Dear Esther

With great graphics, beautiful scenery, and haunting music, many players should be captivated. However, this game is not for everyone. Some even say that it is not a game. Here, there are no puzzles, combat, or non-player characters. Instead, the player explores the beaches, caves, and countryside of an unnamed island, as a mysterious narrator reads random letters to Esther, his deceased wife. Though it is combat free, Dear Esther is not for little kids. The themes, which include loss, love, depression, remorse, and possibly suicide, are very mature. There is no actual violence or blood depicted, but the letters reference that Esther was killed by a drunk driver. The narrator discusses kidney stones, infections, and a broken femur in his letters. *SPOILERS* There is a scene where the player has a fantasy involving the incident of Esther's death, which can show cars that have collided or a vehicle with an IV drip. However, the fantasy does not show people. The ending is also sad. The player commits suicide by jumping off a radio tower. *SPOILERS END HERE* There is minor sexual content, which is mentions of a character dying of syphilis, but the time he contracted syphilis is not described. Before letting your kids play this, you may want to have a talk about STD's, especially syphilis. There is no language. However, there is talk of death by a collision with a drunk driver, and a character works at a pharmaceutical company. Syringes can be seen, but not used. This game can trigger conversations about drinking and driving. Parents should also know that this game has a slight creep factor, such a dark, cloudy skies, mysterious, ghostly figures that can be seen in the distance, and a red flashing beacon that the player eventually approaches. However, kids that can handle the Five Nights at Freddy's series can handle the creep factor here. The controls are very simple: WASD to walk around, f6 to save, and f7 to teleport to your last location that you saved at. Most mature 12 and 13 year old's should be able to handle this, but you may want to wait until they are 14. 5 stars.