When comparing To The Moon vs Dear Esther, the Slant community recommends To The Moon for most people. In the question“What are the best games on Steam with a rich story?” To The Moon is ranked 4th while Dear Esther is ranked 78th. The most important reason people chose To The Moon is:
The main story is actually told backwards, ala the movie Memento. While not the most original concept, still a cool way to tell a story. In the end there is quite the happy ending that will result in many tears being shed.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Cute story told backwards with an unexpected happy ending
The main story is actually told backwards, ala the movie Memento. While not the most original concept, still a cool way to tell a story. In the end there is quite the happy ending that will result in many tears being shed.
Pro Well written characters
As the story progresses the characters attitudes and emotions change in response to the ever evolving story. This makes fro what is a very well written game that makes the story and characters seem genuinely real.
Pro Narrative driven experience
There are no waypoint markers, no quests, in fact nobody else in this world except the player and the narrator. Hike through the world and discover the inner workings of this person’s mind.
Pro Pervasive sense of isolation, loneliness, and mystery
The game takes place on an abandoned island, so in a practical sense the player is alone. Add to that that this is a bit of a ghost story and mystery becomes enwrapped within the isolation of the island making for what is as much of an experience as it is a game that makes for a feeling and sense of loneliness and despair that often is only found in real life.
Pro Can be relaxing
Just sit back, relax, and spend some time with Dear Esther. The experience isn’t long and there’s no pressure to go past the pace you want to go. While it does have a sense of loneliness and isolation the graphics are beautiful and the music is soothing which also lends a hand in the relaxedness of the title.
Pro Gorgeous, intricately detailed environments
There is no arguing that the scenery and graphics in Dear Esther is jaw dropping gorgeous. Due to how nothing can be interacted with the environment can be rendered in a much more beautiful way as not much needs to change while walking around.
Pro Outstanding soundtrack
The soundtrack is hauntingly beautiful which suits the games visual atmosphere quite well.
Cons
Con Gameplay is lackluster
The actual gameplay of the game consists of tile flipping and a few other mini type games.
Con Too short
Averaging play at around 4 hours to complete the game is quite short, good thing there are a bunch of free DLCs released that extend the gameplay.
Con Short gameplay
Only about 90 minutes to two hours long which is pretty short for a game and can easily be finished in a single sitting.