Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Indie game: Dear Esther


Someone proposed to me to try the game: 'Dear Esther'.
I will start by saying that this is more an 'experience' than a game.
It's currently on sale on steam for those who are interested.

What I liked about this game; There is no UI, you navigate through this Island in a clever way.
You are guided by the music, it plays when you are heading the right way and stops when you are getting further from the main path. Being on a deserted island, it's instinctive to be drawn to light sources and traces of life on these deserted lands.

The level design and the art is very well done, makes navigation very instinctive. The music is also mostly very relaxing and adds beautifully to the experience.

Also from the start I was curious to know, who's Esther? Who is the character you are playing? How did he end up on this island, or is this island real? Sometimes when you start a game, everything is bluntly explained to you. Sometimes, it's more appealing to let the story unfold itself.

I think that besides the price (9.99$ for 100 minutes (being my total playtime), the only thing that bugged me is that it was very slow, I don't mind a slower pace at times, but at some point I was a tad lost (by my own will, I wanted to push the limits and test where I can go and by what did they limit the alpha path with the LD and Art) and well, I knew how to get back into the right direction but it was taking me a long time to do so.

I will not add more as I don't want to spoil the story to you, keep in mind that it's a pretty short game. If you like different genre of games and you like to 'play a story book' this is for you.

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