Esoteric Ebb creator reckons most players only saw half the game, and that's fine by him: 'You've got to miss stuff in order to feel like the world is bigger'

Esoteric Ebb Creator Reveals Most Players Miss Half the Game, and That's Perfectly Intentional

When I sat down to play Esoteric Ebb, I approached it with my usual completionist mindset for RPGs. After all, I didn't beat New Vegas until 300 hours in, driven by a refusal to finish any game without seeing everything inside. I assumed I had cleared the running contender for RPG of the year thoroughly after 26 hours of playtime, but my confidence was shattered when I spoke with creator Christoffer Bodegård. He casually listed off items, locations, and even an entire character class that I completely missed in his masterpiece. As it turns out, most players only see about half the game, a fact that Bodegård finds not just acceptable but essential to his vision of world-building.

The Hidden Depths You Skipped

During our conversation, Bodegård rattled off a litany of secrets I had overlooked, including Lord Gorm's stash, a giant dragon skull, and the existence of the "Living Library," a concept that left me questioning my sanity. He revealed that you can meet Visken at midnight to either swear an oath or fight him, and even encountered a teleporting goblin that steals keys with telekinesis from inside an eye.

I had assumed I mastered the game's mechanics, but Bodegård pointed out that while there are six classes aligning with attributes—Cleric for Strength, Rogue for Dexterity—I missed the Bard class entirely. I thought my Charisma path was a Warlock, but the reality is far more whimsical: "You can go around in every single dialog in the entire game," Bodegård explained. "You can go around and say, 'Hello, I am the Dancing Bard.'"

Furthermore, I missed the ability to earn the title "Dick-Ass Rogue" by stealing enough items, a choice I regretted after the merchant was too nice to rob. Even the mean elf encounter held secrets; he is essentially a mini-boss whom you can wrestle to rip off his shoes, which Bodegård revealed are actually "Air Elronds" in the internal files—a name he couldn't use due to being an overt reference but kept for posterity.

The Illusionary Wall of Agency

The core philosophy behind Esoteric Ebb is that missing content makes the world feel larger, a concept Bodegård calls the "illusionary wall of agency." He argues that if players are presented with enough choices and hidden elements they might miss, realizing their oversight creates the perception of an infinite game.

• Players can theoretically 100% complete the game in a single playthrough to earn all achievements.
• However, Bodegård designed it so a normal run lasts only 10 to 20 hours, rarely exceeding 30 even for fast readers.
• The expectation is that players will miss between 40% and 60% of the game's content during their first run.

Bodegård wrote 700,000 words knowing most would go unseen by a typical player, stating, "You've got to miss stuff in order to feel like the world is bigger than what you experienced." This design encourages players to compare notes with friends after playing, discovering that while one might have missed 20% of the content, it feels like they missed 90%, significantly enhancing the sense of scale.

Why Missing Out Feels Like Winning

The joy of Esoteric Ebb lies in this specific type of discovery; finding out you missed half the game after a definitive playthrough is peak RPG design. Unlike games like The Witcher 2 where you must replay to see different chapter versions, Bodegård ensures that missing content isn't about mutually exclusive choices but rather about exploration and attention to detail.

This approach captures the same magic as the hidden side stories in Elden Ring, creating a sense of mystery where players can imagine themselves as legends uncovering secrets in a pre-internet age. By designing for the feeling of infinity rather than just the checklist, Bodegård has created an RPG that rewards curiosity and leaves players wondering what else is hiding in the shadows of Tolstad. Ultimately, it is perfectly fine if you only saw half the game; in fact, that realization is exactly where the true magic begins.