Summary: 4.0/5.0
Dear Esther is a polished, authentic, refreshingly subtle first person exploration/narrative game. Though short, the environment, soundtrack, and voice acting in Dear Ester are extremely high-quality and contribute to a compelling, scenic narrative experience.
Mechanics:
The main mechanic in this game is exploration. In this first person game, you walk through an island listening to the narration of excerpts from letters sent from the protagonist. The scenery is immediately compelling, and the narrative is interesting and easy to absorb as you walk around. Since the audio is carefully timed to the amount of time it takes to get from one place to another, each new narration enforces that you're wandering in the "right" direction. Throughout the game, your only agency is walking and jumping, and you can "fail" (I drowned at one point. Oops.) There is one significant meaningful action at the end of the game, which I won't spoil, but the frustrating choice here is that your (albeit limited) agency is taken away. While you have been in control up to this point, you are a mere observer to the conclusion of the story. Now, perhaps this is a metaphor for the narrator losing control of himself, but it's still a dissatisfying end to the game.
Environment:
The environment in this game is beautiful, as it would have to be in this kind of game. The overgrown plant life is aesthetically interesting, however the small number of distinctive structures does make it easy to become disoriented and accidentally retrace your steps, rather than moving forward. As mentioned above, the narration then becomes crucial in helping reinforce the player's progression through the game. Fortunately, even though I got a bit disoriented (which, truth be told, is probably more of a reflection on my poor sense of direction than anything else), each environment was somehow both serene and engaging so that I didn't mind a few detours along the way. The soundtrack is also a lovely complement to the game's visual aesthetic, while also supporting the narration delivered by the game's protagonist, whose voice acting is just as satisfying as the other environmental components.
Narrative:
The narrative of Dear Ester is delivered primarily through audio, as mentioned above. However, this is one of the few games in this genre where I did not at some point roll my eyes at unnecessary expository dialogue, which is probably my most common complaint in narrative games. Dear Esther maintained a great balance of clarity of information and subtlety in delivery. In addition to narration, there are environmental clues scattered throughout the game that help the player piece together the narrator's - and the island's - history. The mystery of Dear Esther is not one that it is explicitly "revealed" to the player, so that I was left with a feeling that if I were to replay the game, I would notice environmental clues with significance I didn't understand the first time through. However, I did not feel compelled to replay the game immediately after concluding the story, and I think that is where the game's greatest weakness lies.
Summary:
This is a very well-executed first-person narrative game. I would highly recommend Dear Esther to anyone who likes other games in this genre, as it was a very polished experience, though depending on the player, it may not be a satisfying as some other similar games. Due to the limited agency, particularly in the final moments of the game, the whole experience felt a bit distant and faded rather quickly, as opposed to making a deep, lasting impression. The characters did not resonate as deeply as some other games I've played, and that will naturally vary by player, but they were still authentic in a way that I deeply appreciated.
