Fatum Betula is a light puzzle exploration game by independent developer Bryce Bucher, released as a part of the 2020 game compilation, Haunted PS1 Demo Disc. The game is quite short, only needing a few hours to fully experience every ending and interaction.

The game’s fifth-generation-styled graphics and limited field of view give off a dream-like eeriness as the nameless protagonist you control is tasked with filling up three vials with liquids you find around the various locations to feed a floating tree via a pool. The task is requested of you by a colossal face who gives you the vials at the start of the game and warns you of what may happen if you pour animal blood into the pool, hinting at one of the nine endings to unlock.

Waking up in a temple at the start of the game, Fatum Betula has three base locations outside to explore: the open grasslands in the middle, the autumn forest to the left tunnel and the koi pond and Japanese hut to the right. Each location has its own ambient theme and characters to interact with, leading to secondary locations unlocked by solving puzzles or finding their entrances.

The characters you meet will give you a small quest, linking each other together through items and association; the hints they give you can mix from vague to obvious, some of which you do not need to get help with. You obtain a knife after meeting the racoon, right? You can use it to prepare a meal for it in bite sizes.

The visual beauty and aesthetics of the game’s blend of pixelated 2D animation and 3D models are amplified by the stunning audio design. The autumn forest is a favourite, as the sky is cut off by the orange and brown leaves and branches of the tall pines, with only a ray of light shining down on a stream cutting the map in half by a waterfall. The sound of birds chirping and wind blowing is played to by a piano arrangement; then a note is played wrong and dragged out to silence except for the hum of life. The forest is also home to a cottage and a well, a third to discover on your journey.

Each ending correlates to the different types of liquids you collect and feed to the tree, which ends the game and takes you back to the minimalist main menu. Restarting the game from the start is possible, though the optimal path is to have a separate save after collecting the vials, to cut time.

The lore of Fatum Betula, told to you by the inhabitants, and the endings are very scattered, leaving the meaning and messaging of the game up to the player’s discretion, but the theme of entropy and the inability to grasp time is evident throughout the game. It is key not to spoil anything from each ending, as they are best experienced for the first time.

An experience worth while delving in on a lazy afternoon.