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Dear Esther (Video Game)

 Dear Esther (Video Game)
type
TVTItem
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
label
Dear Esther (Video Game)
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
page
DearEsther
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
comment
For the proper reading experience, play the game's soundtrack while reading on.Dear Esther is a mod created by The Chinese Room, built with the Source engine (the same used for Half-Life 2, among other games). While designed in the First-Person Shooter format, it is in reality more of a sparse, linear narrative with complete emphasis on the plot, and as such is probably the Trope Codifier for Environmental Narrative Games. The player is placed on an uninhabited, Hebridean island, and while exploring the picturesque landscape an unidentified narrator regularly intervenes with bits of voiced-over letters addressed to a woman named Esther. This is a story that you quite literally walk through: nothing is trying to kill you, and there are no puzzles that you must solve to progress. Unless, of course, you count the plot.A remake was released in 2012 featuring vastly improved graphics, remastered audio, and a much more intuitive level design for the environments (one common criticism of the original mod); a further improved Landmark Edition was released on the original game's 10-year anniversary in 2017.The 2012 version on Steam; the 2017 version on Steam; a download to the original version; and the official website.WARNING: Due to the nature of its narrative, it is all but impossible to describe the tropes in Dear Esther without spoiling the crap out of it. If you have not experienced it yet, do not read any further.
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
fetched
2023-06-13T08:13:30Z
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
parsed
2023-06-13T08:13:30Z
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_106381c4
type
SilentProtagonist
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_106381c4
comment
Silent Protagonist: He does have very noisy shoes though. It's not entirely clear if the Narrator is the same person as the protagonist, too, but if they are, then he's quite chatty.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_106381c4
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_106381c4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_106381c4
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_11e0d645
type
Arc Symbol
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_11e0d645
comment
Arc Symbol: Gulls, cans of paint, paper boats, circuits, molecules (particularly ethanol), car parts, sonogram pictures... Even stones manages to become one.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_11e0d645
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_11e0d645
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_11e0d645
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_141a6acb
type
Madness Mantra
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_141a6acb
comment
Madness Mantra: Not by a person, but by the game itself- the music that plays at the start of the final chapter upon emerging from the case contains a repeated rhythm that spells out "Esther" in Morse code, over and over again.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_141a6acb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_141a6acb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_141a6acb
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1869b4b1
type
Unreliable Narrator
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1869b4b1
comment
Unreliable Narrator: See Sanity Slippage above.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1869b4b1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1869b4b1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1869b4b1
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_18d15922
type
Title Drop
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_18d15922
comment
Title Drop: Several times during the narrator's readings, as it's implied he's reading letters written to Esther.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_18d15922
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_18d15922
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_18d15922
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_18eb5500
type
Beautiful Void
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_18eb5500
comment
Beautiful Void: The island is haunting in its emptiness, juxtaposed against its Scenery Porn.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_18eb5500
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_18eb5500
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_18eb5500
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1b2b1d2c
type
Violation of Common Sense
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1b2b1d2c
comment
Violation of Common Sense: There are a couple points in the game that require jumps (or falls, rather, in the absence of actual jumping) no reasonable person would ever make. Especially odd considering a couple of these happen shortly after the player is informed his leg is broken.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1b2b1d2c
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1b2b1d2c
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
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Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1b2b1d2c
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1bbb76bc
type
Abandoned Area
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1bbb76bc
comment
Abandoned Area: The island was once inhabited by shepherds, but that was clearly a long time ago.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1bbb76bc
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1bbb76bc
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
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Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1bbb76bc
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1c2b6ac8
type
Soft Water
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1c2b6ac8
comment
Soft Water: It's not like there's any way to take damage in the first place, but the tiny pools at the bottom of certain chasms would not protect against the falls they are meant to break.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1c2b6ac8
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1c2b6ac8
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
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Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_1c2b6ac8
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_2439b588
type
As the Good Book Says...
