For me, Dear Esther set the standard for all other art games to aspire to — something that was emotionally chilling, and yet technically astounding. So when The Chinese Room announced Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, as a “spiritual successor” to Dear Esther, I was very excited. The question is, will The Chinese Room be able to beat, or even simply match Dear Esther?

One of the main criticisms at the time of Dear Esther was that it lacked much interactivity. And yes, whilst Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture does slightly expand on this (instead of just walking, you can also open doors and click on radios and computers, woah!) it doesn’t do so in such a meaningful way to be significant. Yet, for me, this isn’t necessarily a problem. As Matt Lees put it over on Cool Ghosts, “What’s wrong with a walk?”. The majority of your time inside of Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture will be spent walking.

Yet, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because in Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, the story isn’t about you. Instead, you are simply a passive observer, watching from start to finish, trying to figure out what happened in Yaughton, Shropshire, that caused everyone to simply, disappear. Much like Dear Esther — nothing is fully explicit when thinking about the larger story. Instead, you are given snippets of stories within the village. Guided by golden wisps, you watch different people’s reactions, working from the outside, in.

What Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture does brilliantly is ease you into the tale. Instead of simply following the main character, you begin by following the local vicar, Jeremy, as he deals with some of the beginnings of “the rapture”. Yet, as all good stories should do, The Chinese Room use the main plot in order to work in smaller sub plots. And it’s in these sub plots that The Chinese Room’s writing truly shines. They create believable characters, that perfectly slot into theses short stories, some of which are sadder than the main plot itself.

The best example of these sub plots is Wendy. Whilst she is the second story, we are first introduced to her in the first story, seeing her as an old lady that was particularly hard on the vicar. Yet, as we follow Wendy on her quest to find her son, you slowly begin empathise for her as simply a worried mother and sibling. Yet Wendy’s story also begins to wonderfully hint at the rapture and the larger story (in ways that are too spoilery to discuss).

So in its storytelling, Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture excels. Expertly voice acted and written lines help to compliment the game’s stunning environments. Yet the thing that holds Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture together, is the music. To me, Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture could be nearly as effective if you were reading subtitles in a badly textured world, as long as the music was still there.

Jessica Curry’s score is heartbreakingly stunning, a mixture of voice, strings and piano create such a bursting and vibrant atmosphere that helps to revive Yaughton from a static rural village to a place bursting with intrigue. Music is often one of the forgotten pieces of a game — usually an afterthought in analysis, yet Curry’s compositions remain at the forefront of Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, rising and soaring with each story beat.

And whilst I’ve praised Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, it is not without its faults. Whilst it hints at an environment where exploration is rewarded, Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture is a far better linear experience. It seems almost confused on whether it wants you to explore, or whether it wants you to follow its path. I would recommend the path. On my first attempt of playing through, I explored a lot more, and yet my exploration was never particularly rewarded. You only rarely find plot points by venturing off the path, which is understandable — whilst ambiguous, the plot works well when found in order.

However, what I was disappointed to find was a lack of environmental storytelling. Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture relies too heavily on its obvious plot, leaving the rest of its world often devoid of environmental story — perhaps due to the fact that most people simply disappeared. Yet at the points when The Chinese Room emphasise their plot through the environment, it truly shines.

Don’t let this put you off of Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture. If you enjoyed Dear Esther, or are looking for a game that pushes your expectations of what a game can be, then Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture is for you. It’s masterfully put together, expertly building on The Chinese Room’s strengths in order to create an experience that no other studio can offer.