Dear Esther Coming to Console in September With Graphical Tweaks, Commentary Track

Dear Esther, the acclaimed narrative-driven exploration title from The Chinese Room, will be available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One from September 20, publisher Curve Digital has announced. It will be priced at £7.99/$9.99.

The game was released on PC in 2012, and the console version is being called Dear Esther: Landmark Edition. Along with the new name, it will have director's commentary, in which developers Jessica Curry, Dan Pinchbeck, and Rob Briscoe "unite for the first time in years, reacquainting themselves with the game which made the studio a global name."

It will also feature "graphical and gameplay tweaks which finesse the experience on consoles."

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Dear Esther: Landmark Edition's release is the start of a month-long celebration of the game, which also includes an event hosted by The Guardian on September 30, in which Pinchbeck and Curry will discuss Dear Esther's journey from Half-Life mod to a full console release. Tickets are available here.

On October 14, The Barbican will host a live performance of the game's soundtrack. A live orchestra will accompany an on-stage playthrough and narration. You can get tickets to that here.

In GameSpot's Dear Esther review, Maxwell McGee awarded the game an 8/10, saying it is "a fine companion to a stormy evening and a hot beverage."

He continued: In the right setting, with the right mindset, it can be engrossing in a way that few games can. Going in, you may question if Dear Esther should even be classified as a game. But that question slowly fades the more hours you sink into this adventure. Instead, you question the existence of your character and the fate of the island, showing that semantic inquiries aren't nearly as interesting as a well-told tale."

Since the launch of Dear Esther, The Chinese Room has released a sequel to horror game Amnesia and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture.