Dear Esther: Landmark Edition

"Dear Esther started life as a Half-Life 2 mod back in 2008. The purpose of the project was for research conducted by Dr. Dan Pinchbeck at the University of Portsmouth. By solely focusing on storytelling rather than action, Dr. Pinchbeck wanted to learn how players would respond emotionally to an experience completely driven by its sound, setting, and literature containing subtle hints at a story that offers the player no conclusive ending. Two years later, Valve signed off on the mod for its own standalone Steam release. The standalone version was rebuilt by Robert Briscoe, one of the genius developers behind the environments of the original Mirror's Edge. In 2017, the project was released for its third and final time in the Unity Engine with a noticeable improvement to its beautiful greenery and a Director's Commentary allowing players to explore the island whilst learning about the development and inspiration of the project. The experimental idea behind Dear Esther sparked a boom in storytelling games, inspiring thousands of developers as it still does to this very day. For any gaming enthusiast such as myself, Dear Esther is a title you must experience at least once to witness the power it wields over its players." TD

I cannot for the life of me finish this game, let alone recommend it. Its slow, too slow in every way. Too slow for its own good, and after the first half hour of slowly walking around, I tried slowly walking off every cliff to die, just because that was more exciting than listening to someone drone on and on about a whole lot of nothing. After a few dialogue cues, it sounds like whining and it began grating on my ears worse than the dialogue and accents in the Black mirror 2 game. I got this game for free and still don't recommend it. BUT, If you like slow quiet noninteractive strolls listening to someone whining, this game is for you!

So I beat the game, and I have no clue what it was all about. I don't hate the game, I'm just really confused to the point where I don't even really know what to give it from a scale from one to ten. 3/10?

They couldn't write something smart, so they made it obscure. And apparently, according to the developers' own commentary, you're not even supposed to expect the obscurity to resolve into anything. It doesn't matter if you understand it. The story doesn't need to make sense. There is a difference between a work deliberately leaving room for interpretation and its authors effectively admitting that there is nothing in particular to interpret. Dear Esther could be called a walking simulator. You do walk, a lot. But don't expect anything even remotely like Firewatch or The Stanley Parable. And even the most basic walking simulator should at least tell a story. This barely manages that. At best, it's an artistic experiment, contemporary art at its worst, where emptiness is mistaken for depth and the audience is expected to supply the meaning the authors couldn't be bothered to provide. You will walk. You will get bored. And if you complain that none of it means anything, apparently that's part of the art. Pretentious, and not worth your time even if you got it for free.

"Even the rocks and caves will shimmer and blur, with the right eyes" I almost dropped this game more than once during the start cus I didn't understand half the ♥♥♥♥ going on lol. I'm so glad I didn't. The vibe oh the vibe, the visuals and sound designs are so so good. Gave me chills. love it.

This game ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ sucks. Go play What Remains of Edith Finch.

That was very weird game, I didn't understand anything at all, but it was really nice hour. I don't know how the hell game developers made such beautiful views and graphics in general, this game looks insanely good. All locations are really nice and this game is just like an art. Really nice game.