Dear Esther

 
Dear Esther isn't a game, it is a freely experienced narrative. Similar to the reading of a book, you tackle the story at your own pace. Walking and listening are the main objectives and to progress you must walk forward. On paper, this concept doesn't seem particularly captivating or successful. The experience seems similar to that of listening to an e-book. However, I think it is a lot more successful than that.

What makes Dear Esther so captivating is the narrative itself. The narrative drives the game, and it has to. What else does the game have to offer? However it draws in the audience so well that you feel you don't need to do anything other than listen, walk in apprehension for the next part of the story and listen again.

The story isn't particularly happy and it isn't particularly sad either. You begin by waking up on a beach in search of answers. These answers are given to you in vague yet compelling journal-esque lines read by an even more compelling voice. You listen for those moments which indicate the nature of the story and the man relating it in quiet suspense. Until it all ends and every scrap of dialogue falls into place. Overall the experience isn't very long, but it is one of the best examples of story telling in video games.