If you like a good mystery novel or are one of those folks that likes to just wonder aimlessly around open-world games Dear Esther is worth a try. If you like your gaming hardcore, give this one a miss unless you really fancy a change of pace. The lack of challenge as you glide unimpeded across the landscape is going to be too much for some to deal with. Whist the world is incredibly detailed, the path though it is very linier. Is that a person up there?ĭear Esther is going to disappoint a few people. The question is have we got something sublime or are we simply experiencing a long interactive cut-scene? The answer to that question will depend on the player. Whilst some will see this as a cop-out, limiting the players interaction to exploring the island results in a carefully controlled player experience that would overwise be shattered by a user created random action somewhat akin to a reader deciding to write his or her own chapter in the middle of a book. The game presents players with a level of atmosphere that would be simply possible if it were a tranditional game. As the sun goes down strange markings in luminous paint glow from walls and rock faces, chemical formulas and electrical circuit diagrams, all clues to the story. All the while offering visual conundrums. The haunting piano and violin score wells up unexpecidly giving the game a sense of the epic.ĭear Esther takes the player on a journey that explores desolate hillsides, rugged beaches and grotto-like caverns. The wind and rustling of the grass helps to recreate the ambence of a Scottish island. The sound design draws the player into the experience. It is incredible that, even after all these years, the Source Engine can still hold its own against newer graphics engines. Thankfully the island is rendered in such glorious detail one can almost taste the sea air. Were the graphics any less than the superb visuals on offer, the hike around the island could wear a little thin. Whilst the slow pace can be a tad frustratingly, especially when you find yourself having to retrace your steps, players are given plenty of time to take in the island and spot subtleties that would be otherwise missed. The lack of a run button means that the trip across the island is quite leisurely,obviously by design it’s not intended to be a time trial. The narration is quite bizarre, skipping between the profound details of a car accident to the history of the island and the vista surrounding the player. Wondering around the island will trigger the narrated voice-over, an Englishman describing a life-changing event in his past that begins with a salutation, the titular Dear Esther. Your task is simple: to explore the island and discover its secrets for yourself. No running, no jumping, no firing and no interaction. The controls are simple: forwards, backwards, left, right and focus. To the left, in the far distance, a flashing red beacon atop an aerial mast suggests your ultimate destination. And some folks are gonna get very upset about this.ĭear Estherstarts with the player standing at the top of a boat ramp on an small island in the Outer Hebrides (that’s off Scotland for the geographically challenged), looking up at an abandoned lighthouse and its equally decrepit outbuildings. There are no enemies to kill, no puzzles to solve and no points to be won. Dear Esther is more of a visual novel than a game. Even Call of Duty, with its bat-shit-mad, Michael Bay-inspired shenanigans totally does it for me.įor the uninitiated, Dear Esther sits at the opposite end of Tetris on the gaming periodic table, being all plot and no game at least not in the traditional sense. Some of the best movies that I’ve never seen have been video games. It doesn’t have to be deep or profound it just needs to be relevant. A game, for me to enjoy it, has to have a plot. I’m long over shooting for the sake of shooting, sideways scrollers or annoyingly addictive Tetris-like affairs. When it comes to my sort of game the plot is everything. The game is a re-tooling of a Source Engine mod of the same name, released back in 2008, and apparently promises to be some sort of interactive novel. The pre-release blurb for PC game, Dear Esther, suggested that it may be the sort of thing that a jaded gaming type like me should check out. Dear Esther seems to be a change from the gaming norm. I’m not saying that as necessarily a bad thing, it’s just truly original ideas seem to be getting few and far between these days. Most games are basically derivative efforts that I’ve seen before. So long, in fact, that I rarely actually have an original gaming experience. I’ve been playing games for far too long. Game, interactive story experience or pretentious twaddle? the commercial release of the former Source Engine mod, Dear Esther, promises to divide its audience.
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