I played the original Dear Esther a few years ago, early in my FPS days. It really scared me. More so even than Portal did.
I was hesitant about buy the new version because I was sceptical that it would have any effect a second time, even with fancy graphics. Then I played the demo on OnLive and was convinced that the fancy graphics are pretty enough to be worth playing.
It still worked. Even knowing what was coming. Even with my house-mates Ben and Nick watching over my shoulder. Even with my graphics card overheating and crashing half way through. It still got me. The masterful audio cues, the stark beauty of the island and the distant, ghostly silhouettes still got me.
Dear Esther is not very interactive, but it is a masterpiece of atmosphere and mystery, as it was before. Now it is also really pretty. Definitely worth £6.99, even though it only lasts an hour and a half.
Oh and the ending is a bit of a let down. Alec Meer explains why better than I can, though you should play it before you read that.
Here's a place to post cool things I happen upon so I don't spam up twitter with links. I might write stuff occasionally, who knows?
