Adventure · February 14, 2017

Dear Esther: Landmark Edition (2017)

trophy10 achievementslocal_offer-80% current discountgroup100k–1M ownersrecommend2.2k recommendations
'A deserted island... a lost man... memories of a fatal crash... a book written by a dying explorer.' Dear Esther immerses you in a stunningly realised world, a remote and desolate island somewhere in the outer Hebrides. As you step forwards, a voice begins to read fragments of a letter: 'Dear Esther...' - and so begins a journey through one of the most original first-person games of recent years. Abandoning traditional gameplay for a pure story-driven experience, Dear Esther fuses its beautiful environments with a breathtaking soundtrack to tell a powerful story of love, loss, guilt and redemption. Key features: Every play-through a unique experience, with randomly generated audio, visuals and events. Explore incredible environments that fully immerse you in the haunting island and its mysterious past. A poetic, semi-randomised story like you've never experienced in a game before. Stunning soundtrack composed by Jessica Curry, featuring world-class musicians. An uncompromisingly inventive game delivered to the highest AAA standards. Dear Esther: Landmark Edition has been remade with the Unity engine, featuring a full audio remaster, and the addition of a brand-new Directors' Commentary mode, allowing players to explore the island and learn what inspired the game and how it was crafted by The Chinese Room and Rob Briscoe.

Adventure releases from 2017

78 Adventure titles launched in 2017 — top 6 by review volume.

Community Tag Signals

Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.

  • Walking Simulator · 212
  • Exploration · 212
  • Interactive Fiction · 210
  • Puzzle · 201
  • First-Person · 166
  • Horror · 154
  • Psychological Horror · 153
  • Relaxing · 145
  • Linear · 141
  • Narration · 137
  • Open World · 129
  • Story Rich · 127
  • Atmospheric · 121
  • Casual · 121
  • Mystery · 112

Peer Adventure titles

Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.

Position in Adventure

MetricThis titleGenre position
Review volume6.8k Steam reviewsTop 35% in Adventure
Positive rating75% positiveGenre average: 87% — this title sits in top 90%
Metacritic68/100Genre average 77 — top 88% of Adventure titles
Engagement hours3 h averageTop 77% for session depth among Adventure

Reception Metrics

Steam community

75%Mostly Positive · 6.8k reviews

5.1k positive · 1.7k negative

Metacritic

68/100 critic aggregate

Metacritic user score

5.1/10

Curator recommendations

2.2k

Features & Capabilities

Community

  • Steam Achievements
  • Steam Cloud
  • Remote Play on TV

Input & Comfort

  • Full controller support

Other

  • Single-player
  • Commentary available
  • Family Sharing

Localization Coverage

Interface / Subtitles (5)

  • English volume_up
  • French
  • German
  • Spanish - Spain
  • Russian volume_up

Full audio (2)

  • English
  • Russian

Engagement Profile

All-time avg

3h

brief (under 5 hours)

Median

1h

Typical completion time

Achievements

10

Steam unlocks available

Release & Availability

Release dateFeb 14, 2017
DeveloperThe Chinese Room, Robert Briscoe
PublisherSecret Mode
Base price$1.99 -80%
PlatformsWindows, macOS
Estimated owners100k–1M
External linksOfficial site · Support

Editions & Packages

  • Buy Dear Esther: Landmark Edition