The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

 PC
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 854 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 596 out of 854
  2. Mixed: 188 out of 854
  3. Negative: 70 out of 854

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  1. CoreGamer1408
    Apr 28, 2019
    5
    Another walking simulator with a few easy puzzles thrown in with a lot of time consuming padding going from A to B to stretch out this game. Wow I went through all that initially interesting weird drama for the crappiest of crappy trope and cliché ending.
  2. Tomle1202
    Mar 19, 2022
    6
    The Vanishing of Ethan Carter lacks the proper amount of player's agency to compensate for its beautiful but ultimately boring sandbox that demands too much for too little reward.
  3. tsakiym
    Apr 11, 2016
    6
    great graphics, great atmosphere, nice story, the game had me 100% but i really didnt like the end. if this game had more choices and be little more crime detective..
  4. Panica3643D
    Jun 17, 2018
    6
    Игра совершенно не впечатлила. Некоторые головоломки напрочь лишены смысла.
  5. LetMePickThat
    Aug 7, 2018
    7
    This game is interesting to say the least. It features stunning visuals, a good enough story and a very nice soundtrack. The main weaknesses I see from TVOER is the lack of interaction with the world. Also, while I know very well that this game is advertised as a narrative experience, I find the lack of any form of help playing against the fluidity of the narration itself. I enjoyed theThis game is interesting to say the least. It features stunning visuals, a good enough story and a very nice soundtrack. The main weaknesses I see from TVOER is the lack of interaction with the world. Also, while I know very well that this game is advertised as a narrative experience, I find the lack of any form of help playing against the fluidity of the narration itself. I enjoyed the game much more on my second playthough, when I actually knew where were the points of interest and was able to follow the story in the right order.… Expand
  6. Zubacz
    Oct 9, 2014
    6
    Before I played this game, I had heard it was beautiful, original and short.

    The graphics are indeed great. Unreal Engine at it's best, especially the outside locations. You almost feel the wind and smell the early autumn leaves. A lot of the textures however were either unfinished or forgotten. Finding blurry, pixelated surfaces among the mostly sharp and realistic objects is very    Before I played this game, I had heard it was beautiful, original and short.

    The graphics are indeed great. Unreal Engine at it's best, especially the outside locations. You almost feel the wind and smell the early autumn leaves. A lot of the textures however were either unfinished or forgotten. Finding blurry, pixelated surfaces among the mostly sharp and realistic objects is very off-putting. It is a minor flaw though.

    For originality, as far as games are concerned, I agree; I cannot think of a similar game. In other media however, this has been done many times. The game feels like an extract from a H. P. Lovecraft story, a few pages of quickly unraveling mystery.

    This brings me to the last main characteristic of this game: it's short. So short I could not believe I was done in just over two hours. I guess it could take a little more if people spend more time on puzzles, but those aren't hard at all. The whole story is told in five or six scenes, each lasting about a minute. The rest of the time is spent walking (which I admit is quite pleasant due to the graphics) or solving puzzles.

    I will not say I did not enjoy this game. I did. However it's length is the same as an average film and honestly, most films offer more substance. The idea is great so I hope these guys continue to make more, however I would say this was more a preview than an actual game.    … Expand
  7. SaviCZ
    Sep 29, 2014
    5
    Beautiful graphics and atmosphere for sure, but the story is really weak. As a detective, you would expect an acutal detective work, like trying to nail things together in your head and finally come up with a solution. You dont do that here. You basically walk across like..I dont know.. 6 locations, which have their own "puzzles" (now dont get me wrong but they are just silly easy) andBeautiful graphics and atmosphere for sure, but the story is really weak. As a detective, you would expect an acutal detective work, like trying to nail things together in your head and finally come up with a solution. You dont do that here. You basically walk across like..I dont know.. 6 locations, which have their own "puzzles" (now dont get me wrong but they are just silly easy) and when you solve them you get a part of a story. But then you realise, it has almost zero context and literlly zero effect on the course of the search for Ethan, as well as on the story itself.

    +Atmosphere
    +Graphics

    - Gameplay (you can actually jump from a cliff, or down and elevator shaft and nothing happens) And btw jumping down the elevator shaft is the only way I found to get to another part of the little town

    - ZOMBIES (I was like omg lol wtf they put those zombies here, totally ruins the atmosphere)

    -there is generally no point to what you do, in context of the whole story. dont want to spoil it here so Ill restrain from explaining further..    … Expand
  8. czerro
    Sep 29, 2014
    7
    The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

    7/10 It's a must purchase at the price, and everyone should experience it. There are going to be a lot of spoilers ahead. First, Let's just get this out of the way: The game is gorgeous. I mean, it's astounding. Now, this comes with a lot of caveats, and as much as the game suggests you try and do whatever you would like and investigate this    The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

    7/10

    It's a must purchase at the price, and everyone should experience it. There are going to be a lot of spoilers ahead.

