“A deserted island…a lost man…memories of a fatal crash…a book written by a dying explorer.” Two years in the making, the highly anticipated Indie remake of the cult mod Dear Esther arrives on PC. Dear Esther immerses you in a stunningly realised world, a remote and desolate island somewhere in the outer Hebrides. As you step forwards, a voice begins to read fragments of a letter: "Dear Esther..." - and so begins a journey through one of the most original first-person games of recent years. Abandoning traditional gameplay for a pure story-driven experience, Dear Esther fuses it’s beautiful environments with a breathtaking soundtrack to tell a powerful story of love, loss, guilt and redemption. Winner of 2012 IGF Excellence in Visual Art. Supported by Indie Fund.
I'm not sure why the game makes me constantly start over, if I could play it more episodically I think I would like it more. It appears that there is a system supposed to be in place but I always have to start over. Now to the good stuff. I feel that games are so stuck in this model of player choice and instant reward that people forget that a story told without anything but the ability to explore is just as viable. I'm tired of most action games, I have a hard time differentiating one shooter from the other anymore. I'm sick of retrieval quests with the only break in the monotony being waves of enemies to gun down. Life is an experience and I think games should be too. This is probably the most interesting medium for story telling around yet so often it only serves to grease the palms of large corporations. This is one of the most refreshing experiences I've had the pleasure of taking part in. I'm sure this isn't most peoples cup of tea but that's why I'm here at Desura instead of Steam or Origin or Uplay. I don't want run of the mill, I want exceptional and this game delivers.