The Summer of Indie: Dear Esther

I was interested in this one even before the $2.50 Steam Sale which put it into my collection. It looked stylish, and different from the promo trailer and I liked the narrator's voice. When I began to think about this post, and what I would say about Dear Esther, and the first word that came to mind was...different. Then I realized that 'Well, it's different' is usually what people say when they don't want to be mean and they think it's a bit crap. Not so in this case.....

....but it is different.

To say Dear Esther is a game is a bit of a stretch. In fact it is a blatant lie. You can't call something a 'game' which only involves you pressing W. Not A, S, or D, but W. There are no choices to make in Dear Esther, and no activities to perform. You can not alter the outcome of the story in any way. You are a passenger, a witness if you will, to a story. It is a beautiful, moody world, and the narration is well executed and a pleasure to listen to. The story is okay, over all, but I think it could have been much better if only Dear Esther would have had the courage to abandon the pretense of 'game' and simply offer an hour-long guided story in this beautiful, haunting setting. It was, over-all, an enjoyable hour and well worth a couple bucks.

I found myself engrossed enough to not notice my screen shots weren't saving so I'm simply posting the promo video: