Dear Esther COMPLETE.
Nov. 13th, 2012 11:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xyzzysqrlSo since I continued to feel depressed and twitchy, and have for the last few days, I loaded up a game I had set aside at the prompting of a friend. 'Dear Esther' took about an hour to go through and was beautiful and depressing and beautiful and thoughtful and depressing.
There's a lot I could talk about with Dear Esther, except I really... don't want to. Stripping everything else away, this is a game where you walk around and look at things on your way to the ending. No particular interactivity, but big forkloads of atmosphere. There -is- a plot, as far as I can tell, but it's slightly inscrutable and I am rather okay with that. I felt as if the main character knew why he was there and what he wanted to do, and if I was included in that then great, but as it happened I wasn't.
There's... tons to make interpretations about, but I really didn't want to. I felt constantly as if the narrator might be saying TOO MUCH, in fact. He'd say something and I'd flinch and cover my eyes because I had already connected the pieces and understood what he was saying via environmental cues. "Dude, no. Stop. You're spelling it all out. That's NO FUN." I'd whimper at him. Then he'd make reference to the fact that he was in fact gulping down drugs by the two-fisted scoop and I relaxed again. Perhaps he was unreliable. I like unreliable narrators.
I suppose if I have to take a firm stance on the story, I'd say it stands in direct opposition to the oft-used phrase that "No man is an island." That's... as far as I want to go with that.
Aside from that, I want to say that this is absolutely beautiful, and the visuals constantly left me gawking. I don't usually do visual art so that's kind of rare praise from me.
...Mmh, anything else... ah, yes. I keep seeing people around the internet go "YOU CAN JUST HOLD FORWARD AND WALK TO THE END OF THE GAME BLALALALA". Well, I tried that! I walked straight into the ocean. Then I walked into a wall. Then I wandered off the path and into the ocean again.
MYTH BUSTED.
So what's next? I really want something that'll last me a week.
How about an open world Hong Kong crime drama? Okay!
See you next time.
There's a lot I could talk about with Dear Esther, except I really... don't want to. Stripping everything else away, this is a game where you walk around and look at things on your way to the ending. No particular interactivity, but big forkloads of atmosphere. There -is- a plot, as far as I can tell, but it's slightly inscrutable and I am rather okay with that. I felt as if the main character knew why he was there and what he wanted to do, and if I was included in that then great, but as it happened I wasn't.
There's... tons to make interpretations about, but I really didn't want to. I felt constantly as if the narrator might be saying TOO MUCH, in fact. He'd say something and I'd flinch and cover my eyes because I had already connected the pieces and understood what he was saying via environmental cues. "Dude, no. Stop. You're spelling it all out. That's NO FUN." I'd whimper at him. Then he'd make reference to the fact that he was in fact gulping down drugs by the two-fisted scoop and I relaxed again. Perhaps he was unreliable. I like unreliable narrators.
I suppose if I have to take a firm stance on the story, I'd say it stands in direct opposition to the oft-used phrase that "No man is an island." That's... as far as I want to go with that.
Aside from that, I want to say that this is absolutely beautiful, and the visuals constantly left me gawking. I don't usually do visual art so that's kind of rare praise from me.
...Mmh, anything else... ah, yes. I keep seeing people around the internet go "YOU CAN JUST HOLD FORWARD AND WALK TO THE END OF THE GAME BLALALALA". Well, I tried that! I walked straight into the ocean. Then I walked into a wall. Then I wandered off the path and into the ocean again.
MYTH BUSTED.
So what's next? I really want something that'll last me a week.
How about an open world Hong Kong crime drama? Okay!
See you next time.
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no subject
Date: 2012-11-13 09:31 pm (UTC)Actually it would be great if The Dog Island was on your list, but I think you sold your Wii, didn't you?
no subject
Date: 2012-11-13 09:47 pm (UTC)I do not and do not plan to have Dog Island.
Although you do remind me that way back when I was a Professional Game Reviewer, this was on my list, but I never actually got it in the mail and so could never review it.
I still have yet to play this game and I really want to.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-13 10:23 pm (UTC)Step Two: Mail The Woof silk ropes.
Step Three: ?
Step Four: Profit!
I kid of course. XD
I heard it's like a cut-rate Zelda clone with dogs that have giant noses.