A Game Where Trees Bully the Player: Trees Hate You Demo

Warning: Lots of tree puns to come that will have you barking with laughter…

In this game, you’ll face one tree-mendous problem: the trees are alive, and they hate you. The trees in Trees Hate You have a personal vendetta against you and will stop at nothing to take you down. Will you be able to escape the forest and these hate-filled trees?

Now, unfortunately, the full version of Trees Hate You has yet to be released. Developer Tykenn currently only has the demo (a free playable sample of a game) out, but don’t let that discourage you. The demo is roughly 15 minutes of pure joyous chaos.

The demo was released in December 2025, and the full game is set to release sometime this year. You can currently play the free demo on itch.io. If you end up liking the game, you can stick the game in your wishlist on Steam. 

While we wait for Tykenn to finish his work, let’s talk about the portion of Trees Hate You we have now. 

Life’s a Birch

Trees Hate You is a rage game focused on traps and gags. Instead of precise platforming, the game has something new lurking around every corner to catch you off guard. In Trees Hate You, your goal is to return home after a picnic. You hike through the forest and attempt to make it home, but there’s one major catch: the trees won’t leaf you alone. Don't trust the trees; they will trick you and push you to the brink of rage quitting.

Every time you feel like you've reached a mini success by overcoming puzzles and almost making it to a checkpoint, Trees Hate You pulls another fast one on you. So how can you stay palm while playing? By admiring the humor and sheer stupidity of the game.

Branching Into Humor

The developer spruces things up by creating something completely jarring and humorous at the same time. You’ll think you’ve finally reached the end of a level, and suddenly, a tree comes out of nowhere with the most insane and stupidly funny way to kill you. Each tree has its own different method of chaos, some have guns, some body slam you, and others are just plain old trees—or are they?

The fun of Trees Hate You is to see how many moronic ideas the developer thought of while making the game. Who would have thought a tree could grow its trunk and block your path, or a tree would have impeccable aim, or its apples would become bombs? Nobody, besides Tykenn. That's what makes Trees Hate You so much fun because no matter what you think is coming, I can guarantee you it's not what you think. 

Trees Hate You subverts your expectations each time you think you may have figured the game out. Much like The Stanley Parable, sometimes it's best not to listen to what the game tells you to do and to go off on your own path.

Tykenn’s roots aren’t in comedy. Their game before Trees Hate You, South Words Hero, is an adventure game. But Tykenn didn’t let the new genre stump them. Instead, they ran with the humor and created something that genuinely had me laughing, especially with a certain top hat gag—if you know, you know.

Oak-ward Beats

On a quick note, I’d like to mention the quirky music in Trees Hate You. The music itself is odd and somewhat disorienting; I think that’s done purposefully. 

The music is one of the longest-running jokes in the entire demo. The beats are off-key and untuned, making it sometimes feel like a horror game just from the soundtrack, but it also somehow makes the game feel silly at the same time. 

Should This Tree Get The Axe?

Is this game really that fun, or is it the streamers who started playing and their personalities that make Trees Hate You fun?

If we’re being fir real, I fear there may be some truth behind the question. Streamers have indeed helped the game find sunlight and grow from a sapling to a full, hearty tree. Even though it's only a demo, Trees Hate You has become such a popular game, and if Tykenn keeps up the phenomenal humor and work, I’d say the rest of the game has a promising future.

Cedar Later

There's not much to say about Trees Hate You because it is only just a demo at the moment, and it only takes 15 minutes to complete, yet this game has already set itself up to be one of the funniest games of 2026. I personally can't wait to see the full game in effect. 

Logging Off. 

See what I did there? 

Okay, okay, I’ll finally stop with the sappy puns now, which you probably have a deep cedared hatred for now…

My Rating