Dear Esther vs Inside
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.
Inside
Inside is 2.5D-like, atmospheric puzzle/platformer where you play as a young boy trapped within a dark project that pushes the human body within the limitations of physics. Being a puzzle game, Inside has some of the most intriguing ones. The goals are often vaguely known rather than being concretely defined by the game, and of course, every aspect of the puzzle is built to push your use and understanding of the game mechanics and your character's (limited) abilities as a boy. Interestingly, there are a lot of water levels for a platformer game, but these levels somehow managed to feel relevant to the overall storyline and spices up the gameplay.Although many have openly criticize the ending of the game, the overall feeling that is evoked by it seems perfect for a game as dark and as unsetlling as this one. If you're ready for a puzzle-platform game that will challenge your brain while at the same time bring out strong emotions, this is the game to play.