Dear Esther: Landmark Edition on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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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.
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition is a walking simulator, exploration and interactive fiction game
developed by The Chinese Room and Robert Briscoe
and published by Secret Mode.
Released on February 14th 2017 is available on Windows and MacOS
in 5 languages: English, French, German, Spanish - Spain and Russian.
It has received 6,849 reviews of which 5,103 were positive and 1,746 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.3 out of 10. 😊
The game is currently priced at 9.99€ on Steam, but you can find it for less on Instant Gaming.
The Steam community has classified Dear Esther: Landmark Edition into these genres:
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System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *: Windows XP/Vista/7/8/8.1/10
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 (2 * 2400), AMD Athlon X2 4200+ (2 * 2200) or equivalent
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 7600GT (256 MB), AMD Radeon X1600 XT (256 MB)
- Storage: 2 GB available space
MacOS
- OS: 10.7.5 - 10.12.1
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (2 * 2260) or equivalent
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9400 (256 MB)
- Storage: 2 GB available space
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
100% Achievement Review: A quick review based on my experience completing all the (available) achievements. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45897386/] Feel free to follow my curator for more 100% reviews! Title: Dear Esther Landmark Edition Summary: Interactive story game Personal notes: Dear Esther is a short yet fun and unique game that essentially created the "walking sim" genre. The story itself is very up to interpretation and I honestly think you should experience it first hand instead of listening to my experience with it. That being said you are stuck on this seemingly deserted island covered with mysteries and events from the past. The world and sound design are very well done especially considering this started off as a Half-life 2 mod. I also really like the inclusion of randomly generated events and audio to make each play-through slightly different from the last. This also creates different overall experiences for different players which is pretty cool. The inclusion of a directors commentary option was also a nice touch, hearing the stories of the developers while playing through the game was pretty cool on my second play-through. Achievement wise this game is pretty easy. Most are story related with a couple being a little out of the way. I listed the ones below that might be missed but if you know what you are looking for, such as hidden urns, you can finish this game in a few hours. With all that in mind, Dear Esther is a short unique adventure that I would highly recommend for the price. With that being said I would only recommend it to people who are cool with a slow burn as this game is exactly that. (Be ready to walk) Time it took to complete: 4hrs Most difficult achievement(s): - Seanchaidh (trigger all voice over points) - Tuir (Uncover 4 urns) - Mullach an Eilein (Trigger all director's commentary) Difficulty rating: ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ 2/10 Overall rating: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 6/10
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This game is very important to me - it came to me at a time when I needed solace, and something in the story spoke to me at a deep level. Notes: * This is the epitome of "walking simulator." It is closer to a visual novella or digital art than what many would define as a game. This is also an early iteration of the artform, so if you see this and think "Stanley's Parable," you would need to dial it back a few years in terms of features. You will quite literally *only* walk in this game and listen to the soundscape, music, narration, and take in the (now dated) sights. For those unwilling to sit through that, you can watch a playthrough, although that will not net you the full experience, as I will discuss in further notes below: * Randomization - There is some degree of randomization to the narration. There are different voice lines available for most (all?) of the script triggers, as well as some of the props you will find scattered about. For example, at a cliff's bottom, you may find a suitcase, or instead you may find many copies of the same book. I don't expect many people will play through the game several times to experience the differences, but the story makes a lot more sense when you do. * Story/Narration - The story is scattered by the vehicle the story is delivered in. The conceit of the story is a man who has become obsessed after the death of his partner, finding meaning, synchronicity, connections, in everything, for instance, in a specific number, in a chemical diagram, in the electrical circuits of a failing brake mechanism, in the parallels between his experiences and the experiences of an explorer who once explored the island you are now walking as well as between the narrator and the Biblical story of Paul. If that sounds complicated, well yeah, and that's barely a tithe of the connections and synchronicity here. Our narrator is himself nearly out of his mind, talking about other people who were also nearly out of their minds. There's a lot in there, and the game leaves little for you to do but stretch your brain to fill the gaps while taking in the ambience. In this way, the story feels very heartfelt, sincere, it strives to connect the dots of grief in a way that we don't see often in the gaming genre of art. If I recall right, this is writing done by the Chinese Room, very eloquent - if you've played Amnesia: Machine for Pigs, it is a somewhat similar style in terms of writing. * Ambience/music - The soundscape is a highlight of this game. It far surpasses the graphics in 2025, but at any rate Jessica Curry did a fantastic job with the soundtrack, and the sound of wind in your ears, the shore, the occasional bird, it's all quite gorgeous. I still have the