Dear Esther vs Gone Home
Dear Esther
Dear Esther is one of the few rare games that managed to evoke strong powerful emotions simply with beautiful visuals, euphonious instrumentals, and an immersive and narrated story filled with love, loss, guilt and redemption. Previously a cult mod, the game sends you on a journey of exploration and self-reflection as you explore a remote and uninhabited island in the outskirts of Hebrides where apparently a mysterious Esther has summoned you here.The best part about all of this though is that the game is, unlike most heavily story-driven games, very replayable. Every play-through will give you a new experience as the audio, visuals and even the events that happen are all randomly generated. So, if you enjoy story rich games, Dear Esther is a game that will unequivocally captivate you.
Gone Home
Gone Home is a story-rich, point-and-click adventure game where you find your childhood home devoid of life after returning from a year abroad. The mystery of it all sets you off on an investigate mode as you examine clues and uncover what had happened to your family using what they have left behind. The storyline you'll gradually reveal is both heartwarming and incredibly relatable as it touches on a family's struggle with uncertainty, heartache and change.Being a point-and-click adventure, this game doesn't have any puzzles to challenge you or intruders who will attack you on sight. There isn't anything supernatural about the whole event so there's no need to fear looking behind your back or into a mirror. All you need to do is to find and collect clues, and eventually piece together the story of what had happened to your family while you were away.
This is definitely the sort of game that a fan of story-rich games would love. The entire game's premise is centered around its storyline and hence, it's as good as it gets.