Dear Esther

 PC
User Score
6.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 736 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 368 out of 736
  2. Mixed: 182 out of 736
  3. Negative: 186 out of 736

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  1. BeatYourHeadIn
    Sep 19, 2021
    3
    I like it when games dare to be different. I liked Penumbra, and I liked Amnesia even more; those games struck a nice balance with atmosphere and gameplay while being different from almost everything I had played before. Dear Esther, however, offers no such balance since it abandoned any semblance of gameplay altogether. It's been said here by other reviewers and I'll say it again, just toI like it when games dare to be different. I liked Penumbra, and I liked Amnesia even more; those games struck a nice balance with atmosphere and gameplay while being different from almost everything I had played before. Dear Esther, however, offers no such balance since it abandoned any semblance of gameplay altogether. It's been said here by other reviewers and I'll say it again, just to reinforce the notion: there is no interactivity to speak of and no real gameplay whatsoever.

    There are no meaningful choices to make, no consequences, no inventory to manage, no characters to interact with, no enemies to defeat or evade, no objectives to complete; you can't even control when your flashlight turns on and off (this feature is automanaged for you as you enter and leave unlit areas). It is a game that dared to be so different that it actually stopped being a game.

    I know what you're thinking: "BeatYourHeadIn, what do you expect from a title that hails from the 'games as art' genre? Certainly you weren't hoping a shotgun was a necessary plot element?" Good point readers, and fair enough, I have certainly been conditioned enough by multiple decades of shooters that I feel an... emptiness... when I can't simply apply liberal amounts of buckshot shampoo to *ahem* clean the obstructions from my first person journies. What I do expect from a game is a little bit of gameplay; just a teensy weensy bit. No? Nothing??? Sheesh, we should probably rename the "games as art" genre to "art as games" since that simple rearrangement says volumes more about what it's actually like to experience Dear Esther. Dear Esther is not really a game after all, rather more of a landscape simulator that is best enjoyed by plugging your video output into a digital picture frame hung on your living room wall. Moving on, I don't want to obsess over what Dear Esther IS NOT this whole review, so I will talk about what it IS.

    As others here have pointed out, it is simply a different way of telling a story... a visual metaphor, if you will. In my opinion, it is an unsuccessful way of telling a story, and I wont be paying for any other "games" that may appear in this "genre". As a game, story, movie, Bob Ross painting, whatever, it was dull and un-entertaining. Un-fun, that's a good word; Dear Esther is un-fun.

    There are just enough good points to squeak a single positive sentence into this review of Dear Esther: the soundtrack is quite good, and the visuals are nice to look at (especially in the caves chapter); I will award a couple points for those qualities, even though I want to give it a flat zero.

    I'll award one more point to the fact that the developers had the balls think outside of the box... in fact, they stepped right out of the box, picked it up, folded it, put it in the recycle bin, went to the nearest Blockbuster Video and rented What Dreams May Come. So that's it, a generous 3 out of 10.    … Expand
  2. ewenr
    Jun 30, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Never have I played a game that has been so much up its own a*se. Sure, it's beautiful to look at.. but all that is washed away in a torrential deluge of poetic nonsense. If you are unsure whether to pick up this game, just google for "Dear Esther script" and you will get a feeling for what you are letting yourself in for.

    Here's just one gripping example picked at random...
    "Dear Esther. I have now driven the stretch of the M5 between Exeter and Bristol over twenty-one times, but although I have all the reports and all the witnesses and have cross-referenced them within a millimetre using my ordnance survey maps, I simply cannot find the location. You’d think there would be marks, to serve as some evidence. It's somewhere between the turn off for Sandford and the Welcome Break services. But although I can always see it in my rear view mirror, I have as yet been unable to pull ashore."    … Expand
  3. aleqhz
    Jun 25, 2020
    4
    It is very poetic. The music is okay. It's some kind of "story-driven" visual art I guess? But the story itself isn't that interesting. This hardly qualifies as a game.
  4. Lobby
    Dec 27, 2017
    4
    I don't think this should be referenced as game. I was able to finish it only forcing myself, because I got bored and the game is just hour long or so, therefore I cannot go over 4. On the other hand technically there is nothing wrong with it. It look nice, aesthetically and it have technical quality of graphic on good level. The landscape is very good and believable and I think even bigI don't think this should be referenced as game. I was able to finish it only forcing myself, because I got bored and the game is just hour long or so, therefore I cannot go over 4. On the other hand technically there is nothing wrong with it. It look nice, aesthetically and it have technical quality of graphic on good level. The landscape is very good and believable and I think even big sandbox games could take few notes here. The story is good it presented too slow and so deep as presented.

