2019-05-01+PC+Gamer

For one thing, you’re such a lovely

tree that a monument is quickly built

in your honour. You go on to become

an icon of worship for a futuristic

society, before the game ends, and

without you lifting a finger.

You’ll be pleased to

discover that’s just one

ending of many,

branching out from the

innocuous beginning,

where you’re given

ownership of a

seemingly immobile

totem of twigs. The

other endings stem

from your realisation that this tree

can actually move, tumbling left and

right, and jumping up onto floating

platforms with all the elegance of the

guy from QWOP after a litre of gin.

Nominally this is a platform game,

where you’re required to leap about,

to collect triangular doodads, and

reach the swirly exit portal that will

take you to the next level. But it’s

W

hat’s it like being a tree? Being stuck in one spot for a

few hundred years while humans come and go around

you and generations of doomed couples scratch their

initials (oww) right on your ruddy bark. I’ve made it

sound pretty terrible, haven’t I, but after slipping on

my tree suit for the surprisingly comprehensive How to Be a Tree, I’ve

come to the conclusion that being a tree is kind of wonderful.

also, very much like The Stanley

Parable, a game of hunting down and

unlocking multiple endings.

Without wanting to spoil any of

them, I do need to point out just how

thoroughly developer Jimmy

Andrews has

considered the tree

experience, from the

objects they’re most

commonly turned into,

to the little matter of

the roots

inconveniently tying

them to the ground.

Each of the endings

takes you down one of these paths,

exploring, for example, a tree’s

immovable nature, the game taking

that aspect and pushing it to a

ludicrous extreme.

Barking up the wrong...

There are some strange, some cute,

and mostly a lot of funny scenes on

the way to each ending – it’s just a

shame that the controls so often get

in the way. Rather than moving a

single character, you’re encouraging a

physicsy pile of branches around

here, and that’s exactly as annoying

as it sounds. It’s not so bad rolling left

and right, but to jump you first have

to contract into a straight line, using

the recoil to spring yourself upwards.

You’ll need to have a tolerance,

then, even an aptitude for physics

comedy games like QWOP or Getting

Over It to get the most out of How to

Be a Tree, even if its difficulty pales in

comparison with those distinctly

Sisyphean nightmares.

However it’s still possible to

experience much of this creative,

funny and inspired narrative

platformer, as there are several

endings that don’t require total

mastery of its unforgiving controls.

Root around for those, give yourself a

chuckle, then maybe attempt the

more challenging endings – should

you succeed, you’ll certainly be

rewardedforyourefforts.

NeedtoKNow

What is it?

A completely

straightforward tree

simulator,winkwink

EXPECttOPaY

Free

DEvElOPEr

Jimmy ‘Zaphos’

Andrews

PublishEr

Jimmy ‘Zaphos’

Andrews

rEviEWEDOn

AMD [email protected],

6GB RAM, GeForce GT

610

MultiPlaYEr

None

link

bit.ly/HowTree

74

Make like a tree and leave

time to enjoy this

sidescroller, which is

worth playing even if you

hate infuriating games.

vErDiCt

Beyond Be-leaf

Going back to your roots in the surprising How to Beatree. By Tom Sykes

This tree can

actually move,

tumbling left

and right, and

jumping

HowtoBeaTree

FrEE GaMEsrEviEW

It’s a good game, but there’s

broom for improvement.

This almost never happens at

Westonbirt Arboretum.

It’s not all brown and green, like

you might be expecting.