A deserted island... a lost man... memories of a fatal crash... a book written by a dying explorer. Dear Esther is a ghost story told using first-person gaming technologies. Rather than traditional gameplay, the focus here is on exploration, uncovering the mystery of the island, of who you are and why you are here. Fragments of story are randomly triggered by moving around the environments, making every telling unique. Features a stunning, specially commissioned soundtrack. Forget the normal rules of play; if nothing seems real here, it's because it may just be all a delusion. What is the significance of the aerial - What happened on the motorway - is the island real or imagined - who is Esther and why has she chosen to summon you here? The answers are out there, on the lost beach and the tunnels under the island. Or then again, they may just not be, after all...

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Dear Est...Esteban

Dear Est...Esteban

News 7 comments

It seems Dear Esther has become so famous in the indiescene, it even has its own parody called Dear Esteban. The game was created in Unity, and it's available...

Original Dear Esther out now on Desura

Original Dear Esther out now on Desura

News 15 comments

Dear Esther a fantastic mod for Half-Life 2 is out now on Desura.

Just a quickie

Just a quickie

News 15 comments

Just a quick update to let you know I have re-uploaded the original mod for you to download (my fault, should have been back up long ago) and that we...

Dear Esther remake to get commercial release

Dear Esther remake to get commercial release

News 185 comments

The remake of the cult source mod Dear Esther will be released commercially in summer 2011.

Q&A + MODTY and new media!

Q&A + MODTY and new media!

News 60 comments

So in my last update I asked for your questions regarding the Dear Esther Remake, and today I have been sifting through them and have answered some of...

Slow and Steady – A Brief Update

Slow and Steady – A Brief Update

News 54 comments

I recently realised how much time has passed since my last update on here and so I thought I’d put together a small update to show a little bit of what...

A Light at the end of the Tunnel

A Light at the end of the Tunnel

News 97 comments

So it’s been a while, in fact it’s been almost 4 months since my last update, however, during this time I have been tirelessly working on the third...

Halfway there!

Halfway there!

News 70 comments

So I hit a big milestone today, bringing the second level to alpha and subsequently reaching the half-way point in the project! It took me roughly two...

A quick update...

A quick update...

News 69 comments

Just wanted to make a quick update to let you know things are progressing nicely with DE. The lack of updates lately was due to me taking a month off...

Live performance project by thechineseroom

Live performance project by thechineseroom

News 13 comments

If you liked Dear Esther, then you might well like this: Dan Pinchbeck (writer/producer) and Jessica Curry (composer/audio designer) are presenting a...

Postcards from the Hebrides…

Postcards from the Hebrides…

News 26 comments

Well it’s been a while since my last update, but be reassured I have not been idling during my absence! Today I can finally show you what I have been...

ModDB Halloween Extravaganza!

ModDB Halloween Extravaganza!

News 27 comments

Ghosts, Zombies, Vampires and other monster boggiewoggies. Halloween is a great time to get into the scarier movies and games to give yourself a good...

Dear Esther wins Best World/Story at IndieCade 2009

Dear Esther wins Best World/Story at IndieCade 2009

News 12 comments

The cult Half Life 2 mod picked up the 2009 IndieCade International Independent Game award for Best Story/World at the ceremony in LA last night.

Land, Sea and Air

Land, Sea and Air

News 22 comments

Time for another update I think, been a while actually (or at least it feels like that!). So here's a brief overview of what exactly has been going on...

Dear Esther selected for IndieCade2009

Dear Esther selected for IndieCade2009

News 6 comments

The cult Half Life 2 mod Dear Esther has been selected as a finalist in the 2009 IndieCade awards - Culver City, here we com!

Dear Esther Remake - Update 2

Dear Esther Remake - Update 2

News 26 comments

Been another slow week this week; however I have managed to finish sculpting and painting the terrain for the first level and am now looking forward to...

Dear Esther Update (remake)

Dear Esther Update (remake)

News 28 comments

Hi everyone, My name is Robert Briscoe and as you may or may not have heard, I have taken it upon myself recently to ‘re-master' Dear Esther and bring...

Dear Esther: Gamasutra Interview

Dear Esther: Gamasutra Interview

News 6 comments

A new interview with Dear Esther designer Dan Pinchbeck at Gamasutra

Touched By The Hand Of Mod: Dear Esther

Touched By The Hand Of Mod: Dear Esther

News 10 comments

Lewis Denby recently wrote a piece about Dear Esther which sums up the mods purpose quite nicely.

Dear Esther - complete overhaul

Dear Esther - complete overhaul

News 11 comments

Dear Esther is getting a full overhaul and rebuild by Robert Briscoe of LittleLostPoly

Dear Esther - Updated Version Released

Dear Esther - Updated Version Released

News 1 comment

An updated version of the mod Dear Esther has just been released, including remastered sound, fixed terrain issues, extended caves sequence and new audio...

New version update  + research

New version update + research

News 7 comments

Details of changes to the new version of Dear Esther; plus how we'd love you to help us with some research based on the project...