Skip to main content

Dear Esther (PC) Review

 “A Very interesting, haunting title. I think it could have been improved by a more interactive world, but the narrative is wonderful and the atmosphere is fantastic. It strongly captures the feel of being lost, dirty and alone. The use of words, sound and visuals made me able to easily imagine the sand in in my shoes, and the harsh salty ocean winds against my dry, tired skin. The ambiguous ending is also very clever, which I can interpret in at-least 3 different ways.”

-My original review from 2013

image


2023 Thoughts:

My memory of this game (more of a interactive visual novel as there is no win/loss condition) is kind of like a fever dream because I remember playing it after having an anxiety attack when i was spending a weekend alone in my parents house. It helped me calm down, because while it is very melancholy in tone, it's also quite beautiful and peaceful. It's very slow-paced so it's best for folks who love to take their time and explore the world around them in a game. I don't recall much of the story - what I do remember is mostly kind of vague and confusing, to be honest -  but the gorgeous environments that you get to explore alone mean it gets a thumbs up from me. I played the original version on the Source engine, and it's since also been ported to the Unity game engine as "Dear Esther: Landmark Edition". I've not tried that version, but I'd like to someday because it has some extra content added in.

image


image



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Artist Spotlights - Natalia Trepenok

 Natalia Trepenok is artist who makes wonderful animal art for story books. I recall seeing some painted murals in the third S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game that even reminds me of her work!

Dead Space (Xbox 360) Review

  Dead Space is a survival horror game set in - you guessed it - space! Specifically, the USG Ishimura. You'll follow protagonist Isaac Clarke as what started as a an attempt to fix up a spacecraft turns into an wonderful example of "everything that can go wrong definitely will". The story takes several twists and turns and you'll even get to venture beyond the game's central location a few times! As usual, I won't go too deep into the story because I'd like you to be able to experience it for yourself if you've never played the game! I quite it enjoyed it though, and the game created a good sense of isolated fear while also making me concerned for the safety of Isaac's few surviving crew-mates throughout the game. The combat is very intense as most of the creatures you'll encounter move in a very violent and erratic manners, and you'll want to target their weak points - usually the limbs. Thankfully, the game has a cool upgra...

"Art Crimes" - Part 1 - Graffiti, Video Games, Bedroom Art

 My next series of blog posts will be themed around showing off some graffiti, street art and murals from various sources.   First up are a few photos from the site graffiti.org . They have a pretty nice archive of graffiti photos from all over the USA, as well as photos from around the world and photos of works by specific people. Not too much actual graffiti in this photo, but I like it because it reminds me of some of the areas of City 17 from Half-Life 2.                                                Next up are some graffiti images that originally                                  ...