Just finished playing Dear Esther

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I really enjoyed Dear Esther, but I also agree with Bridge on the fact that leaving interactivity out of a game is a waste of potential. Interactivity is the one big strength games have over films and books and if done well it could have made experiencing Dear Esthers story much more intense.
While I found the story well written (if a little bit too artsy at times), I also felt kinda detached to it. Even small things like being able to pick up and examine the Paper Boats or blowing out candles would have helped a lot I think.

By the way, thechineseroom themselves seem to be of that opinion too if you look at the infos concerning the sequel Everybody's Gone To The Rapture:

Rather than a linear environment, the whole games takes place in one large world. We're experimenting with dynamic, adaptive storytelling and audio as the
backbone for the game, and re-introducing more interactive elements to
the experience.