    Obviously from the other reviews there is lot of people that like this kind of simulation (i won't use the word game). So if incline to stuff like this then you do get it. If you never tried something like it, try it as it is super cheep. Other wise it would be rather waste of the time.    … Expand
  5. Renovatia
    Jun 17, 2017
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A "game" which doesn't offer gameplay. Instead it's a guided tour on an island whilst you're narrating letters written to Esther, your (probably) wife who (probably) died in a car crash. This tour - again, no game here - is to move you emotionally. But there's nothing to be emotionally about, other than being emotional about the tour - the setting - itself. in the end - BIG REVEAL - is that no answers are given. It's another "interpret it yourself" ending. I can invent stories like that every minute, and so can you. Having an open ended draw-your-own-conclusions approach is simply avoiding the responsibility to come up with a decent logical ending.

    In fact, as the game moves forward, the letters become even more ambiguous. Usually when you progress through a game you're rewarded, but this game offers only the opposite. In the end you'll jumping off a tower (you were walking towards it in the game). You're either stuck with an empty feeling, i.e. no gaming, not resolution of the storyline, or you're in some kind of a trance and write a review about how amazing this game was because it left you with feelings of some sorts.

    I rated it 2/10 only for reason and that is the cheap ambiguity, lack of resolution and the aforementioned draw-your-own-conclusions approach. I wrote such games when I was 10 to 11 years old and won prizes or became second. I wrote mystical stories but avoided a real ending because that was the hard part. But people loved it and I won another round.

    The two stars are for the graphics.    … Expand
  6. bicom
    Oct 9, 2015
    1
    It's not a game. If anything, it's just an interactive story, in which the story is boring and unintelligible for non native english speakers. I mean, if you want to narrate a story with such advanced english, why don't provide subtitles in various languages? Apparently, the developers thought that their country is the center of the world.

    The atmosphere of the game is cinematic and    It's not a game. If anything, it's just an interactive story, in which the story is boring and unintelligible for non native english speakers. I mean, if you want to narrate a story with such advanced english, why don't provide subtitles in various languages? Apparently, the developers thought that their country is the center of the world.

    The atmosphere of the game is cinematic and unreal, with violins and piano providing a tedious, pompous soundtrack. Not much else to say since there's basically nothing else. You can't even jump or take the objects you find in your path.    … Expand
  7. Storm1672
    Aug 13, 2015
    4
    This little minimalistic piece of art is good for what it is, but is WAY overrated. It's the equivalent (somewhat) of a blank painting being called art. It is too pretentious. I appreciated the details and the Lynch-esque "trying-to-figure-out-what-is-happenning", but the balance is not correct. Too little info. The very few places you will visit along with the shortage in... actualThis little minimalistic piece of art is good for what it is, but is WAY overrated. It's the equivalent (somewhat) of a blank painting being called art. It is too pretentious. I appreciated the details and the Lynch-esque "trying-to-figure-out-what-is-happenning", but the balance is not correct. Too little info. The very few places you will visit along with the shortage in... actual content does not let me appreciate this. Music is great as is the voice over from the narrator. This is not the same kind of simplicity as Journey and definitely does not have the same immersion level. The walking speed and non-interacting will definitely detract from the overall experience.

    I only played it so I can compare it to their latest game, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture.    … Expand
  8. BSim500
    Jan 14, 2015
    3
    The "game" is literally 30-40mins long, but because your character has a "forced slow walk" (no run, jump or crouch at all) it pads that out to 60-90mins. Short narration based games aren't bad in themselves, but REALLY SHORT sub-1 hour story-driven games are actually too short to build any sense of empathy or rapport with the main character you're supposed to be "playing". It's over soThe "game" is literally 30-40mins long, but because your character has a "forced slow walk" (no run, jump or crouch at all) it pads that out to 60-90mins. Short narration based games aren't bad in themselves, but REALLY SHORT sub-1 hour story-driven games are actually too short to build any sense of empathy or rapport with the main character you're supposed to be "playing". It's over so quickly any intended tragedy based emotional response is watered down into mildly-disinterest.

