I was made aware of Dear Esther after hearing the song “I Have Begun My Ascent” being played live by an orchestra. Hearing the song alone was enough to make me want to check out the game. Unfortunately though, the best part about this “video game” (if you want to call it that) is the music.
The game starts rather unceremoniously, you’re on an island as the day is drawing to a close and it’s getting dark. A narrator starts speaking to you, telling you a tale about something you’re not quite sure of. Is this his internal monologue? Are you playing as Esther? During the course of the game you, as the player, are trying to figure out what the plot is, why you’re on this island, and what other things you could have spent £7.99 on.
The narration read out to you is not fixed, each point on the island you reach you will be provided with 1 of 3 parts of narration meaning that each player on each playthrough will experience the story differently. This would have worked better if you gave players a reason to want to play it multiple times apart from trophy hunters. The game is only about 1+ hours long so it’s feasible that players could experience all parts of the narrative in one sitting but after my experience with the game, one playthrough is enough.
I feel that ‘What Remains of Edith Finch” did the storytelling walking simulator so much better as it was much more of an interactive story.
I do love the writing though, I wish I was as good at writing as Dan Pinchbeck who made the game at ‘The Chinese Room’. At the end of the game it leaves the plot up to interpretation and I have heard a few people interpret the story completely differently from one another. The plot is very difficult to relate to when there isn’t much on the island helping you connect with the people involved aside from individual items scattered around which you cannot interact with.
The music as mentioned previously is filled with beautiful piano melodies which do really well at setting the tone of the game and fitting in with the Scottish Landscape. Filling the player with emotion as they reflect on Esther’s life.
The scenery and graphics are gorgeous. Traversing the island is relaxing but it would work much better as a VR game. When I was playing the game, strolling around the island, I couldn’t help but to think “I would rather be out on an actual walk rather than play this”.