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_2439b588
comment
As the Good Book Says...: Fragments of the Biblical story of Paul on the Road to Damascus are painted on walls in the final area the player finds. Earlier, it is also possible to find painted references to the prophesied destruction of Damascus in the Book of Isaiah.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_2439b588
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_2439b588
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_2439b588
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_28bef8d9
type
Mysterious Watcher
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_28bef8d9
comment
Mysterious Watcher: Occasionally, off in the distance, you will see dark figures observing you, or walking the path themselves.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_28bef8d9
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_28bef8d9
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_28bef8d9
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_34bd7be2
type
Super Drowning Skills
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_34bd7be2
comment
Super Drowning Skills: Dip your head below the ocean's surface for too long, you drown. Later inverted when you can stay underwater in the cave pools for as long as you want.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_34bd7be2
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_34bd7be2
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
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Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_34bd7be2
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_3f45aa4b
type
Epistolary Novel
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_3f45aa4b
comment
Epistolary Novel: The unreliable narration consists of snippets of letters addressed to someone called Esther, voiced out by a male character as the player wanders around the island.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_3f45aa4b
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_3f45aa4b
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_3f45aa4b
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_4364fe24
type
Ethereal Choir
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_4364fe24
comment
Ethereal Choir: The music in the caves is this. Interesting to note is that the song being sung is in English rather than Latin or whatever. Can also be heard when jumping from the beacon tower.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_4364fe24
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_4364fe24
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_4364fe24
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_480ee6dc
type
InsurmountableWaistHighFence
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_480ee6dc
comment
Insurmountable Waist-High Fence: A few literal waist-high fences keep the player from plunging off the rocks into the ocean.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_480ee6dc
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_480ee6dc
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 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_480ee6dc
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_49d18492
type
Scenery Gorn
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_49d18492
comment
Scenery Gorn: The abandoned lighthouse, the grounded ships, and the highway scene.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_49d18492
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_49d18492
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_49d18492
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_49d59be9
type
Scenery Porn
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_49d59be9
comment
Scenery Porn: The landscapes are exceptionally well-done, and considering there is nothing but the visuals and the narrator's voice along the way, it's something you're bound to notice. Even the caverns —a setting normally associated with boring, repetitive scenery in video games— are visually mesmerizing here.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_49d59be9
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_49d59be9
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_49d59be9
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_4e7c4536
type
Wham Line
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_4e7c4536
comment
Wham Line: "He tells me that he was not drunk at all." Some playthroughs even have this line appear in a subtly different but even more gut-punching form: "He tells me that I was not drunk at all!" "I will look to my left and see Esther Donnelly, flying beside me. I will look to my right and see Paul Jakobsen, flying beside me." "And you were rendered opaque by the car of a drunk." "It can only be a dead shepherd who has come to drunk drive you home."
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_4e7c4536
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_4e7c4536
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_4e7c4536
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_4e7f703c
type
Wham Shot
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_4e7f703c
comment
Wham Shot: One that is twice as whammy for the fact that, like most of the things in the game, whether it even appears or not in any given playthrough is entirely up to chance: the ultrasound photo that reveals Esther was pregnant when she died.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_4e7f703c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_4e7f703c
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_4e7f703c
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_589661ad
type
Renaissance Man
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_589661ad
comment
Renaissance Man: The narrator appears to be very well-read in history, chemistry, biology, electronics, Biblical studies, and Hebrew numerology.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_589661ad
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_589661ad
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_589661ad
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_62434fe2
type
Sanity Slippage
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_62434fe2
comment
Sanity Slippage: The narrator's memories begin to blur together as he walks through the island.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_62434fe2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_62434fe2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_62434fe2
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_6941e30b
type
Room Full of Crazy
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_6941e30b
comment
Room Full of Crazy: Just what do the bizarre symbols all over the caves and rock faces mean? One of the tunnels in the caves is particularly dense with luminescent scrawlings, making it somewhat unnerving to walk through.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_6941e30b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_6941e30b
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_6941e30b
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_6977c45e
type
Purple Prose
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_6977c45e
comment
Purple Prose: The narrator does tend to speak in rather flowery language. Some critics pointed this out in reviews.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_6977c45e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_6977c45e
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_6977c45e
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_6d332aea
type
Driven to Suicide
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_6d332aea
comment
Driven to Suicide: Seeking freedom from this world of guilt and grief while also hoping for a reunion with his beloved Esther, the protagonist jumps off the beacon at the end.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_6d332aea
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_6d332aea
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_6d332aea
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_7464705c
type
Arc Words
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_7464705c
comment
Arc Words: "Damascus". More subtly, "come back".
