" Dear Esther is a short game, clocking in at an hour or two for most playthroughs, so to say too much about what it tries to do in that short runtime would be doing a disservice. Anyone who’s played these types of games before knows what you’re likely in for though. A haunting setting, an intense feeling of isolation and the slow, drawn out exposition leading to one overarching plot. Some have said the game’s narrative is a bit pretentious, but I quite like the tale drawn out through the mysterious island you’ll be exploring. It’s ambiguous enough for people to draw their own conclusions, and depending on how you achieve that you’ll likely have a totally different experience than I did, but for my money the softly delivered narrative is one of the best bits of the game, and one of the few elements that still stand up today"
Looking for a good walking simulator game - or 'narrative driven adventure'? Here's GameSpew's list of nine of the best on Xbox One.
"walking simulator" is a horrible name for a category of games. Half the time folks use that phrase it comes across as derogatory.
Dear Esther,
You are not an ordinary game,
So how could I ever hope to give you an ordinary review?
Interesting game/story. Most would call it a walking simulator, but I enjoyed the overall experience.
Carlos writes: "For many of us, the thought of buying games went out the window weeks ago with Christmas fast approaching and the wallet heavy costs associated to the festive period. Now though, with less than a week to go until Christmas Day, those early birds who prepared in time may well want to take a look in to this week’s Xbox Live Deals With Gold and Spotlight Sale for a cheeky bargain to help pass the time.
But which of the deals on offer are this weeks best? And which should you be leaving well alone? We take a look."
