For gamers like us, the regular kill and grind can get old. Utilizing the Source engine, Dear Esther — a new adventure/exploration title from developers thechineseroom — combines beautiful visuals with an abstract and poetic story, abandoning traditional gameplay elements and instead focusing on a rich atmosphere. Originally, the game was released as a mod for Half-Life 2 in 2008, but experienced radical changes in development as Robert Briscoe came on board.

Though there’s few real details available for the complete Dear Esther release, we know that it will be released on Steam on the 14th of February 2012. Furthermore, it will be $9.99. Given that some description of the actual story is in order, let’s let the developers do what they do best… confuse the shit out of us:

“Dear Esther is a ghost story,told using first-person gaming technologies. Rather than traditional game-play the focus here is on exploration,uncovering the mystery of the island,of who you are and why you are here. Fragments of story are randomly uncovered when exploring the various locations of the island,making every each journey a unique experience. Dear Esther features a stunning,specially commissioned soundtrack from Jessica Curry.

Forget the normal rules of play;if nothing seems real here,it’s because it may just be all a delusion. What is the significance of the aerial — What happened on the motorway — is the island real or imagined — who is Esther and why has she chosen to summon you here? The answers are out there,on the lost beach and the tunnels under the island. Or then again, they may just not be, after all…”

We’ll keep an eye out for Dear Esther and let you know when it’s coming out. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer!

[Dear Esther]

Trailer:

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DIYGamer Holiday Give Away! For each and every article we post we’re giving away an indie game.

This article’s game is Star Sky for the PC (code is redeemable here), by Marten Jonsson!

Leave a meaningful comment below to enter into the drawing.