    It's also buggy. You get stuck behind 6 inch rocks, and you instantly drown if your head dips below the water in some points even for 0.5 seconds. I actually managed to accidentally break the game within the first 10 seconds by jumping down on the rocks to explore them with the not unreasonable expectation of a grown adult being able to climb back over a 12" rock, and ended up well and truly stuck there forcing a restart. The second time I drowned 10ft away from the shore...

    A quick glance at other reviewers with gushing 10/10 scores reveals half have given 10/10 to every game they've reviewed (which for many is only this one), whilst the other half seem to be the "pretentious snob" crowd that "nouveau art forms" seem to attract with comments like "Ignore the low ratings as they are not the intended audience. This is a work for adults." and "I guess this game is not for everyone, just the intelligent" (which certainly speaks volumes as to who they perceive the "intended audience" to be (ie, the "fake talent with people issues" crowd apparently)...

    Overall : 3 (+1 for effort and +1 each for GFX/sound but nothing else for having literally no game-play or game length). Given there's literally almost no interactivity, I get the feeling the writers simply chose the wrong format for the story and it would have been better off as a 2-3hr short novel / movie / non serialized TV drama rather than a 30-60min fake game.    … Expand
  9. Lord_Truth
    Dec 25, 2014
    0
    This whole game could have been included in a larger trailer. It is no more than one long cut-scene, and the developers and players bluntly lie to you - it is NOT INTERACTIVE. It is NOT AN INDIE ADVENTURE GAME.

    It's an okayish mind-teaser, but it is even below low-quality visual novels and doesn't deserve being paid for. As a free mod or video, this would be nice.
  10. Maestro_Grinder
    Dec 25, 2014
    0
    tl;dr: Interesting and provoking thoughts, but NOT a game, NOT worth money.

    Dear Esther is an artistic work, I cannot deny that, but the creator lost all right for respect and credit when putting this up for sale. There are many modders out there who contribute much greater, albeit different, efforts for free. Whether intentional or not, putting it up here on steam was awfully    tl;dr: Interesting and provoking thoughts, but NOT a game, NOT worth money.

    Dear Esther is an artistic work, I cannot deny that, but the creator lost all right for respect and credit when putting this up for sale. There are many modders out there who contribute much greater, albeit different, efforts for free. Whether intentional or not, putting it up here on steam was awfully misleading and tricked many into buying it, believing it is an actual adventure game. At least everyone I know who bought the game, including myself, sprung that trap.

    It is an insult to all modders out there that this "game" is being sold. The developers of Dear Esther were thrown a lot of money that others deserve more.    … Expand
  11. Tobi_Whatever
    Nov 13, 2014
    4
    The game wants you to explore but there isn't anything to explore. You walk to slow. The game looks boring and unimpressive, maybe aside from the caves.
    The narration is the mayor element of the game. How can the game function if the narration is obnoxious.
    Pretentious is also a fitting word. Even calling it a game is too much. Marketeers would call it an experience, but there is    The game wants you to explore but there isn't anything to explore. You walk to slow. The game looks boring and unimpressive, maybe aside from the caves.
    The narration is the mayor element of the game. How can the game function if the narration is obnoxious.
    Pretentious is also a fitting word. Even calling it a game is too much.
    Marketeers would call it an experience, but there is nothing to experience.    … Expand
  12. Maplestrip
    Sep 30, 2014
    4
    Dear Esther is a beautiful game. Some points were so incredibly gorgeous - you have to see it for yourself to know what I mean.

    However, that is sadly the only thing this game has to offer. Dear Esther has somekind of story, but I find it almost impossible to focus on it as I am walking, and I am not going to stop every time the narrator says something. I've never been good with    Dear Esther is a beautiful game. Some points were so incredibly gorgeous - you have to see it for yourself to know what I mean.

    However, that is sadly the only thing this game has to offer. Dear Esther has somekind of story, but I find it almost impossible to focus on it as I am walking, and I am not going to stop every time the narrator says something. I've never been good with audiobooks, though, so take this with a grain of salt.

    Dear Esther is boring. You are just slowly walking on the island, thinking "shall I approach that house over there and waste my time or shall I continue walking in that direction?" At one point I even got stuck and didn't know where to go. The ending - seeing as I didn't understand the story - was weird and vague. Beautiful, I guess, but that's only worth so much.

    The game has a few cool easter eggs, apparently. A lot of love went into it, so it's too bad it didn't have anything to offer. Once I finished it, I had no intention to ever get back to it. I was happy when it was over as well. I didn't regret playing it, though; it's an interesting experience regardless, but there are better ways to spend your time.    … Expand
  13. artnat
    May 28, 2014
    3
    irst things first - THIS IS NOT A VIDEO GAME.
    This is something you may call an "experience". If you you can call an 'experience' holding "W" for an hour and moving around your mouse a bit while listening to some incoherent pretentious semi-random narration.
    The critics were delighted - 'a game not bound by rules of genres' they said. 'Beautiful narration' they said. If I did not have    irst things first - THIS IS NOT A VIDEO GAME.
    This is something you may call an "experience". If you you can call an 'experience' holding "W" for an hour and moving around your mouse a bit while listening to some incoherent pretentious semi-random narration.

    The critics were delighted - 'a game not bound by rules of genres' they said. 'Beautiful narration' they said. If I did not have to pay for it I would be delighted too, unfortunately none of the reviewers or the game website showed us truth about this product. The hour of holding "w" is not worth 7 euros I paid.

    There is no story in this experience- and the narration is not a true narration - it is a bunch of pretentious aphorisms.
    There is no interactivity in this experience - there is no true "exploration" - you do not explore the island, you go almost a straight path without any real clues.
    However, there are stunning visuals in this experience - to be able to get such beauty from the an old video-game engine is surprising. It is a shame that it was wasted on such pretentious piece of an experience.

    You may say that I am just not getting it - maybe you will be right. But fans of this experience called people not liking it too low-brow to get it. Perhaps

    I would love to really explore the island (Miasmata style, be able to interact with objects even if just to watch them more closely or just move them about. I would love more story than some random sentences recited in the background    … Expand
  14. Dolex123
    May 18, 2014
    3
    The interactions in this game are very minor, couple that with the excruciatingly slow walking speed and you have a game that grows boring quickly. However if you can find it cheap enough you may enjoy this short experience.
  15. Arphiax
    Apr 4, 2014
    4
    Like everyone has already mentioned, this is not a game. It is a movie that you have to hold down 'W' to watch so I will rate it as if it was a movie. The story is somewhat interesting I guess, but the pacing is really poor. The character walks around slowly and every once in a while says some fairly vague things until you have pieced together what the whole thing is about. If the storyLike everyone has already mentioned, this is not a game. It is a movie that you have to hold down 'W' to watch so I will rate it as if it was a movie. The story is somewhat interesting I guess, but the pacing is really poor. The character walks around slowly and every once in a while says some fairly vague things until you have pieced together what the whole thing is about. If the story had been presented in around 30 minutes I would have rated much higher, but it took me 100 minutes to complete. That is a good 70 minutes of wandering past rocks, glowing fungus, and things scribbled on walls waiting for the next dialogue to start.
    Giving this game 4/10 might be a bit generous, but considering that someone sent it to me for free I enjoyed it that much. If I had paid much of anything for it I might have been too pissed off the whole time to even like it. Save yourself a couple dollars and watch a play-through video on the internets. Gameplay wise it will be the exact same experience.    … Expand
  16. Nicholaz
    Dec 29, 2013
    3
    A pretentious non-interactive corridor walk with nice graphics.

    I have to say I'm probably the intended audience for this game. I read strange books and enjoy them, I listen to strange music and enjoy it, you get the picture. But this is just plain boring. There is no exploration per se, because it's just a walk on rails with lots of invisible walls and bits of narrative thrown at    A pretentious non-interactive corridor walk with nice graphics.

    I have to say I'm probably the intended audience for this game. I read strange books and enjoy them, I listen to strange music and enjoy it, you get the picture.

    But this is just plain boring. There is no exploration per se, because it's just a walk on rails with lots of invisible walls and bits of narrative thrown at you along the ways. The narrator is of the type, who could make a sentence like "I had a cup of tea and then went for a pee" sound like it had deep Shakespearean meaning, but the story (or text bits) just didn't keep me interested at all.

    This might as well be a short movie, a walk over an island with puzzling narrative bits, because honestly, you just keep the W key pressed for forward walking and wait for new bits of text to appear.

