I missed this in my feed for a while (ended up playing the Headless Horseman game before this one) but it's so cool to see you've been creating new games. Branching Out is an excellent visual novel.
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with the premise but I really enjoyed playing through this, it's a great little story that kept me hooked throughout. The tree zombie (I called him Oak) is an interesting concept for a character and I love how his dialogue, appearance and actions all worked to keep me uncertain what his deal was. I was never certain if he was a threat or not; when it seemed like he might be creepy he then appeared sympathetic or when it seemed like things were going in a wholesome direction it pivoted again. It made the horror hit hard when it did show up, though I did also love how many nonchalant comments the MC kept making even when things did go creepy.
Also I think I said this about your work before but you're really good at subtle world-building, I love the little details you include that add so much to the setting. In this case the bit that stuck out to me is the line "He's from the forest." The way it comes across as a moment of clarity for the MC, as if this is just something that everyone knows about, really stuck with me and added a whole other layer to an already fantastic story.
I really love Branching Out and I'm so happy to see more games from you. I'm very excited to see what else you come out with.