Dear Esther (video game)

[Neil]

Sounds interesting! http://dear-esther.com Dear Esther is a ghost story, told using first-person gaming technologies. Rather than traditional game-play 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 uncovered when exploring the various locations of the island, making every each journey a unique experience. Dear Esther features a stunning, specially commissioned soundtrack from Jessica Curry. 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…

[MinionZombie]

Interesting - I'll need to see more, but hmmm ... intriguing.

[Danny]

the originals real old news, but good to hear its getting the whole black mesa source deal.

[Neil]

Interesting - I'll need to see more, but hmmm ... intriguing. I guess it might be heading more into the realms of starring in your own movie sort of territory. ie: High quality product and story, with you playing a character within it.

[MikePizzoff]

Trailer doesn't reveal much at all but it certainly has my attention! Will definitely start following this game.

[Danny]

I guess it might be heading more into the realms of starring in your own movie sort of territory. ie: High quality product and story, with you playing a character within it. technically dear esther fell into the 'digital poem' sub genre, where you are interacting and experiencing some short narrative, but failure or puzzles arent really the incentive so much as moving through the highs and lows of these set pieces, kind of like flower or something like that.

[Neil]

Well, bought it last night, and had finished it in just over an hour. I didn't rush it, and don't believe I missed any areas. I really enjoyed that hour, but feel rather annoyed at paying for just over one hour of 'game play'... It is a good experience, and if you buy it knowing you many only get 1-3hrs of game play out of it, you'll be happy!

[shootemindehead]

Wow Neil, 1 hour of gameplay? That's ridiculous.

[Neil]

Wow Neil, 1 hour of gameplay? That's ridiculous. Well, I finished it about 75mins, and that was with a bit of exploration and photography (F12) stops... I think what frustrated me was I'd heard it was over 5hrs, so when I got to the end, I thought I was only about 1/4 of the way through, so was met with a "really?" moment!

[Danny]

It is a good experience- Then you get what you paid for. its an indie game, not a full price retail game. I know folks are used to 20 hour long games but indie games like this are meant to be an experience not an interactive movie. look at even more niche retail games like portal. dear esther is one of those 'games' where its not really a game at all. You are paying for an experience first and a game second. and 10 minutes or 10 hours as long as its excellent the worst it can do is leave you wanting more.

[Tricky]

I love a good indie game, I might have to check it out! Have any of you played Limbo? you should try that too, its genius!

[Neil]

Then you get what you paid for. its an indie game, not a full price retail game. I know folks are used to 20 hour long games but indie games like this are meant to be an experience not an interactive movie. look at even more niche retail games like portal. dear esther is one of those 'games' where its not really a game at all. You are paying for an experience first and a game second. and 10 minutes or 10 hours as long as its excellent the worst it can do is leave you wanting more. 1hr'ish of game play is a little too short for my liking though -- -------- Post added at 08:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:23 PM ---------- I love a good indie game, I might have to check it out! Have any of you played Limbo? you should try that too, its genius! Got it -- -------- Post added 20-Feb-2012 at 01:59 PM ---------- Previous post was 19-Feb-2012 at 08:23 PM ---------- The game changes each time - albiet subtly - so I would recon 2-3 play throughs for most people. So assume 3-5hrs of gameplay? So slightly better value for money then... I have to admit it's a very haunting game. ie: It sticks with you!

[MinionZombie]

IGN video review (8/10):

[Neil]

I would say, wait for it to reduce in price and then give it a go. I went thru (not rushing) in just 72 mins... I've played through basically once more since...

[MinionZombie]

I would say, wait for it to reduce in price and then give it a go. I went thru (not rushing) in just 72 mins... I've played through basically once more since... Unless it's on disc on the 360, I can't see me playing it. Don't have a PC rigged to the net that can play games (we've been over all the whys and wherefores in other threads ), nor do I have XBL (for some similar reasons) ... it would be interesting to give it a spin sometime though maybe.