I remember the days when Dear Esther first launched; the firestorm of controversy and the raging debates of "what is a game actually?". As if answering what is and isn't an interactive experience makes the games industry better in some way. All of which seems silly this many years removed.

The answer, of course, is that it doesn't matter. Just as who is and isn't a "true" gamer doesn't matter. (Though on that one, anyone that plays any game is a gamer). Dear Esther would go on to inspire the creation of many games, some of which are a favorite of mine. So, if you don't like it, you can at least admit it was influential.

My opinion is that this genre should be called Journey Experiences. Certainly less derisive than Walking Simulators tend to be. A genre tag that is inaccurate to begin with, pressing WASD isn't simulating anything. If that is indeed all it takes to be a simulator, then your favorite FPS is also a walking simulator. There's another game out there that seems to be an actual walking simulator but that's a review for another time.

Dear Esther strays a bit too pretentious for my liking but I can't deny that there is an excellent crafting to the story here. In an age of maps being randomly generated and pieced together, stories told in fragmented and meaningless ways, experiencing a lonely island with intention feels like a breath of fresh air. And the story's melancholy works well. The soundtrack and sound editing is excellent and haunting. Can't believe I'm saying it, but yeah, Dear Esther still holds up.