Dear Esther Review

Game:  Dear Esther
Year (s):  2012 (finished commercial product)
Company:  dev.  thechineseroom and Robert Briscoe
pub.  Steam
Engine:  Source
Type:  First-Person... Story
Metacritic Score:  77
My Score:  Fantastic, surreal, and unique, but requires a certain mindset.

Price (as of July 4, 2012)

Regular price on Steam:  $9.99
Lowest Buy-It-Now on eBay (new, with shipping):  Not Available

Game Time:  2 hours

Obligatory Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7VJ4lP-05A


Plot, Gameplay, and Atmosphere

This game is entirely plot-based.  The player explores a deserted island, interacting with nothing.  Certain spots trigger the narrator to speak.  The scenery is beautiful, and the soundtrack is perfect.  The narration isn't the same with each play, and some of it is quite obtuse.  Sometimes narration is contradictory.  In the end, it's a beautiful, trippy game that you have to be in the mood for.  While each play adds details, they don't make any clearer what is going on, so it is left to the player to make their own conclusions.


Development

From Wikipedia:  "The original rendition of Dear Esther was one of several mods developed by thechineseroom while the studio was still a research project at the University of Portsmouth.[9] The project was funded by a grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and led by Dan Pinchbeck, a professor and lecturer at the university."

In 2009 former DICE employee Robert Briscoe led thechineseroom in remaking the original mod, making the environment lusher and remastering the soundtrack.  When the original funds ran out, The Indie Fund stepped in.


Final Thoughts

The Good:  It's achingly well-developed, and astonishingly unique.  The end result is haunting, drawing more plays and more interest.  Cheap, and two hours are more gripping than many games achieve in twelve hours.

The Bad:  There is no final verdict as to the plot, and the lack of gameplay interaction may discourage some players.  You absolutely have to be in the mood for this, and it's best played without break.  It's short.

The Verdict:  I love this game, but I can understand if someone else hates it.  It's brilliant, but everyone won't enjoy it.  It is the best of times, and so on.  I highly recommend it with a grain of salt.