Dear Esther replaces traditional FPS gameplay with the exploration of a desolate island, a deep and emotional story and a stunning soundtrack.
So cloud gaming service OnLive's been having some problems in the past week, but games ain't one of them. This weekend the company's having an indie games giveaway promo, in which you'll be able to pick up games like Dear Esther for free. Read More »
One of the biggest criticisms of Dear Esther was its relatively short length. If you were one of those detractors, thechineseroom's next game, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, is really going to piss you off. Telling the story of the moments leading up to the apocalypse in a small town in Shropshire, England, Everybody's Gone will take place in single, hour-long sessions in which the player will be allowed to walk through the town, finding items and influencing anything or anyone they come across before the Four Horsemen come riding in. Read More »
I don't know what happened in Dear Esther. I mean, I have theories. I beat the whole thing, after all. Or rather, I finished it. See, "beat" implies that I overcame some sort of struggle. Dear Esther, however, involves no such thing. It's first-person, but there aren't any guns, terrorists, or slow-mo action sequences with doves who are also gun-wielding terrorists. I just languidly strolled across an abandoned island in an effort to figure out what my character was doing there in the first place, intermittently gawking at incredible vistas and listening to cryptic narrations. Read More »
A celebration of the hard work of both bedroom coders and smaller established studios alike, the annual Independent Games Festival shines a much-needed spotlight on the boldest, most innovative, and most creative projects from indie developers around the world. In this first installment of our two-part piece highlighting the competition's 2012 PC game finalists, we poke and prod the noggins of the developers behind this promising batch of upcoming releases. Read More »
A deserted island... a lost man... memories of a fatal crash... a mod reborn. Dear Esther, one of the most popular modifications for Half-Life 2, is being remastered, and the finished product is almost ready for prime time. The first-person ghost story now has its official first trailer. See it within. Read More »