When it comes to convoluted development cycles, few can match the quest that has finally brought Dear Esther to the PlayStation 4. The game itself is a remaster of a remake of a Half Life 2 mod. I?ll let that statement sink in for a second. Ironically, depending upon who you ask, some people wouldn?t even consider it a game. Yet here we are, eight years after the original mod?s release, enjoying its unique variety of interactive entertainment on a home console. Now if only the content within the game itself had aged anywhere near as elegantly as its enhanced presentation.
A Brave First Step
Dear Esther?s initial release heralded the creation of what many have come to call the ?walking simulator.? Don?t worry. Walking Simulators are rarely as boring as the name would imply. Upon my first playthrough of Esther back in 2008, my view on games as a narrative medium were dramatically impacted. The disjointed storytelling and exploration mechanics provided an interesting new way to immerse yourself in a storyline, while still maintaining some game-like elements. It is amazing to consider that a title can sustain itself using sauntering as its only true gameplay component. Yet despite the lack of interactivity, Dear Esther does a fantastic job of fleshing out the unknown, albeit vacant, world in which the player inhabits. The story itself plays out via a narrated voiceover, which is activated while traversing the island on which the player is marooned. The narrative starts out ra...