Dear Esther/YMMV

• Alternate Character Interpretation
• Epileptic Trees: By its very nature, it's designed to make you question just what is going on.
• Faux Symbolism: Lengthy Biblical references, Arc Numbers, drawings of molecular structures on the walls of the caves. What do any of these mean? Good question.
• Genius Bonus: The images on the walls and bluffs. Some of the chemical formulae are ethyl alcohol and dopamine and at least one of the electrical diagrams is for anti-lock brakes. The writing on the walls is a reference to the biblical story of Paul's journey to (and conversion at) Damascus.
  • There's also a golden spiral on the beach. It's more or less unexplained.
  • Some of the drawings resemble sensory neurons.
• Sacred Cow: Fans can be excessively defensive, and critics can be excessively vicious.
• "Seinfeld" Is Unfunny: Dear Esther was one of the first so-called "walking simulators" to come out and get real traction as a critical and commercial success, and at the time was one of the games that gamers pointed to in the "are games art?" arguments of the late 2000's. Fast forward to now, and this game, and others with similar presentation, are looked upon with much less universal praise.
• Visual Effects of Awesome:
  • The island and the caves are quite shiny despite the age of the mod's Source Engine.
  • The 2012 retail remake takes this Up to Eleven.