mind, I had fun pretending to be this eldritch terror warping the minds of these puny humans. The short bursts of dialogue show that they go insane easily.
I can’t wait for the full release and hope more narrative bits get added. And in what’s available is basically a long tutorial mode. Tinkering will help you grasp the strategic needs of this resource gathering game.
Pros:
- Intuitive interface
- Moody music and effective fog of war
Cons:
- Can’t retract the roots once attached to a target
- Once stuck, players will have to restart
Roots Devour Trailer
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