The first “Walking Simulator” hits the PS4…
Dear Esther began life as a Half-Life 2 mod, so it’s quite an old game in that respect. In it you walk across an island that is both grim and beautiful. I never played the original, so it’s up to the Landmark Edition to make an impact.
It’s a strange game, most famous for being the game that coined the phrase “Walking Simulator” and inspired plenty of other indie games to follow suit. The story itself is open to interpretation, I’ve gone through it twice and I’m still no closer to actually understanding what is going on. Is the island in the narrator’s mind? Is it real? Or is it something in-between? There’s a lot of theories as you would expect, even the Director’s Commentary delves into that but doesn’t give you a definitive answer.
The game is broken up into 4 separate areas of the island, these vary from cliffs to caves and a final ascent to the top of the island. The entire game should take you around 2 hours to do, but that’s mostly because the team decided to not put in a sprint button…so walking there will take around that time. There’s no puzzles or combat situations, it’s simply a story. Some may debate wherever this is a game or art and I can expect that argument to last a lifetime, but despite that I actually enjoyed Dear Esther…even if I still have no idea what the truth is regarding the narrator.
You are completely alone on the island too, with only the narrator’s voice to keep you company. The narrator does have a pretty convincing voice though, but I’m not sure if he’s convincing me that he’s just travelling the island or is insane. Both are highly plausible, while the game’s score does a great job in adding to that confusion with some powerful moments. There’s a horde of symbolism to be found too, making for a game that will leave a lot of people confused and the rest searching for the meaning.
The Verdict
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition is a short, but incredibly powerful experience. It’s memorable for so many ways and yet, it’s so hard to explain what makes it stand out the most. The Chinese Room made this originally from a Half-Life 2 mod, but it’s come so far since then and I think they deserve a lot of credit for not only that, but inspiring indie devs too. It was groundbreaking when it came out, while the console versions finally give the rest of us a chance to see what all the fuss is about…which I think is worth it.