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REVIEW

Dear Esther: Landmark Edition Review (PS4)

by Marc Smith, September 23rd, 2016
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It’s quite difficult to actually call Dear Esther a video game. It possess the very core mechanics that make up a video game but lacks one thing entirely. In this case, it would be gameplay.

With this being such a story-centric affair, I’ll keep the plot synopsis to a minimum. Taking on the role of unnamed character, the player must explore an abandoned island whilst a narrator tells you the story of man whose wife died tragically in a car accident. Little by little you learn more about the characters and the events that transpired that night and each day since. Your end-goal is to reach a lighthouse on the far-side of the island and you must traverse through four stages to get there, unraveling the story as you go.

There isn’t a whole lot to say for the game mechanically. You use the analogue sticks to walk and control the camera, as per industry standard. Then every other button on the Dualshock 4 zooms the camera in for closer inspection of items and scenery. There’s no objects to pick up or enemies to fight, you simply walk around the island whilst the narrative unfolds. It is essentially a walking simulator, a genre that’s clearly moved on a lot since Dear Esther’s initial release.

Thankfully though, the story is well crafted and narrated but the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired. Many players will struggle to maintain interest in the narrative as within a few minutes of playing it becomes monotonous. The atmosphere is usually on point but that alone is not enough to keep you engaged.

The version that I have been playing is the Landmark Edition on the Playstation 4. The only real differences between this and the original version of Dear Esther are a few graphical tweaks and an optional director’s commentary that you can listen to throughout the game to get further insight into the story. It doesn’t really add a whole lot to the game or make it an essential purchase for anyone who has played it previously.

There isn’t a whole lot to be said of Dear Esther: Landmark Edition. The same experience could be had by walking along a beach listening to an audio book. If you’re able to withstand what is essentially a walking simulator then this game may be for you. It becomes much more
interesting in the final two levels, but the monotonous gameplay holds it back from really getting under the player’s skin like the writer had clearly intended.

5
An​ ​interesting​ ​tale​ ​but​ ​a​ ​very​ ​forgettable​ ​experience.​ ​Dear​ ​Esther​ ​is​ ​not​ ​nearly​ ​engaging​ ​enough to​ ​sustain​ ​itself​ ​amongst​ ​other​ ​titles​ ​in​ ​its​ ​genre.​ ​The​ ​monotonous​ ​gameplay​ ​and​ ​bleak atmosphere​ ​can​ ​become​ ​very​ ​tiring,​ ​despite​ ​the​ ​game’s​ ​very​ ​short​ ​length.

Filed under: Dear Esther Island Landmark Edition Narrative

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