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My Thoughts on "Dear Esther"

by cornbredx

So, I just finished Dear Esther . It's not a game- at all- but as an experience it's quite interesting. I kind of see it akin to touring a museum or art house. It was fun and intriguing, and if we had Virtual Reality this would make a fascinating means of using that kind of technology (just my opinion). As a form of entertainment (that shouldn't be confused for a video game- which it isn't) it'...

So, I just finished Dear Esther. It's not a game- at all- but as an experience it's quite interesting. I kind of see it akin to touring a museum or art house. It was fun and intriguing, and if we had Virtual Reality this would make a fascinating means of using that kind of technology (just my opinion). As a form of entertainment (that shouldn't be confused for a video game- which it isn't) it's quite compelling and I am glad I paid for it. 

The graphics are amazing (especially in the cave). I couldn't resist making a lot of screen shots to use as wallpaper for my desktop. It's really beautiful. The story is a tad artsy, which is fine, and I was enjoying its mystique until the end. I don't feel it expressed enough for me to make any conclusion as to what the game is attempting to say (if anything). I don't need to be spoon fed (I mean, damn, I am one of the few people in the world to enjoy The Fountain) but I found the end too confusing. 

It's cool that they leave things for interpretation, the intent clearly is for you to experience it multiple times to try and make sense of it (I get that), but I feel it left to much up to interpretation and so the ending left me feeling confused. From what I understand, which is unfortunately little, the intent is to prove they can invoke an emotion with no actual mechanics- or something. If the emotion they were going for was confusion, then I can say this was a success.  

 
Anyway, I recommend it if you don't mind experiencing artistic storytelling and don't mind that there is no game play- no challenge here (because this isn't a game)- and want to see some beautiful visuals accompanied by a haunting score and an intriguing story (with an ending, admittedly that is trying to hard to be symbolic and mysterious) I say check it out. If you're on the fence due to the price, definitely wait until its cheap, and if you want game play steer clear because it doesn't have that.