100 Word Review - #T26 - Dear Esther

As a book, it probably would've been pretty decent.

Dear Esther

Genre - Adventure, Indie, Casual

Metascore - 77%

Developer - thechineseroom, Robert Briscoe

Other Games by Developer - N/A

Tom's Playtime -  1.3 hours

I'm receptive to the idea of games as art, however Dear Esther seems to forget about the idea of games as games. The modus operandi here is simply on-foot navigation around an island while the protagonist narrates to you. Very little happens in Dear Esther and it was tedious to reach completion, but along the way I found merits in the eloquent writing style and a few environments which would give Skyrim competition. These merits do not detract from the non-existent “gameplay” that Dear Esther attempts to provide and, while better than Dinner Date, it too is ultimately forgettable.

Tom's Score - 3/10

100 Word Review - #T11 - Dinner Date

This is about as exciting as it gets.

Dinner Date

Genre – Casual, Indie

Metascore – N/A

Developer – Stout Games

Other Games by Developer – N/A

Tom's Current Playtime – 0.4 hours

I've played some very strange games in my time but I don't think I'll ever come across one as strange as 'Dinner Date'. In 'Dinner Date', you play a neurotic and shallow man who has set up a nice dinner for a lady who never turns up. The entirety of the 15 minute-long game is spent agitatedly going about the dinner alone while listening to the delusional thoughts of a man who undoubtedly deserves a punch in the face. 'Dinner Date' was very confusing, not very engaging and hardly qualifies as a “game.” Glad I didn't pay for it.

Tom's Score – 2/10