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Dear esther release date7/3/2023 ![]() There’s no real detail as to the exact going-ons revealed until the backend of the game, so the player is left to interpret the protagonist’s words as they please. ![]() It’s told through an overarching monologue with the main character arriving on an island and narrating a tale in the form of letters to his deceased partner, Esther. With less of a focus on exciting gameplay and an emphasis on story-telling, Dear Esther takes the unique approach of offering you different pieces of the story each time you play. The question of whether this ‘walking simulator’ contains too much walking and not enough interaction remains though – does Dear Esther: Landmark Edition keep up the pace with newer titles in the genre, or has it been left behind in the four years since its original release? I’m a fan of the whole ‘walking simulator’ genre, but Dear Esther really embraces that tag quite literally, with the whole of the game being simply spent walking.Īfter originally releasing on PC back in 2012, Dear Esther is finally available on console in the form of the new ‘Landmark Edition’ featuring remastered audio and the addition of Director’s commentary. There’s a good chance that I’ll play it again too, something has obviously resonated with me.Dear Esther has always intrigued me I’ve seen it get criticised for its lack of gameplay, yet it also seems to have a fan base that absolutely adore it. A sense of isolation overcame me while the grim environment kept me emotionally sombre and though I felt the need just to stop playing, I also felt that I needed a conclusion.Īfter finishing my short playthrough (around 1-2 hours), I found myself revisiting the game a further two times – once to make sense of what I’d witnessed and another to listen to the included director’s commentary. When playing the game at home by myself, I easily lost myself to the game. While the extent of your abilities lays solely on looking and moving, that does not mean that it’s your only focus.ĭuring a recent Curve Digital preview event, an effort had been made to create an immersive experience by playing in a darkened room and setting the air conditioning too low – effectively providing a harsh coastal feeling. But anything else from there (option & share buttons not included) acts as a small zoom function, and that’s it – here’s no picking objects up, no puzzles and no jump/climb function. You have the well known first person console controls, with the left stick used to move and right to adjust your position of view. While personally, I feel that term is an over-simplification, here it’s a hard one to argue as there is little interaction you can partake in while playing. If you’ve never played Dear Esther or any other game similar in nature, you may still have heard the label of “walking simulator” thrown around. ![]() Admittedly, I had to look up a Let’s Play video to see the original PC title running in Valve’s Source engine in comparison to the new Unity 5 version on PlayStation 4 & Xbox One systems. Upon looking around your environment the sea, sky, grass and ground, the effort made into recapturing the game’s original aesthetic while rebuilding into something breathtaking is apparent. As you take your first steps forward, the game’s enchanting score begins as a man’s voice can be heard, reading a series of letters to a woman named Esther. Surrounding your view are the sea, a house close by and lighthouse in the distance. Beginning without explanation, you find yourself on an uninhabited Hebridean island the sky is dark and the atmosphere dreary. ![]()
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