Dear Esther
Originally released in 2008 as a free-to-play mod for the Source game engine and later re-released in 2012 by The Chinese Room, Dear Esther is a unique and beautiful narrative-driven experience. Your objective in Dear Esther? Explore the uninhabited Hebridean island as you listen to a series of letters addressed to Esther.
While this may not seem entirely captivating, exploring the island is a treat itself. The Hebridean island is nothing short of beautiful and will have you admiring the lush green fields and delicate waterfalls for hours. As you reach a new area of the island, another fragment of the series of letters is read out loud by, someone we must assume to be the author.
The beauty of Dear Esther not only lies in the prose of the letters, or the beautiful environment you’re exploring but instead the ambiguity of the story. What you may consider to be a straight forward story may be interpreted completely differently by someone else and will have you thinking long after you finish the game.
Dear Esther will make you feel a lot of things, but it’ll certainly make you feel a lot more appreciative of those you have around you and the time you get to spend with them.
