By: Stephen Byers

Stephen Byers — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:29:57 +0000

After hearing if it was possible I went though a portion of Dear Esther a second time to see if, in fact, different narrations would play when the same trigger thresholds were crossed on the island. I am hear to say that, yes, different things are said at different points. Or, perhaps more accurate to say, I assume that there are different segments of spoken word given that in the chapter The Caves three different trigger points had two narrations that I heard. I went through again as I tried to see if a third bunch of words came out of my speaker, but heard the one I originally had the first time. Perhaps a fourth or fifth time would have resulted in a new narration. The experience was not compelling enough for me to keep at it.

Some might say that this adds value to the product insofar as it can be replayed to hear additional parts of the story. I do not. There appeared to be no mechanism to control what parts are spoken, so without a means to control what is said, there is no way to determine if you’ve seen all there is. The user is just left to run it again and again, trying to remember if they already heard that twenty seconds of spoken word before. In a second run all exploration and wonder is removed, there is nothing but an empty, pretty world. This re”play”ability causes me to like the game less. Would the piece have had had less impact for me if I had seen or heard different things my first time through? Would the game have been more meaningful to me if I had happened to hear a different series of ethereal audio logs? In other words, was my liking of the title a result of me hearing the “right” parts? The answer to all of these questions appears to be “yes”, and that is not good. Essentially what the developer has done with this lack of structure is composed a novel where rereading it may let people enjoy the odd numbered chapters, some of the time.

The decision to let the game unfold like this – randomly – confuses me. If it were the case that there was gameplay and it was compelling, the ability to go through a level four or five times to hear different things might be added value. Or even if it was something as simple as a button or discreet paths to control the flow of story, then it could be immediately understood if the player got everything. But in Dear Esther, where the “play” involves holding down the W button, it turns a moving work of art into an exercise in completionist tedium. Even if there was a clear set if different paths, all of the punch would be lost as it would just be the same environments again and again. The Caves were still pretty the second time around, but moving forward to just hear new bits of talking only drew attention to the emptiness of everything, and not in a moving, emotional, despair inducing way, but a this-is-poorly-designed way.

By: Matt Litten

Matt Litten — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:13:34 +0000

We’ve been talking a lot about this one behind the scenes, but I just wanted to say outstanding review, Stephen! While I haven’t played this new remade version, I did play the original Half-Life 2 mod just to get an idea of what the hype is all about. Even from the mod, I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head, down to the middle finger soreness from having to hold down the W key nonstop for about an hour 🙂

Anyone who already owns Half-Life 2 and wants to try Dear Esther, the original mod can be downloaded for free through Desura: http://www.desura.com/mods/dear-esther

The mod is graphically WAY behind the paid-for remake so you won’t get the full atmospheric experience, but you can at least get an idea of the mood and storytelling to help decide if paying $10 for the upgrade will be worth it for you.

Comments on: Review: Dear Esther

By: Stephen Byers

By: Matt Litten