This game is rated PEGI 12
Our review includes potentially triggering words:
Gore and Horror.
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Posted: 3 weeks ago, last updated 8 days ago.
Author: Ben Kendall, @GeekDadGamer and Jo Robertson.
Overview
You play James Vanderboom, who returns to the Rusty Lake area as the sole heir of his family, inheriting the ancient family house. You piece together your long and complex family tree from the 1860s to the 1930s, uncovering hidden secrets and long-lost ancestors as you piece together the dark and uneasy story of your past.
You progress through the game by expanding your family tree, a literal tree you water and nurture to help it grow. This unlocks new levels, corresponding to different family members, reaching backwards through time.
Gameplay is similar to other Rusty Lake games; you collect items and use them to complete puzzles and unlock hints. For example, you can find a code on a letter, which you can use to unlock a case containing useful items, or giving people in a photo specific hats to unlock a secret. While the puzzles are very difficult, they are always doable given your current information (or access to it), making it a challenge with great reward.
It's a unique game and entry into the Rusty lake franchise, with a unique setting and story to tell, that offers unique puzzles, progression systems, and a chance to muse deeply on the game's complex story and many mysteries.
Game Details
Content Rating: PEGI 12
Skill Rating: 12+ year-olds
Release Date: 20/10/2016
Platforms: Android, Mac, PC and iOS
Genres: Brain Game, Narrative, Point-and-Click and Puzzle
Accessibility: 18 features
Developer: Rusty Lake Com (@RustyLakeCom)
Players: 1
Lists
View our choice of games like Rusty Lake: Roots. This game is good if you want to:
Duration
Play Style
You can play this game in the following styles:
Age Ratings
There are some creepy sections, and blood and gore is frequently present.
Skill Rating
12+ year-olds usually have the required skill to enjoy this game. As well as the horror elements and violence/blood and gore, the game's puzzles are extremely complex, often requiring a great deal of patience and lateral thinking to beat, making it more suited to older teens.
Costs
Accessibility
The game is very difficult, and will often require extreme thought and patience to overcome challenges. If you get stuck, the developers do have a full walkthrough of the game on their website.
All in-game events are triggered by your actions and there is never any need to react quickly to things happening in the game.
As some clues are only shown (or implied) through visual or audio cues, sound and visuals are required to beat the game. Some visual clues are very subtle, small or faint, and/or use colour, which is important to note for colourblind players.
Some letters in the game use a cursive font which can be hard to read. However, if you click on the text, it appears in clear, large text in high contrast to a black background at the top of the screen.
The Rusty Lake Franchise
Rusty Lake: Roots is part of the Rusty Lake franchise of games:

Video Games Like Rusty Lake: Roots
Our experts have hand-picked the following similar games. These are similar to Rusty Lake: Roots in how they play or their theme. These are good alternative games to Rusty Lake: Roots, or are a younger rated alternative for players not ready for PEGI 12 or ESRB TEEN games.
