There is a fine line between being mystifyingly cryptic and obnoxiously obtuse. Unfortunately, Dear Esther is the latter, with its randomized story instead of delivering a multitude of different experiences presents you but with one — one that makes no sense regardless of what blabber you’re exposed to. Still, it’s somewhat of a novel attempt at a game, and the writing is nice as far as prose is concerned, so it’s not all bad.
Positive: | Negative: |
Beautiful visuals | Almost no context to the whole story |
Eloquent prose
|
Obtuse randomized messages that are supposed to hint at the plot are nearly impossible to follow |
All you ever do is walk forward |