Dear Esther
Dear Esther was a much better game than “Gone Home” hands down. The visuals and story-line were more engaging for the player, even though the same lack of a position of power was evident. There are many references to depression and drugs as well, making it seem like the story-line is of a man walking through his own death due to addiction.
The games graphics and sound could, in my opinion, compete with some of the bigger name games in the market. The detail in the rocks and mountains present a tough landscape, that is very hard to travel on. This provides possible symbolism regarding the narrators life. The extremely big falls especially appear to imply that the narrator struggled through out much of his life and attempted to get back up. The games soundtrack is another component that implies the narrator is viewing his own death. As you progress through the game, mainly the caves there are voices coming from no where. This suggests that the narrator is some sort of purgatory world, something I found very intriguing.
I found the story-line of Dear Esther to be very dark. This came from the references to death, disease and drugs. The narrator states his disease was “the internal combustion engine and the cheap fermentation of yeast.” This is an allusion to alcoholism, possibly the narrators downfall. Closer to the ending of the game, there is more mention of substance abuse, this time pain killers. These references make the story dark, which helps to pull the player further in and become more interested in finding out more about the narrators life. This is what I enjoyed most about the game.
Overall, Dear Esther was very much superior to “Gone Home”. The story, graphics and sound were better, and made for more engaging play even though the typical position of power that most games put you in was not there.