    Disappointing, except for the good graphic and sound, which builds a nice background atmosphere.    … Expand
  17. Pier
    Dec 27, 2013
    3
    While it is certainly a beautiful and detailed world, Dear Esther is not a game. When you pay for a game, and expect a game, this is very disappointing. It is closer to a demo for a textuure artist and 3d modeler than a game. Not fun at all, lacks any real narrative and the experience is completely un-engaging. Don't waste your money on this.
  18. DonCanardo
    Dec 24, 2013
    3
    It might be a nice piece of art but it's not a game. It could have been a video I would had the same experience.... Nice graphics & story but absolutely no gameplay.
  19. Vag
    Dec 8, 2013
    0
    See the hidden meaning in a piece of or a black square sign unsound mind. This is philosophy-schizophrenic interactive story for those who like a black square.
  20. BrobaFett
    Nov 20, 2013
    4
    Not really a game. More of an interactive story where there is really nothing to interact with. The only positive side of this... thing... is the graphics which are very nicely detailed but there is just absolutely no real objective rather than walk to the end of this slightly confusing and completely unsatisfying path of zero events.
  21. Arkan01d
    Nov 14, 2013
    4
    Dear Esther is not a game. A game has rewards, mechanics, puzzles, ect. Dear Esther is an audio book designed for a game engine. It has you walk in a designated path to learn a story. Your first walk through you will not get the whole story. You need to walk around another time. The path that you can take is severely limited. There is no real exploring. If you see something intriguing inDear Esther is not a game. A game has rewards, mechanics, puzzles, ect. Dear Esther is an audio book designed for a game engine. It has you walk in a designated path to learn a story. Your first walk through you will not get the whole story. You need to walk around another time. The path that you can take is severely limited. There is no real exploring. If you see something intriguing in the distance then that's it. You've just seen something intriguing in the distance.

    Dear Esther reminds me of shopping for groceries to cook dinner only to remember you need one more ingredient to start and must go shopping again. Then halfway through cooking you run out of something else and have to make a 3rd trip to the store to complete dinner. Dinner wasn't about the multiple journeys you had to take. It wasn't about how long it took to cook. It's just about sitting down and eating a delicious dinner. If, before you began cook, you knew getting dinner ready would take 3 trips to the store you'd probably just quit and order take out.    … Expand
  22. BlacksitePSU
    Nov 13, 2013
    3
    Dear Esther is more of a visual showcase or tech demo than a game. That being said, I cannot recommend this title to a fellow gamer. The story is forgettable and all you do is walk down a very linear path for 2-3 hours. A great example of how a game being different does not necessarily mean it will be good.
  23. PlanByHero
    Oct 24, 2013
    4
    Mind numbingly dull; I forced myself to complete it despite how bored I was throughout because I was expecting some revelation to make the game worthy of all the praise thats been heaped upon it (and to get my moneys worth). As others have said Dear Esther isn't a game, its a SLIGHTLY interactive story (interactive in that you walk around and look at things, thats pretty much it). That'dMind numbingly dull; I forced myself to complete it despite how bored I was throughout because I was expecting some revelation to make the game worthy of all the praise thats been heaped upon it (and to get my moneys worth). As others have said Dear Esther isn't a game, its a SLIGHTLY interactive story (interactive in that you walk around and look at things, thats pretty much it). That'd be fine if the story was any good but its not; its a boring and very, VERY predictable. 2 points for trying something different (in spite of failing) and 2 points for the occasionally lovely environments.… Expand
  24. Apparentn00b
    Oct 17, 2013
    1
    This "game" has to be the worst "attempt" at a gaming experience that i have seen, do not i repeat do not buy this "game" unless you have a fetish for holding down the w button for a solid hour. it is unreasonably boring drawn out artificially there is no objective no challenge and really no redeeming qualities, if you like these kind of games, get the stanley parable it is leagues betterThis "game" has to be the worst "attempt" at a gaming experience that i have seen, do not i repeat do not buy this "game" unless you have a fetish for holding down the w button for a solid hour. it is unreasonably boring drawn out artificially there is no objective no challenge and really no redeeming qualities, if you like these kind of games, get the stanley parable it is leagues better in every way.

