![]() ![]() There is a reason it became known as the first commercially successful walking sim because all you do – all you can do – is walk. It’s almost an afterthought, and that’s a large part of the argument against it being a game. ![]() The gameplay of Dear Esther, such as it is, as barebones as it gets. In the spirit of things, lets get the game part out of the way first. As a final point, it’s clear that Dear Esther wanted to recontextualize the possible place of games as a medium and art form by placing itself as a hybridized confluence of both game and literature, wielding a bevy of literary techniques in its efforts to showcase a new literary paradigm in which games could exist as both play piece and worthy members of an established literary canon. It stands as a striking attempt to explore new ground in terms of game narratives and to reconsider the role and responsibilities of the player within the needs of a video game. ![]() I should stress now that “compelling” doesn’t necessarily mean “good” what Dear Esther is, is a fascinating case study into the proliferation of a genre despite controversy and criticism over its status. With that in mind, I can’t help but find Dear Esther at least a little bit compelling. I suppose some people out there might opine that this would be a good thing, but if there’s one thing I’ve seen over the time I’ve spent playing games for this blog it’s that there’s plenty of genres that I would otherwise write off until I found interesting examples. Partly this is because if you don’t and focus solely on the game itself, I don’t honestly think there’s tons to say, but Dear Esther is a game with a history and definitely a game without which the genre of interactive narratives – or walking sims for those who still think of them in that way – probably wouldn’t exist in the form we know them today. It’s hard – impossible, maybe – to discuss Dear Esther without diving into its legacy. HLTB: 1.5 hours | Genre: Interactive Narrative Released Feb 2012 | Developed / Published: The Chinese Room If you’re someone who missed the boat on it the first time around, how does Dear Esther hold up? And, given we’re now 10+ years on from its release and therefore over a decade into the spread and prominence of interactive narratives – or, so-called walking sims if you prefer – how does Dear Esther stack up against years of iteration on the format that it popularised?ĭear Esther (PC, PS4, Xbox One) That it invites the question in the first place is interesting, especially from a patient gaming perspective. Back in 2012 though Dear Esther challenged these notions given that it barely (if at all) fulfills any of these requirements – and yet, it is unmistakably a game. Above everything else, interaction with the media is one of the most important distinguishing features of games, and definitely one of the clearest ways the format delineates itself from other forms of entertainment like TV or film. After all, I think most of us would accept that our traditional understanding of what a video game is includes ideas like having a failure state and overcoming some kind of challenge to reach a goal. Dear Esther is certainly not for everyone, but those who cue to its curious flavors will find something quite memorable on this cloudy, windswept island.Whenever Dear Esther crops up in conversation, you’ll almost always find someone espousing the (not unreasonable) opinion that it isn’t a game. In the end, it's perhaps not so much an interactive story as a multimedia rumination on the search for understanding and meaning in the seemingly random events of our lives. This, coupled with the shape of the tale itself (which at times seems intentionally vague, meandering, and difficult to understand), will be enough to send some players off the deep end as they fruitlessly attempt to work out what it all means.īut there also will be some who find beauty in the poetry of the language used, who marvel at the game's undeniable visual splendor, and who appreciate the subtle but atmospheric score that enhances the game's dark, lonely undertones. There will be those who walk away believing it's not a game at all but instead a new form of media-based storytelling driven by players pressing directional keys on their keyboards. Dear Esther challenges players' conception of what a video game can be. ![]()
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