Hey there, fellow gamers! Ready to dive into the mysterious and beautiful world of Dear Esther: Landmark Edition and snag every single achievement? You’ve come to the right place! This guide is your best buddy on this journey, helping you unlock all ten shiny accolades and truly experience everything this unique game has to offer. Trust me, it’s a trip worth taking!
Table of Contents
Your Roadmap to 100% Completion
To make things super clear, here’s a sneak peek at what we’ll be covering in this guide. Think of it as your treasure map to all those sweet achievements!
First Playthrough: Unraveling the Mystery and Grabbing Missables
- Chapter 1: The Lighthouse (Donnelley Achievement)
- Getting your feet wet (literally!) with the “Seonaidh” achievement.
- Taking a leap of faith for the “Stac an Armin” achievement.
- Hunting down the first hidden urn for “Tuir”.
- Keeping your ears open for all the voice-over magic (“Seanchaidh”).
- Reaching the beacon and unlocking “Donnelley”.
- Chapter 2: The Buoy (Jakobson Achievement)
- Locating the second elusive urn (“Tuir”).
- More voice-over hunting (“Seanchaidh”).
- Navigating the buoy and earning “Jakobson”.
- Chapter 3: The Caves (Esther Achievement)
- Finding the third hidden urn (“Tuir”).
- Continuing the voice-over quest (“Seanchaidh”).
- Emerging from the caves with the “Esther” achievement.
- Chapter 4: The Beacon (Paul Achievement)
- Snagging the final urn and unlocking “Tuir”!
- Collecting the last of the voice-overs for “Seanchaidh”.
- Reaching the end and getting the “Paul” achievement.
- Chances are, you’ll also unlock “Man of the Rocks” just by exploring!
Second Playthrough: Director’s Commentary and Final Achievement
- Commentary Mode is Your Friend: Time to listen to the awesome creators!
- Finding All 59 Nodes: We’ll give you the lowdown on where to find them.
- The Grand Finale: “Mullach an Eilein”: Unlock this for full 100% completion!
Don’t Miss These! A Quick Checklist
- A reminder of the achievements you can easily miss.
Pro Tips for a Smooth 100% Run
- Some friendly advice to make your journey easier.
Let’s Get Started: First Playthrough – Dive into the Story!
Your first time through Dear Esther should be all about soaking in the atmosphere and the story. But hey, why not grab some easy achievements along the way? Here’s how to tackle each chapter:
Chapter 1: The Lighthouse (Donnelley Achievement)
Alright, you’ve just started. First things first, let’s get that “Seonaidh” achievement. As soon as you have control, just walk straight into the ocean. Don’t worry, you’ll respawn in about 12 seconds with a shiny new achievement!
Next up, let’s aim for “Stac an Armin”. This one involves finding a specific cliff to… well, take a tumble. Keep an ear out for the voice-overs – it’s located between the sixth and seventh one you hear. Trust your ears, and you’ll find the right spot to (willingly!) fall.
Now for some treasure hunting! The first urn for the “Tuir” achievement is in this chapter. Keep an eye out for a big rock formation. From the path leading to it, take a right, and you should spot the urn. Give it a little interaction until you see some ash-like particles floating – that means you’ve got it!
While you’re exploring, be sure to trigger all those voice-over points for the “Seanchaidh” achievement. The first one is pretty easy to find – at the start, turn right, follow the path towards the lighthouse, and take the right fork. Just keep exploring, and you’ll stumble upon more as you go. Make sure you let each voice-over finish completely to get credit. You’ll eventually reach a drawing in the sand (another trigger!), and more will pop up as you continue. Remember that fall for “Stac an Armin”? After you respawn, take the left path around the rock and keep going until the paths meet again at the mountain’s base – another voice-over awaits! Entering a cave will also trigger one. After that, turn around and follow the right path to find that first urn we talked about. Keep moving forward after another little fall, and you’ll finish the chapter and automatically unlock the “Donnelley” achievement.
Chapter 2: The Buoy (Jakobson Achievement)
Time to explore “The Buoy”! Let’s find the second urn for “Tuir”. After you climb a set of stairs, don’t go down! Head up onto the grassy area and rocks. You’ll find a path leading towards the sea. Follow it down and to the right, and bam! Second urn! Got it!
