Not just boring, but Super Boring. You walk at snail's pace and listen to an uninteresting story. The end.

My hours played should give you an indication of how long you need to finish it. And I made a few wrong turns along the way as well.

I'm torn on a flat thumbs-down, as I got it for nothing, and sort of enjoyed the wandering around. But the poetry along the way for me was not cohesive. I get that there's meant to be a bit of freedom to make your own interpretations. I'm not going to add spoilers, but there's visible elements that stand out (don't worry, you'll soon see them) and it's all a muddle imo. Perhaps a second run and things will unwind. But honestly, I can't be bothered !

But it's also kind of a sombre tale and keeps you moving along. If you can last 30 minutes without nodding off, you're likely to complete it honestly. It's over very quickly and the ending is nice. This game has nothing other than directional sticks and a zoom feature. So perhaps if you have a couple of hours and want to take your time... There are worse ways to spend it !

Dear Esther is a walking simulator, meaning there’s no puzzles or gameplay or anything that is usually thought of as traditional game elements. Instead, the player is asked to move through the space, exploring their surroundings, and listening to the snippets of narrative.

In Dear Esther, that narrative is told in the form of unsent letters written by the male protagonist to his dead wife, Esther. They tell the story of the island, why he’s here, his intention, and the stories of others who have been here before him. Through these snippets of narrative, we learn a jumbled, fever-haze version of the story of this man and Esther, how he killed his wife in a drunk driving accident, is wracked with remorse, and is now determined to throw himself off the radio tower so he can be with her again. The game ends with the player doing exactly that, leaping from the island’s radio tower, past the island’s cliffs, and soaring past the unsent letters, folded into boats and left to drift out to sea. The music is poignant, the visuals sweeping, and the overall air of the ending one of freedom and tranquility.

This game is an hour long, and at about the point that I figured out what the protagonist had done, I counted every single minute. I yearned for a dash button so I could get out of this game as quickly as possible. I did not want to be here with this man, and I did not want this game to try and fail to elicit my sympathy for him.

As the narrator told his story, moving past painted outlines of alcohol compounds, I thought about what this story must look like from Esther’s perspective. One in four women experience intimate partner violence, and while this man killing his wife in a drunk driving accident doesn’t fit into that category, it still very much fits into the general idea that the most dangerous person in a woman’s life statistically is the man she shares her life with. As I listened to this man explain without explaining, dance around the reality of what he’d done, I thought about the finality for Esther, how she had trusted this man enough to get in a car with him, and how he could now no longer even remember where he’d killed her. The story of this woman’s death had ceased to be her own, and had instead been co-opted by the man who killed her.

And I stand behind him, directing him up cliffsides, listening to him talk about the book he’s been reading, and helping him explore the island before his demise. I listened to the story of the violence he’d exacted on Esther, and I just wanted it to end. I wanted him to get to his destination, not because I wanted his death, but because I no longer wanted any part of this story he’d made his own.

A walking simulator only works when its story does. There needs to be some reason for the player to absorb themselves in the story and world, and want to stay invested. A game like Firewatch or What Remains of Edith Finch works because their stories are compelling, and drive the player forward, wanting to know more. Games like Abzu, 35MM, and Arctico do a fantastic job of building a world that’s worth exploring and making the games themselves an experience. Dear Esther, with its landscapes and slow exploration of seaside cliffs and caves, initially seems like it could be following this school of thought, until that realisation of who the narrator is sinks in. There is no redemption from the story being told, no way to salvage an enjoyable experience. Without something for me to get lost in, there’s nothing holding me to the game, and so, I just wanted it to end.

There are ways to make a morally problematic protagonist interesting and worth engaging with. The previously mentioned Firewatch is a good example of this, though the protagonists are very different people. The protagonist in Firewatch made the decision to leave his sick wife and take some time to recover his mental health by spending time in a fire tower. There, he reflects on his actions, and what future he wants to build. His past decisions are loudly unspoken, and when they are discussed, there is an almost catharsis to that discussion. It is good to hear him consider what he’s done and what he’ll do in the future, and to consider the cost of his actions.

Similarly, most RPGs provide a way for the player to be some form of reprehensible, if they choose to be so. Cyberpunk 2077, for example, presents the player with the ability to be a casual jerk in a traditional RPG way, but also allows for their backstory and ending to play directly into the overall dystopia of the setting. The key here, though, is that these are choices the player makes. The player chooses to engage with the seedier elements of the setting and forge a character into who they are, rather than having that forced upon them.

This is the rub of Dear Esther. There is no catharsis for the player in the protagonist’s self-reflection. There is no choice for the player. They are forced to become this person, to hear this man, and to participate in a final act of destruction. There is nothing liberating about it, nothing cathartic about the moment of descent. There is only the knowledge that violence begets violence, trauma begets trauma, and the cycle is forged again and again and again.