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_7464705c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_7464705c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_7464705c
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_82accf22
type
Gainax Ending
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_82accf22
comment
Gainax Ending: The ending is as mysterious in its resolution as the island is in its exploration.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_82accf22
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_82accf22
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_82accf22
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_82e4ab4a
type
Unbroken First-Person Perspective
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_82e4ab4a
comment
Unbroken First-Person Perspective: The game never seems to break from the perspective of the player character, although it gets a bit strange at the end of the game when he leaps off a high tower and then appears to turn into a bird, or something. It's pretty weird.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_82e4ab4a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_82e4ab4a
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_82e4ab4a
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_8bfe8aea
type
Creepy Cave
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_8bfe8aea
comment
Creepy Cave: The protagonist descends ever deeper into a series of increasingly dark, creepy caves, all meant to reflect his distraught emotional state.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_8bfe8aea
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_8bfe8aea
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_8bfe8aea
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_9203bf6
type
Arc Number
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_9203bf6
comment
Arc Number: 21. There are twenty-one connections in the circuit diagram of the anti-lock brakes. There are twenty-one species of gull inhabiting these islands. It is twenty-one miles between the Sandford junction and the turn off for home. The number of times the narrator drove the M5 motorway, looking for signs of the accident. The number of days that passed before Donnelly's body was opened up by medical students. It took twenty-one minutes for rescue vehicles to arrive at the scene. It took twenty-one attempts to revive Paul. The number of minutes the narrator watches the aircraft vapour trails. The number of paper boats that split up into the ocean. The Hebrew alphanumeric representation of the number 21 has been painted onto several walls all over the island. Related to this, 22 seems to represent closure: The narrator drove the motorway 21 times, meaning the 22nd journey would have been the journey back home (it's unclear whether he took it or whether he just never went home). The 22nd letter — the one whose text the player implicitly hears — is the last one written, folded into an aeroplane instead of a boat. Several references to the Biblical book of Acts, Chapter 22 are painted on walls all over the island. Acts 22 describes the famous "Road to Damascus" ephiphany of St Paul — an epiphany like the one the narrator craves, to the point of calling the island his own "Damascus".
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_9203bf6
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_9203bf6
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_9203bf6
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_94d0eb61
type
Lighthouse Point
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_94d0eb61
comment
Lighthouse Point: You start out near one.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_94d0eb61
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_94d0eb61
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_94d0eb61
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_98e87f7
type
Sinister Silhouettes
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_98e87f7
comment
Sinister Silhouettes: Every now and then, you'll see a shadowy figure standing or walking around in the distance. If you're quick enough, you can run right up to them, but they won't respond to you and will sometimes even vanish instantly.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_98e87f7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_98e87f7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_98e87f7
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_a456a8a9
type
Randomly Generated Levels
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_a456a8a9
comment
Randomly Generated Levels: Subtly done. In every new playthrough, some objects and elements will appear in different locations and bits of the narration will change. The biggest change from playthrough to playthrough is how Esther died. In some tellings, the narrator himself was the drunk, and Paul an innocent bystander, making the narrator filled with self-loathing. In others, Paul was not intoxicated, and the narrator bemoans fate and the happenstance that led to it. In others again, Paul was intoxicated, and the narrator comes to terms with Esther's death. And in yet others, it is implied that Esther was pregnant when she died.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_a456a8a9
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_a456a8a9
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_a456a8a9
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_afbf2c80
type
Story Breadcrumbs
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_afbf2c80
comment
Story Breadcrumbs: A deliberate choice for the game structure, related through sporadic and semi-random narration. The developers said later in presentations that they felt being sparse with specifics and only giving them sporadically helped make Dear Esther a much more engaging narrative, teasing the player's speculation to get them to invest more of themselves in what story they do parse.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_afbf2c80
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_afbf2c80
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_afbf2c80
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_bbdf5f31
type
Everyone Is Related
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_bbdf5f31
comment
Everyone Is Related: Several lines refer to Esther Donnelly and Paul Jakobsen. However, much like with everything in the game, it can't definitively be said if this is the case.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_bbdf5f31
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_bbdf5f31
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_bbdf5f31
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_bef696dd
type
Mind Screw
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_bef696dd
comment
Mind Screw: What makes it even harder to tell what happens is that the basic events of the story change depending on the playthrough. Even with such simple matters as how the narrator reached the island; sometimes he is a willing hermit, seeking solace, where in others he is a sailor who has been marooned. And at times, the line between the player character and the narrator blurs — are you someone tracing the footsteps of that hermit, or are you rambling as you go on?
