Red Trees

Hello!
And welcome to the review of another little cute game. A really little cute game since it can be finished in... well 40-45 minutes for me, anyway less than an hour for sure.
This game was made by Caramel with RPG Maker VX Ace in 2016, and that's the version I played before I realized that there was a re-release in 2019 (the 1.5 version), but I guess there won't be many significative changes from the version I played.

First thing that attracted me was the mentioning of custom graphics and music: I recently played many games with custom graphics, and most of them used a green-scheme palette to make the game look like one of these that are played on gameboy. Well, Red Trees does exactly the opposite (even it still looks like a typical gameboy game, like for example a pokemon one) because there are NO shades of green at all! Just pastel colors of yellow, purple, salmon pink, white and black. And another interesting detail is the cuteness of the characters, facesets and world, all original and competently made. It's a pretty game indeed, but what about the gameplay?


Thank you very much this is pretty coo... hey what did you just give me???

Well, forget epic quests and furious combat encounters, forget party management and loot, in this game we play as a little girl, Artemis. The game is all about wandering, talking to people, collecting items and exploring the cute world around you. Ande trade, or better, exchange items with other people. Yeah, these are totally fetch quests, that's what I mean. Ok, it's nothing original or new, but the game has some surprises and interactions that keep the whole story interesting and it did not bore me at all, on the contrary I was curious about what was going on and what ending would have concluded the story. You know what? I was totally surprised by the ending scene (it's funny and in a really good way!) and yes, if a game keeps me entertained and ends in a not predictable way it's a good thing. Well at least for me!
The game towards the ending includes also a sort of puzzle, a variation of the classic "Wolf, goat and cabbage problem". But with bunnies.

The game provides the possibility to interact with many things, persons and animals too. I like how each character is different and has its own custom facesets with different expressions. The style is coherent, simple but cute (ok, I'm saying it a lot of times in this review, but just check the pics!) through all the game, I don't mind if everyone looks like a little kind, even the adults. It's all part of the design.
Ok, so graphics are pretty but what about the music? I found it simple but beautiful, a bit haunting but quite appropriate, and in the end I cannot see anything else to say and complain about.


Hey! HEYYY! How rude! Ok, I'll leave so you can read the...

Final Verdict
Here we are! As you probably imagine, I believe this is a beautiful game: the concept and gameplay is simple, still it's a game that made me think about what I was doing, surprised me with some twists and kept me interested for an hour. I did notice no errors or problems with it, on the contraty it looks unique and it's very pretty. Characters are different and rich of personality, I mean they are just barely characterized in short, but they made my imagination run wild. For example Artemis' mother looked like a scatterbrained airhead, while the father seemed a sort of capable, quiet, layabout man. My impression, not important but hey, it's all characterization. Anyway the game is memorable especially for the ending, I loved it! Memorable and with a nostalgic look, really.

Anyway... these trees were NOT red! Those are pink.