Dear Esther.....

just played this game and i want to share it with u.so much atmosphere in this game.!!more info in official page!!

Dear Esther

enjoy some screenshots with some awesome graphics!!!

 

Is this game like Myst?

 

Built in the Source engine and originally released in 2008 as a mod for Half Life 2, Dear Esther quickly established itself as an award-winning, critically acclaimed experimental first-person game. It abandons all traditional game play, leaving only a rich world soaked in atmosphere, and an abstract, poetic story to explore.

In 2009, it was picked up by a professional game artist, Robert Briscoe, for a complete overhaul of the visuals and level design, in the hopes that it would be able to overcome it’s early shortcomings as a mod and be able to fulfil its true potential.

In late 2010 it became clear the overhaul had become something much more, and with Valve and the community’s support the project was granted a license to make Dear Esther a completely independent release, and allowing everyone the opportunity to get a chance to experience the game for themselves!

Dear Esther is a ghost story, told using first-person gaming technologies. Rather than traditional game-play the focus here is on exploration, uncovering the mystery of the island, of who you are and why you are here. Fragments of story are randomly uncovered when exploring the various locations of the island, making every each journey a unique experience. Dear Esther features a stunning, specially commissioned soundtrack from Jessica Curry.

Forget the normal rules of play; if nothing seems real here, it’s because it may just be all a delusion. What is the significance of the aerial – What happened on the motorway – is the island real or imagined – who is Esther and why has she chosen to summon you here? The answers are out there, on the lost beach and the tunnels under the island. Or then again, they may just not be, after all…[/B][/COLOR]

 

Sounds like Myst, just with no puzzles or anything. Just simply taking in your surroundings and the story. Will check this out in the future.(the color and bolding in your post was unnecessary, IMO)

 

Love this game, I couldn't wait for the release of a this version, it's beautiful, haunting. I haven't felt like this playing a game since Shadow of The Colossus or S.T.A.L.K.E.R. the atmosphere, isolation and loneliness its hard to describe how it feels when you are immersed in it. Glad I bought it, and I highly recommend it for anyone is tired of the same old games or yet another console port.

I'll share a few of my screens as well.


For anyone looking for something different, I don't doubt you will be hooked from the moment he starts dictating the letter. Dear Esther...

 

Haven't played it in quite a while, but my memory is something kind've like the semi-dynamic narrated storytelling of Amnesia with no real gameplay to speak of. A cool gaming experience as of the time I played it, but some buggy scripting and the fact that it's a fairly limited form prevented it from being a must-play, at least in the version that was available back then.

 

I must say I am intrigued, but what kind of game is this? I cannot find a lot of information about the game itself

 

Amnesia? The Dark Decent? Don't know what game you were playing? Dear Esther has nothing to do with Amnesia, there are no monsters. Dear Esther is about love, loss and grief. Might have been some problems with the Mod at the start I don't know, didn't get to it till later. What I played (the half life 2 mod) didn't have any issues that I recall.

 

Sounds interesting, definitely goes into my 'to keep an eye on' list.

 

So, it is an emo game?

 

Well, it's not much of a "game" as such. An indie movie would be a mcuh closer description.

 

I said the storytelling was similar to that of Amnesia, not that the story was similar to Amnesia. In other words, you reach certain locations and trigger background narratives that build the story bit by bit. When I played it some of the triggers were a bit off, and some of the narratives were longer than the time it takes to get to the next trigger along the most logical path, meaning it was easy to miss parts of the narrative. Still, an intriguing game.

 

Well, was curious based on this thread, so picked it up on Steam... just finished playing through, took about an hour and a half and I felt like I explored quite a bit.

Not sure how I would describe the gameplay, isn't really any to speak of... it's essentially just holding down the "w" walk forward key and turning a little bit with the mouse... All in all an interesting experience at times, and if you are willing to let yourself get sucked into the scenes it isn't bad, but I doubt I'll ever play it again.

There are some really curious interpretations of the story I've found online, but the dialog in game is fairly convoluted. I'm not 100% sure what exactly the story is after the playthrough, and apparently that's the way it was intended.

I guess maybe I'm spoiled, but I constantly wanted a run or jump key... something else to do other than just limp along the entire game.

Visually wise, the cave experience was cool to see and experience. It was by far my favorite part of the "game".

I guess it is best described as a story/film type experience as others have mentioned... and even at that I sure wouldn't consider it a must play.

 

its captivating, to say the least, sometimes when i just want to relax and bored to death by movies and tv. i just play this game, you don't worry about getting shot at or enemies jumping at you or solving a puzzle, its just a matter of walk your way to somewhere you can enjoy the graphics with some relaxing music.

 

To me it seems like more of an experience than an actual game, based on the reviews out there. Perhaps I will check it out when i feel melancholic enough to drag myself into the story..

 

I think you hit the nail on the head for me. I watched a playthrough on youtube...it was a very interesting story, and emotional. However, I could not actively engage in playing it. Simply a good movie I can watch while doing my homework or such.

 

Might as well just watch a playthrough on youtube. There isn't really a game, more like an interactive movie. I can't really justify the price for ~an hour of entertainment.

 

It's on my wishlist and I'll get it on a Steam Sale. Too short of a game that's worth $10. Looks like a visual treat though.

 

It was worth the time when it was a mod, but for $10 it's pretty ludicrous. Pretty as it is, you've gotta offer something a whole lot more impressive in a $10 game that's worth one hour and a half playthrough.

 

Maybe it would be more fun if you had to solve the mystery...like collect clues and something to encourage you to seek out hidden or otherwise unseen areas.

 

Good idea, maybe I should do that

 

I liked it.

Definitely worth the 3€ @ the Steam Summer Sale