    Quick breakdown of the "game":
    Linear
    No real objectives
    No challenge
    One hour long
    $10 price tag
    No gameplay mechanics
    Not really even a movie
    Most definitely NOT an adventure
    Most definitely not a puzzle, there is no challenge

    Not the "most original first person game this year" (thats a quote from the "developer" i cant even call these people developers because this is such a poor quality piece of garbage)

    the one good thing about this piece of software, is the graphics, it looks decent. really it could have been made in 2007 but its not terrible

    This thing deserves every low rating it has gotten and frankly deserves more.    … Expand
  25. alanas4201
    Oct 17, 2013
    1
    Most boring game i ever played. I never did anything in game just hold W there was nothing to do in there nothing interactive i liked Heavy rain and Beyond two souls, but i hated this game because its nothing, but environments and holding W button that's really sad
  26. Bluefootedpig
    Sep 23, 2013
    2
    No plot, it was a sort of explore, but to me graphics are only good if it feels like I caused them. This is like looking at a high quality art piece. It might speak to you, but for the vast majority of the time, you are just wondering, "what is my role in this".
  27. Erdrick27
    Sep 19, 2013
    1
    This so called game has absolutely no game play elements in it whatsoever. No interaction with the enthronement, not even a run key. The environmental eye candy is nice to look at but you're forced to trudge along at a snails pace while random clips of audio that may or may not have anything to do with what you're looking at play. If you want to recreate the experience for free go for aThis so called game has absolutely no game play elements in it whatsoever. No interaction with the enthronement, not even a run key. The environmental eye candy is nice to look at but you're forced to trudge along at a snails pace while random clips of audio that may or may not have anything to do with what you're looking at play. If you want to recreate the experience for free go for a walk in the woods and talk to yourself.… Expand
  28. Musa3486
    Sep 9, 2013
    0
    This may very well be the worst "game" I ever played.This is more of a demo and even as that feels empty.Its a hour long ambiguous plot of a story.Nothing, is concrete nor explained leaving ppl left to connect the dots.Some ppl would say thats one of the games beauty but from a paid game,it just felt incomplete.
  29. LilD
    Sep 2, 2013
    3
    Dear Esther,

    Your game sucks. You basically just walk through an (admittedly mostly beautiful) environment with no interactivity while you listen to little bits of a mediocre story. You'd expect the island to hold clues, but really just has some nonsense. I sort of knew the premise and was still very disappointed. $10 for this game/experience is very frustrating for a consumer. It    Dear Esther,

    Your game sucks.

    You basically just walk through an (admittedly mostly beautiful) environment with no interactivity while you listen to little bits of a mediocre story. You'd expect the island to hold clues, but really just has some nonsense. I sort of knew the premise and was still very disappointed. $10 for this game/experience is very frustrating for a consumer. It would also be different if there were multiple pathways or something, but it is completely linear destroying all possibilities of any replay value. I would advise to stay away unless it becomes on sale for only a few bucks.    … Expand
  30. Morring
    Aug 9, 2013
    0
    Any number known to man would represent an overrated score for this walking simulator. Dragging your excruciatingly slow character across the island is terribly uninteresting, and the tale being told does not make up for that. If this was actually art, as some would like to believe, you would see at least some creative use of the possibilities of videogames at work, but no, let's just walkAny number known to man would represent an overrated score for this walking simulator. Dragging your excruciatingly slow character across the island is terribly uninteresting, and the tale being told does not make up for that. If this was actually art, as some would like to believe, you would see at least some creative use of the possibilities of videogames at work, but no, let's just walk around while hearing a story. I actually paid money to hear a poor audiobook while exploring a virtual place quite resembling the real world a few steps from home.

    Art can explore new ways to use a particular media, and the greatest works of art may change the way we see that media in a permanent way. This game doesn't even try to explore the possibilities of gaming. If this was a movie there would literally be no difference, except you wouldn't be pressing W. It is not fun, it is not creative, it is not an interesting story, but you can still buy it and tell everybody who says it isn't good that the game is just to deep for them.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

85
#85 Best PC Game of 2012
29
#29 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
44
#44 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 37 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 37
  3. Negative: 3 out of 37
  1. Thunderbolt
    Jan 10, 2013
    30
    With no story or true narrative to latch onto, there's no reason for players to care about what's going on. And there's only one thing ever going on in Dear Esther: nothing. Broken up into individual pieces-the graphics, writing, and music clearly show talent and might have led to interesting stories or games-but together they form a dull, lifeless experience that's quickly forgotten.
    Read full review
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Apr 25, 2012
    50
    To call this piece "a game" and rate it as an ordinary game is not fair. You can find many flaws in the game's mechanics but if you just follow the story your experience will be unforgettable. [Apr 2012]
  3. CD-Action
    Mar 13, 2012
    55
    Thechineseroom studio managed to create something surprising and original, but Dear Esther is something you experience rather than play. [April 2012, p.79]
See all critic reviews »