I enjoyed the director's commentary, and I'm glad I was able to find all the nodes to get perspective on all the little thoughts the devs had. And then the plunge into the caves which I think helps give Dear Esther that landmark or iconic status. By the time of the caves the quick jabs of oddly specific descriptions rein themselves in, all the weird placements of junk, car doors, a cullet in the cliffs spread with books. Which is a shame as the game itself presents itself with a lot of thought and an interesting twisted narrative, many characters mentioned, Paul, Jacobson, Donnelly and of course Esther. My impressions of this game are unfortunately dulled by having played the aforementioned games first, and when finally giving this game a go it felt tedious. The game is a pioneer of the narrative adventure genre, and is responsible for inspiring better games like "What Remains of Edith Finch" and "Firewatch". It's mentioned briefly in the director's commentary too. Lightly recommended as both a historical curiosity, and a one-run tone-poem for open-minded players.Ĩ0% PCI review games with all games starting at 5/10 (Average) and then deduct/add for negatives and positives: Overall Thoughts: Dear Esther, later re-released with a "Landmark Edition" is just that, a landmark in game design and spurning the term "Walking Simulator". This is a very particular kind of experience, and when the game concentrates more on its visual representations of angst rather than its aural ones, its aspirations shine through in several stand-out moments (including a beautifully-realized underground cave network, and the finale, following the candles "all the way up" the cliff face to the radio tower). Exploring, while yielding few hard rewards (this is still a very linear game, with a beginning middle & end), is enriching by nature of its environmental details & the overall feeling of woe. But it didn't matter "what" happened because the biggest spell the game casts is in its aesthetic beauty. Maybe better when laid out as a short story. I will say that - being an artsy-minded guy myself - it nailed that feeling of going back over old memories, or flipping through "the letters you never send" to piece a middle-aged life back together after a trauma, but it wasn't delivered engagingly for a video game. Lots of character-driven technical metaphors and anecdotes that all grated by the end of my run. Not to spoil anything, but its obtuse & nonchronological "audio log" delivery was hard to follow until the "big reveal" in the back-half (you mean the guy single-handedly lit "all" those candles?). 50% PlayStation 4The "original" first-person walking simulator! Plot-wise, honestly, I didn't really know what the point of everything was.
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