This game is art. Yep, I went there. Art as I define it anyway. I believe proper art asks questions, but doesn't tell the answers. And Dear Esther met that criteria with gusto.
Well put. I played through the Landmark edition back in October and as soon as I completed the game, searched for and read as many commentary pieces as I could find to compare my thoughts. That is a good indicator the game was effective in its storytelling goals.
I have no interest in going back for the director's commentary (or to grab the 1 or 2 achievements I missed) however. Once the initial exploration and introspection is complete, it's over.
This game is art. Yep, I went there. Art as I define it anyway. I believe proper art asks questions, but doesn't tell the answers. And Dear Esther met that criteria with gusto.
Well put. I played through the Landmark edition back in October and as soon as I completed the game, searched for and read as many commentary pieces as I could find to compare my thoughts. That is a good indicator the game was effective in its storytelling goals.
I have no interest in going back for the director's commentary (or to grab the 1 or 2 achievements I missed) however. Once the initial exploration and introspection is complete, it's over.
I've got a PS4 copy in the mail from Limited Run. After reading that review, I'm excited to experience it for myself.
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.
A few thoughts on some of the things Ex has been writing about...
-I spent a boatload of hours with LUCT on the PSP several years ago and got up to the last "run" in the Hanging Gardens/Eden and despite having sunk many, many hours into the game and having done many of the optional/grindy things, I was disappointed to find that I was still not in good shape to do the final run. I tried to go back to it a year later, and then another year or two after that (after transferring saves and downloading the game for my Vita), but I had forgotten so many of the intricate systems that I felt totally lost and even more inept than I did when I was playing it seriously. I remember asking for help then, to no avail
-Dear Esther made me cry It is now required playing for my college students in the video games class I teach. Ex, have you played "Everyone's Gone to the Rapture?" It is their follow up title, and is a worthy successor in many ways - it both lags behind and surpasses Esther in different ways.
dsheinem wrote:I had forgotten so many of the intricate systems that I felt totally lost and even more inept than I did when I was playing it seriously.
I understand where you're coming from. The end game is an unfair shit show. I was actually pretty reserved about TO:LUCT in my review here, out of respect for its fans. But if anyone wants to read a scathing (yet justifiable) review of TO:LUCT that really breaks the game down: http://www.tbstactics.com/2011/10/tacti ... r-psp.html (No I did not write that review.)
dsheinem wrote:Ex, have you played "Everyone's Gone to the Rapture?"
No, but I downloaded it yesterday. I also downloaded Firewatch, Virginia, The Stanley Parable, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, and Kholat. I think I've missed out on a significant nascent genre these past few years. Oops.
dsheinem wrote:Ex, have you played "Everyone's Gone to the Rapture?"
No, but I downloaded it yesterday. I also downloaded Firewatch, Virginia, The Stanley Parable, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, and Kholat. I think I've missed out on a significant nascent genre these past few years. Oops.
Of those, the only one I've played is Everyone's Gone to the Rapture, but that's a fantastic game. Not as good as Gone Home IMO, but damn good nonetheless.
Exhuminator wrote:Ecchi lords must unite for great justice.
MrPopo wrote:you also need certain awards / jobs typically need an award related to their functionality
Ah so this was this game's way of trying to get the player to play more strategically, gotcha.
I will forever remember the Priest class not being able to have more than a few kills. I had lost track and my main Priest ended up counterattacking to kill a boss forcing him out of the priesthood. The fight was an hour or so long and I barely won it so I did not want to run it again, so here I am super late in the game, starting up a new healer.
