Here, fancy a quick trip out? Check out some old ruins, maybe stop by that house by the stream? It's a gorgeous day out, might even see some elk if we pass through the forest. We can be back in about 40 minutes or so. You're in? Brill, pack your lamp and camera and lets head off too Esothe.
Esothe is a short, free little exploration game by mort-art, and incredibly, no-one else. It's the work of just one person over only one month. There are games with budgets in the millions that don't look as good as these rolling hills, a painterly blend of Greek coasts and English countryside.
Understandably, the game's not quite as expansive as that header screenshot might suggest, but you'd never know by looking at it. Usually the line between playable area and unreachable scenary is pretty solid, but the tricks employed here sold the illusion in a way I don't think any other game has managed for me before. I'm certainly glad for the game's decision not to have any UI elements, because every step and turn of the camera has me taking a new screenshot. Again, one month. Wild.
As far as what you actually do in Esothe, it's a very chill experience. After a brief walk through a valley and an especially daring jump into some spooky ruins, your bomber-jacket clad explorer lady comes across an 8 pronged structure with slots for some Big Ol' Balls. And so your hunt for Big Balls begins, and it's a breezier hunt than you'd expect. I never found myself in that godawful situation where you've searched everywhere you can think of and are just rubbing yourself against more and more obscure locations hoping to come across something you've missed.
There are a few easily forgivable quibbles to be found, some very obvious invisible walls break the aformentioned illusion of scale a little bit too harshly, and when your only real form of interaction with the world is jumping, you see a lot of very similar hurdles. And while it manages fine enough, it's not quite as good at subtle direction as say, a Fromsoft game, struggling to draw your eye towards important things, like the exit of a "dungeon". But that stuff fades away quickly, while the lovingly crafted environments will stick with you for much longer. There's nothing unforgivable considering the rather svelte dev team.
Esothe's a lovely way to lose 40 minutes this Easter season. Go ahead, bob it on your laptop, grab a glass of wine or something, whatever's your pleasure, and sit outside in the shade for a bit. You've earned it!
Understandably, the game's not quite as expansive as that header screenshot might suggest, but you'd never know by looking at it. Usually the line between playable area and unreachable scenary is pretty solid, but the tricks employed here sold the illusion in a way I don't think any other game has managed for me before. I'm certainly glad for the game's decision not to have any UI elements, because every step and turn of the camera has me taking a new screenshot. Again, one month. Wild.
As far as what you actually do in Esothe, it's a very chill experience. After a brief walk through a valley and an especially daring jump into some spooky ruins, your bomber-jacket clad explorer lady comes across an 8 pronged structure with slots for some Big Ol' Balls. And so your hunt for Big Balls begins, and it's a breezier hunt than you'd expect. I never found myself in that godawful situation where you've searched everywhere you can think of and are just rubbing yourself against more and more obscure locations hoping to come across something you've missed.
There are a few easily forgivable quibbles to be found, some very obvious invisible walls break the aformentioned illusion of scale a little bit too harshly, and when your only real form of interaction with the world is jumping, you see a lot of very similar hurdles. And while it manages fine enough, it's not quite as good at subtle direction as say, a Fromsoft game, struggling to draw your eye towards important things, like the exit of a "dungeon". But that stuff fades away quickly, while the lovingly crafted environments will stick with you for much longer. There's nothing unforgivable considering the rather svelte dev team.
Esothe's a lovely way to lose 40 minutes this Easter season. Go ahead, bob it on your laptop, grab a glass of wine or something, whatever's your pleasure, and sit outside in the shade for a bit. You've earned it!
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