Keep those ears peeled for more voice-overs for “Seanchaidh”. There are quite a few in this chapter, like when the path splits (take the left first, then the right on your way back), near a shipwreck, inside an open container, near a house on a hill (take both the right and left paths around it!), inside and outside that house, and along a staircase going down. The last voice-over in this chapter triggers when you enter a cave. Keep going through the cave, and you’ll eventually fall into a hole, marking the end of the chapter and unlocking the “Jakobson” achievement.
Chapter 3: The Caves (Esther Achievement)
Welcome to the spooky “Caves”! Let’s grab the third urn for “Tuir”. After you make your way through the initial cave sections, you’ll see a bridge. Don’t cross it just yet! Take the right path upwards to a cave filled with glowing mushrooms. Take the right path here to trigger a voice-over. Now, head back to the bridge, cross it, and go to the little beach on your right – there’s the third urn! More voice-overs await in this chapter. Try heading towards a red glowing light and the cave behind it, then turn back and take a new path on the right. Jump into a pond at a dead end and head towards a blue glowing light. Keep going until you see a small waterfall on your right, then turn left. Finally, avoid another pond and walk towards another red glowing light until you reach an underwater hole. Keep going after you emerge near a waterfall, and you’ll eventually enter a hole, wake up on a highway, see some car lights, fall into a pond, and find your way out towards a light to finish the chapter and earn the “Esther” achievement. Phew, that was a journey!
Chapter 4: The Beacon (Paul Achievement)
Almost there! We’ve reached “The Beacon”. Let’s snag that final urn for the “Tuir” achievement. Early in the chapter, you’ll see a red light. Take the left path, and you’ll reach a clearing. Turn right and climb up the mountain towards the glowing lights – that’ll trigger a voice-over. From there, turn back and go down through a lane, and you’ll find the fourth and final urn! Congrats, “Tuir” is yours! Keep an eye (and ear) out for the remaining voice-overs in this chapter. Follow the path to another red glowing light, continue through the caves, down a path to a dock with a concrete floor, take the staircase on the right upwards, and keep going until the path splits. Take the right path upwards to a gate and the top of some stairs – the final voice-over will trigger here, unlocking “Seanchaidh”! Finally, climb that last staircase to finish the chapter and unlock the “Paul” achievement once the credits start rolling. By this point, you’ve probably walked more than 5000 steps, so the “Man of the Rocks” achievement should pop up too!
Second Playthrough: Time for Commentary!
Alright, you’ve finished the story! Now it’s time for a second run in “Commentary” mode. You can select this from the main menu. Your mission now is to find and interact with all 59 of the Director’s Commentary nodes scattered around the island. These look like little icons in this mode, so keep your eyes peeled! They offer some cool insights from the game’s creators about the game’s design and story. You can follow the same general path as your first playthrough, but this time, your focus is on finding every single commentary node. Some of them can be a bit tricky to spot, so don’t be afraid to look up online guides if you get stuck. Apparently, commentary node number 52 is a real sneaky one! Once you’ve found and listened to all 59 nodes, you’ll unlock the final achievement, “Mullach an Eilein”! You did it! 100% completion achieved!
You might also like this: The Last Of Us Part 2 Remastered Game Review
Don’t Miss These! A Quick Checklist
Just to be safe, here’s a reminder of the achievements you can miss during your first playthrough:
| Achievement Name | How to Get It | Chapter |
|---|---|---|
| Seonaidh | Walk into the ocean at the very beginning. | 1 |
| Stac an Armin | Fall off a specific cliff between voice-overs 6 & 7. | 1 |
| Tuir | Find all four hidden urns. | 1-4 |
| Seanchaidh | Trigger all voice-over points throughout the game. | 1-4 |
Make sure you tick these off during your first run to save yourself an extra playthrough!
Pro Tips for a Smooth 100% Run
Here are a few extra tips to help you on your way:
- Two Playthroughs are Key: Remember, you absolutely need to play through the game twice – once for the story and missable achievements, and a second time in Commentary mode.
- Use Achievement Tracking: Keep an eye on your progress using the achievement tracking features on your gaming platform. This is super helpful for knowing which collectibles you still need.
- Take Your Time: Don’t rush! Explore each area thoroughly and double-check for those sneaky collectibles.
- Enjoy the Atmosphere: While you’re on the hunt for achievements, don’t forget to appreciate the unique and beautiful world of Dear Esther.
And there you have it! Your complete guide to conquering Dear Esther: Landmark Edition and unlocking every single achievement. Go forth, explore, and enjoy the journey! You’ve got this!