The final bit of horror comes from how the narrator engages with Esther after her death. Much as there is no catharsis or relief for the player, there is no relief for Esther either. I, again, pictured her throughout the game, this ultimate violence having been exacted upon her by someone she trusted, and then to be subjected to his letters until his own death. She is dead, of course, and death makes it difficult to receive a letter, but in the narrative of the game, at least, she has some sort of letter. I was struck, thinking about that spirit being bombarded with this man’s thoughts and emotions, and the lack of escape or peace from any of it.

These thoughts about Esther likely hit me harder than than other players. I’ve been stalked. I’ve been harassed. I’m a sexual assault survivor, and I know what it is to receive unwanted affection from someone who has hurt you deeply. As I heard these snippets of the narrator’s letters, I thought about the men who have hurt me. I thought about their centring of themselves in the narrative of my trauma, and how I will never escape from beneath the shadow of what’s been done to me.

I am alive, and Esther is not, but still, I see myself in her.

This is, of course, not the only potential reading of Dear Esther. The writing is nonsensical enough that there are other - or no - coherent readings, and people will find what they choose to find in a piece, based on the lens of their own experiences. For me, though, this is a game about a man who has and will continue to commit horrors, and does so without recognising what it is he’s done. However beautiful the landscapes, all I hear and see is this man, marching to a self-imposed doom, brought there by his own acts of violence.

And I’m forced to join him. I have no choice but to have this man act out his will upon me. My failure was that I trusted this situation in the first place.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this review, please check out the full version [jannekeparrish.com] as well as my curator page!

Dadaist Garbage

Basically it's a walking simulator. This game is a digital poem.

No running, no speed, just the island and you. Until it comes to an end.

Surreal narrative poetry, orchestrated sound art, and interactive visual splendor together form a cohesive abstraction that is in constant engagement with itself while remaining simple to play. Incredible! I love the developer commentary; I'm always interested in artistic process and how a developer sees their game.

Dear Esther is not really a Game as we understand normally games.

Its more likely a nice way to tell a story. Its described as a Walking simulator what is completely true. In some moments the ambient becomes completely eerie like in the cavern part with the music makes for a great immersion.
Its a descent story, i bought it really cheap in the moment. Get in on a sale if you plan to play this game.

One of those where you have no idea what you're doing. Painfully slow walking speed with no sprint. Both pathways blocked with the cave blocked off. Some guy yapping in your ear about nothing related to what's going on or the history of the island or any guide on what to do or where to even go, no signs no visual aids if you get lost or any hints, you really get left off here and there's nothing you can do and I'm really not gonna be alt tabbing to google, If i have to be doing that then that's a game issue and i have played a lot of these types of games and puzzle games but dont get me wrong I have had my fair share of skill issues on certain puzzles that i needed a tiny hint to get past but rarely but to even play the game?, I'd hate for someone to pick this up and get very discouraged from this genre

You take the left path from the house. You walk for 20 minutes and its a dead end. Decided to be smart and restart the game from spawn and take the right path for that to also be blocked by a landslide, managed to slide across the first landslide to then meet another landslide with a cave next to it, you go into the cave and what'd you know it's blocked off. Wondering all over the place and cannot find a way to the lighthouse with really nothing interesting. This is basically all you get, a abandoned house and a tiny bit of beach to walk on with landslides which may be fun idk but the game overall is extremely boring and does not gain any interest in scenery or story or the atmosphere itself which is kinda the entire point...

There's no story or exploration here to be found and the description does not live up to the contents of what the game offers to the user. Graphics are a bit dull when compared to the screenshots but knowing that my only expectation was to relax and explore a story. An adventure and story to dwell on while in bed or taking a walk. Just to be left stuck at spawn with nothing but a sour taste in my mouth and that i couldn't figure out how to even progress without having to google which defeats the entire purpose I'm not achievement hunting or easter egg hunting I JUST WANT TO PLAY NORMALLY! I'm not asking to take me by the hand through out the entire thing but at least something to get the player into the grove of the game and how it plays rather than just being lost and going around in circles and backtracking multiple times if i missed something just to realise. Wow... so that's the whole game huh? this is what 10 bucks gets you nowadays in the gaming industry...

0/10 I wish developers cared a little more about their audiences

ahhh look, if you've ever lived with guilt.... this journey either is or isn't for you.
keep your mum or your therapist on speed-dial. I mean it,
this game is a journey that explores (in a surreal way) the path of a survivor's delusion. this survivor is the cause of the deaths of their loved ones. it's a fever dream couched in beautiful, sombre imaginings.
it's beautiful and it's immensly sad. those of us who have experienced something like this: decide for yourself if you want to walk another path like this again.
although it is comforting to know others have experienced this before, it might be difficult (if therapeutic).
so: just make sure you're ready, because its heavy, and it's a dramatic version of what you may have experienced.
keep on keeping on, the world needs you.