soundtrack saved on Spotify 12 years after I first played it. Standout tracks are Twenty One, and I Have Begun My Ascent, as well as Moon in My Palm, and Ascension. This is a very moody sort of game, a bit eerie in places, which is fitting for our grieving protagonist. * Graphics - Yeah, this is pretty dated. You should not go in expecting modern graphics. They weren't necessarily super impressive at the time it was released, I'm afraid. The art design does a lot of heavy lifting though, especially in the final two chapters, the final ascent and the caves are very pretty even today, and enjoyable to look at even though the textures are not up to today's standards. This is an unfortunate reality of digital art, but the nice thing is that you can play it with a much nicer framerate than you once could, which is nice. I say that with no disrespect to the artwork, to be clear - someone clearly spent a lot of effort on it, and for what this is trying to do, it does still hold up, it's just that someday I'd like to see a true remaster in a superior engine for more fidelity. * Length - Can be completed in around 45 minutes - 2 hours max. Can be replayed as I mentioned. Many may play once and be done. Others may revisit from time to time as I do. Keep in mind that for what this game is, a longer game would likely outstay its welcome. This is short, and should be. * Conclusions: I tend to play this game as a bit of a "spiritual refresher." When I am run-down in life and struggling, sometimes it helps to boot this up and run through it, maybe once every year or so. I feel that there is something sincere here to enjoy, and that others may identify with it as deeply as I do. I would only recommend it to the kind of person who enjoys this kind of thing, but for myself, and people similar to myself, I think it is a very worthwhile bit of art to appreciate, and I hope others do find some appreciation for it in the coming years. Cheers! <3
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The negative reviews confuse me. It seems like the world has gone mad with unspoken and unmet expectations. The "game" is beautiful for what it is. It has no action button, no jump, no sprint, no crouch. The player doesn't interact with the game, the game interacts with the player. If your mind is closed, how will ideas get in?
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So this game is a remake of a remake of a mod for Half Life 2 😵💫 But what a mod it was! Not every mod that start a totally new genre of games. And that is what was to be called 'walking simulators'. Some hate them, some love them. I'm more on the love side 💙 So what's the game about? Well you play it and tell me 😄 The game is purposely vague and let the player figure things out for themselves. So it's more of an art-experience then your typical game. And I love it for it because it's still a game whatever people has to say about it. You make inputs and the game reacts, ergo it's a game. And what an experience it is. But I have to warn that it's an melancholic experience. If you listen to the absolutely amazing soundtrack by Jessica Curry (which was her first video game soundtrack) you can hear the morose atmosphere it contains. I'd say if you just like beautiful but sad piano and string music you can just listen to the soundtrack without ever playing the game. It's that good if you like that sort of thing. Just take a listen if you so will 🙂 But you'd miss out on a beautiful game experience and a perfect narration from the actor Nigel Carrington. One of the reasons why I love it it's because it's set on a small island in the Hebrides. And it reminds me so much about my home, for the last 13 years, up here on this island in the Northern Norwegian Sea. It is a majestic and brutal beauty out here with sullen winds as caresses. I played this 10 years ago and I was emotionally moved. I played just recently again and I was moved again. I'd fully recommend this experience. And considering it only takes like an hour to experience it won't keep you for long but maybe some of it's ideas will hold you for some time.
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This would have been a great game to play when it was new. Walking sims have come a long way since then but they do have games like Dear Esther to thank for their current success. Worth a play through for the sake of being a piece of video game history.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition is currently priced at 9.99€ on Steam.
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 9.99€ on Steam.
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition received 5,103 positive votes out of a total of 6,849 achieving a rating of 7.28.
😊
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition was developed by The Chinese Room and Robert Briscoe and published by Secret Mode.
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition is playable and fully supported on MacOS.
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition is not playable on Linux.
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition is a single-player game.
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition does not currently offer any DLC.
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition supports Remote Play on TV. Discover more about Steam Remote Play.
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Dear Esther: Landmark Edition.
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Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 27 January 2026 03:23 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 26 January 2026 04:58 |
| Steam price | 28 January 2026 20:45 |
| Steam reviews | 27 January 2026 15:55 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Dear Esther: Landmark Edition, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Dear Esther: Landmark Edition
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Dear Esther: Landmark Edition concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Dear Esther: Landmark Edition compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
4
Developer
The Chinese Room,
Robert Briscoe
Publisher
Secret Mode
Release
14 Feb 2017
Platforms
Remote Play
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