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_bef696dd
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_bef696dd
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_bef696dd
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_bf60ca50
type
Hollywood Torches
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_bf60ca50
comment
Hollywood Torches: All candles on the island are burning, no matter the amount wind they are exposed to.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_bf60ca50
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_bf60ca50
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_bf60ca50
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_c0d3d3fd
type
Border Patrol
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_c0d3d3fd
comment
Border Patrol: "Come back. Come back. Come back."
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_c0d3d3fd
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_c0d3d3fd
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1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_c0d3d3fd
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_c4b8e2ae
type
One-Woman Wail
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_c4b8e2ae
comment
One-Woman Wail: Some of the music pieces, for example the one in the cave near the waterfalls.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_c4b8e2ae
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_c4b8e2ae
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_c4b8e2ae
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_c8f98eb5
type
Ontological Mystery
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_c8f98eb5
comment
Ontological Mystery: Why are you visiting this island? Who is the narrator? Who is Esther? Who built the mast? Who painted all these molecules and messages on these surfaces? Is the island real or is it a dream? The game constantly prompts all these questions and never quite gives concrete answers.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_c8f98eb5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_c8f98eb5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_c8f98eb5
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_ccb2a89c
type
Melancholy Moon
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_ccb2a89c
comment
Melancholy Moon: The full moon in the last chapter adds to the gloomy atmosphere.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_ccb2a89c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_ccb2a89c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_ccb2a89c
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_cdfe12c3
type
Nothing Is Scarier
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_cdfe12c3
comment
Nothing Is Scarier: Not exactly a horror game, but the lack of enemies and activity serve to make the island very haunting. The creepy music in the caves doesn't help much.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_cdfe12c3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_cdfe12c3
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_cdfe12c3
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_d4fce3d7
type
Visual Novel
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_d4fce3d7
comment
Visual Novel: The game is somewhat similar to a Visual Novel in terms of gameplay density, as stated above.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_d4fce3d7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_d4fce3d7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_d4fce3d7
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_dae59ff8
type
Empty Room Psych
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_dae59ff8
comment
Empty Room Psych: If you're expecting traditional game mechanics, the game becomes a series of dozens of these.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_dae59ff8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_dae59ff8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_dae59ff8
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_e0aed924
type
No Antagonist
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_e0aed924
comment
No Antagonist: The story concerns a single man's attempts to come to terms with a terrible event in his past. He is the only person on the island and even the event that drove him to solitude was just a tragic accident.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_e0aed924
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_e0aed924
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_e0aed924
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_e3c97e7a
type
Story to Gameplay Ratio
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_e3c97e7a
comment
Story to Gameplay Ratio: On the highest end of the story side of the scale, near the Visual Novel genre.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_e3c97e7a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_e3c97e7a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_e3c97e7a
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_e567510d
type
Determinator
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_e567510d
comment
Determinator: The narrator forces himself to continue his journey despite fracturing his leg and having it become infected, using willpower and a lot of painkillers.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_e567510d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_e567510d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_e567510d
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_ea85d6ea
type
All Just a Dream
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_ea85d6ea
comment
All Just a Dream / Or Was It a Dream?: In the director's commentary the creators said they wanted to leave it deliberately ambiguous whether the game is actually happening and whether the island is even a real place, or whether it's all in the protagonist's head.
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_ea85d6ea
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_ea85d6ea
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_ea85d6ea
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_name
type
ItemName
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_name
comment
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_name
 Dear Esther (Video Game) / int_name
itemName
Dear Esther (Video Game)

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Harshly Critical (Lets Play)
seeAlso
Dear Esther (Video Game)
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Border Patrol / int_c071d334
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hasFeature
Bottle Episode / int_c071d334
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
British Video Games / int_c071d334
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Cassette Craze / int_c071d334
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Circle of Standing Stones / int_c071d334
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Creepy Cave / int_c071d334
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Environmental Narrative Game / int_c071d334
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Epistolary Novel / int_c071d334
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
From Clones to Genre / int_c071d334
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Indie Game / int_c071d334
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Purple Prose / int_c071d334
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Speech-Centric Work / int_c071d334
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Story Breadcrumbs / int_c071d334
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Unbroken First-Person Perspective / int_c071d334
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Underground Level / int_c071d334
 Dear Esther (Video Game)
hasFeature
Video Games of 2005–2009 / int_c071d334
 Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Video Game)
seeAlso
Dear Esther (Video Game)