A Game About Chopping Trees Review Summary

A cozy, beautiful game with satisfying upgrades, but its short length, progress-blocking bugs, and lack of variety hold it back.

Cozy and relaxing experience: Reviews consistently describe the game as cozy, comfy, relaxing, and stress-free, perfect for unwinding or a quiet evening. The game provides a calm and soothing atmosphere.

Beautiful graphics and visuals: Players praise the game's visuals as beautiful, cute, visually pleasing, and having incredible color schemes and artstyle. The graphics are highlighted as a strong positive feature.

Great upgrade progression system: The upgrade system provides a sense of progression and visible improvement, with reviews noting it allows for good progression and is neat. The stamina system also adds to this sense of advancement and challenge.

Games are amazing: Multiple reviews express high praise calling the game amazing, wonderful, top-notch, fantastic, and absolutely wonderful. These positive general sentiments indicate strong overall satisfaction.

Fun with friends in co-op: Playing co-op with friends enhances the fun, makes it more enjoyable, and is great for mindless fun. The social aspect is a significant plus.

Game is too short: Players consistently report the game is very short, with playtime estimates ranging from under 2 hours to around 3 hours. Many feel the content does not justify the price.

Bugs block progress: Several game-breaking bugs prevent progression, including logs falling into water, trees not responding to axing, and a New Game+ reset issue that resets progress without warning. These bugs cause significant frustration.

Lacks variety and content: Players frequently note the lack of content variety, with only tree chopping and a few areas. Many want more biomes, mechanics, and activities to keep the gameplay interesting.

Stamina system is problematic: The stamina system is widely criticized for draining too fast and frequently breaking immersion. Many players find it annoying and punishing.

Upgrade system is flawed: The upgrade system is criticized for having useless early upgrades, uneven levels, and a stamina upgrade bug that locks achievements. Some upgrades feel unnecessary or poorly balanced.

Short game length: Most reviews agree the game is short, typically completed in 2 to 3 hours or in one sitting. This makes it suitable for casual play sessions.

Tree chopping core gameplay: The game's primary activity is chopping trees, with progression and upgrades tied to this loop. Players equip axes, damage trees, collect logs, and sell them for money to improve equipment.

Upgrade and progression system: Players can upgrade tools like axes and chainsaws, as well as stamina, log capacity, and other abilities. Progression includes unlocking unlimited stamina and new areas.

Relaxing and casual experience: The game is designed to be relaxing, with no combat, time limits, or complex objectives. Players can explore freely and engage in simple tree chopping loops.

Biomes and exploration: The game features multiple biomes (e.g., birch, oak, spruce, snow) with distinct music playlists. Players explore along railway tracks, discovering new areas and secrets.

Excellent performance on high settings: Multiple reviews report high frame rates of 100-130 FPS on epic and max settings, indicating strong performance on high-end hardware.

Long loading times reported: One user complains that loading times are too long, which is a distinct negative point amidst otherwise positive performance feedback.

Relaxing cozy game recommendation: Many players recommend this game for those seeking a calm, relaxing experience to play solo or with friends. It is praised for being a simple, mind-off game suitable for casual sessions.

Strong positive recommendations: A subset of reviewers gives high praise, calling the game highly recommended, 10/10, or an instant buy. They emphasize its value and charm for the intended audience.

Bugs and development issues: Some players report game-breaking bugs, such as a log-in-water issue, and express disappointment with the developer's attitude. They recommend waiting for fixes or considering a refund.

Community fair range: $5.00 - $8.00.

Game completion: 3.5h.

Story completion: 2.5h.

The game is immediately enjoyable due to its cozy atmosphere, relaxing pace, and satisfying progression loop, with minor early friction from stamina and language barriers for some players.

Friction: stamina system complaints from some players; missing Italian translation for menu and tutorial.

Chill Solo Relaxer: Casual, solo, passive, repetitive chopping without strategic planning. Motivation: To unwind and destress by performing a simple, repetitive task without pressure. Stance: buy.

Co-op Social Logger: Multiplayer cooperative, multitasking while chatting, treating the game as a social hangout. Motivation: To socialize and bond with friends over a low-stakes, shared activity. Stance: buy.

Achievement Completionist: Methodical, planned, restart-conscious, prioritizing achievement checklist over casual flow. Motivation: To obtain all achievements and fully complete the game. Stance: sale.

Performance varies by VRAM amount: systems with 6GB VRAM struggle while 8GB and 12-15GB VRAM run well.

Windows <8GB VRAM: mixed. Users with 8GB VRAM report smooth performance at high settings, but those with 6GB VRAM experience lag and stuttering.

Windows 12-15GB VRAM: positive. Users report excellent performance with max settings and no issues, achieving high frame rates.