7/25/2023 0 Comments Dear esther landmark edition pc![]() ![]() Related reading: The Chinese Room’s followup to Dear Esther, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, is even better. It offers a rare insight into the mind of the artist while you get to experience the art, and the extra exposition does wonders to really solidify the philosophical questions raised in the game. For someone who loves art and knowing about the artist’s mindset while creating their work, Dear Esther Landmark Edition is an absolute treat. I learned that the island was a constantly changing experience between playthroughs and I understood how random chance made everyone’s experience just a little different. I got to understand the flow of the game in the eyes of the developers I saw one hill as a triumphant climb and one building as the shattered remnant of a painful memory. The commentary was what made the game newly beautiful for me. ![]() There is a lot to be learned but admittedly it has to be played when in a certain mood, since as artists the developers are audibly proud of their work. The team at The Chinese Room have some fascinating insights into game development, such as how to convey story through landscape design and how to structure dynamic music changes seamlessly into the player’s experience. Every aspect of the game’s design from the art, soundtrack, technical limitations and story are discussed, which means that players who want to find out more about this game will be delighted by this addition. A lot of the time I found myself walking to the next node before the developers had stopped talking, and then having to wait to start the next snippet of commentary. If you’d be interested in the design of an experience like Dear Esther, the developer commentary included with the Landmark Edition is one of the most detailed I’ve ever experienced. It’s the focus on emotional resonance which made the original Dear Esther so much of a must-play, making it an hour long treat for the senses that leaves you thinking after it’s over. It’s not a relatable story, filled with esoteric scientific and literary references, but the key themes of loss and regret pierce through the player with every step taken. The environments are breathtakingly expansive, backed by an atmospheric, wistful soundtrack that perfectly echoes the existential reflections of the narrator. The simplicity has led to many arguing that this isn’t even a game (except that it is, of course), and yet the simple exterior hides a deep and intricate set of systems that ensures the experience is a uniquely thought provoking one for every player.īecause even though Dear Esther is nothing but walking, it is captivating all the same. There are no people to talk to, no items to collect, no conflict of any sort and no written text. It’s a game with a dense, rich premise backed by incredibly simple gameplay. Things are just a little bit off: there are mathematical and scientific diagrams carved into cliff faces, pillars and trees seem a little too orderly for them to be naturally occurring and the protagonist narrates a vague backstory about some people he once knew, including the mysterious Esther. This is a game which requires multiple playthroughs and yet never tells you to do so it’s a game which invites itself into your mind and forces you to think about it, and I would wager that even people who have completed and enjoyed the game on first release might find something new in the Landmark Edition.įor those who aren’t familiar with Dear Esther, the title first saw light as a mod made from Half Life 2, featuring a lonely protagonist walking through a Hebridean island. I’d done two runs of Dear Esther on PC before and yet, when playing through again and listening to the developer commentary on Dear Esther: Landmark Edition, it became readily apparent that I have not properly played Dear Esther. ![]() It is with these assumptions that I came to Dear Esther: Landmark Edition, seeing re-release on the PS4. Related reading: Our review of the PC release of the game from back in 2012. And as perhaps the first “walking simulator”, most players will likely write off this game as a cultural footnote compared to titles which have used ideas from this game to tell much more potent stories. Perhaps the game’s brevity and linearity fooled players to thinking it is much simpler than it really is. To everyone out there, have you played Dear Esther? I would assume most of you have – the prolific surrealist piece developed by The Chinese Room is still a free download on PC’s and almost necessitates a name drop in every “Games as Art” conversation. ![]()
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