    First, Let's just get this out of the way: The game is gorgeous. I mean, it's astounding. Now, this comes with a lot of caveats, and as much as the game suggests you try and do whatever you would like and investigate this reality...it's not really possible. Such an expansive and intricately detailed world of course, has lots of boundaries to it. You are essentially on a rail. I DID try and go off the beaten path at the beginning and stumbled into a 'trap'. Not knowing what to do with this element I decided to follow the rails. After railing the first segment, I once again decided to investigate the woods and came across the palm-pillar. I quickly figured out the sequence (it's a trial and error puzzle and takes about 10 seconds) and was wtf'ed and amazed at what happened next. This was the real pinnacle of the game for me.

    Now let's get to the bad. You will quickly discern that the narrator is unreliable and that we are groaning through some Alan Wake style narrative of a child. Let's face facts: The story in Alan Wake was beyond stupid, the gameplay and structure was topnotch. This game is trying to ride that same weak narrative without the gameplay and structure? Well...yes and no.

    Here's what 'happened' and herein my problems: Ethan Carter is a young boy. He loves his comics and pulps. He's very creative and finds an outlet in writing stories. He lives in a really forced backwater town where 'reading'/'writing' = **** See, this is a problem for me, because I'm supposed to sympathize with the fantasies of a child in the structure of a really forced and flat adult fantasy about 'ya'll some yokels.' Like, Ethan's fantastical elements exist in an even more fantastically cardboard thing. Ethan Carter does not live in a real world, which is what detracts from the story. There is literally no expansion on his family aside from they are country morons and act retardedly.

    His father is apologetic about this. His uncle and brother verbally abuse his **** His grandfather is inured and likes Ethan simply because Ethan likes him and does not remember that his grandfather accidentally killed his wife. His mother is dismissive of these problems and finds his actions frustrating. One day Ethan Carter tucks himself away in the old “Place name here” place and starts writing a story. One of many he has written previously. It's a really dark tale. It's about himself and his family. It's about the dark evil force that has overtaken them. The evil things they do to one another. It's a Prospero feature. He's written them before, and Prospero comes and gleans the happenings and trys to put to rest what he can. This is kinda where the player comes in...

    THIS is what the game was. Prospero , the player, is a force, a narrative tool, for Ethan to investigate his own issues. You get to experience this in a way, which is kinda cool, from the outside looking in. But there really isn't any investigation or depth to these characters or this maudlin tale. There is no choice, there is no expanding story. Only the illusion of choice and we're simply part of a narrative Ethan Carter was writing about a fictionalized horror story about himself. This does kinda hang a lamp on the illusion of never feeling like you can do anything at all! The reward is thus, after playing through the primary narrative and Ethan's side stories (8? pretty slight) you get to see the ending.

    Now, I know this confuses people, but it's not that confusing. Everything you've seen previously is fake. It's part of a story based on the places Ethan knows and the people he knows. His brother finds him at the end of this conception in the cellar of “place name here” house. Everyone is frustrated and commences to rant and call him a **** For some reason his mom carries a flaming lantern so carelessly that other characters are forced to note it. Flashlights do not exist. You already see where this melodrama is going while it painfully plays itself out. The place is set ablaze, Ethan retreats back to the cellar room and falls unconcious. So the fiction of the tale informs the reality of the tale. Or is it the other way around? You know what? It really doesn't matter, because it's all the same fiction to begin with. I guess that's my real problem with this reveal and why it's not quite as awesome as the producers believe it to be.

    This was not a real-time rendition of those events. It is Ethan remembering those events. We are now in darkness. Ethan has been unconcious for less than 5 minutes, while he played a Prospero tale he had just written, back in his head. There is a clock at a rail station at the beginning. One face says 7:00, the other face is not quite 7:04.

    In the darkness, Prospero talks to Ethan, who insists he believes he never created Prospero at all. Prospero has no comment, despite Ethan already revealed this information to us. He does what Prospero does, what the player that Ethan wrote does, and convinces Ethan to let go. It is a pretty nice little cap on this tale, but there are far too many issues with the narrative to make this work. The little cap on the end both sucks the magic out of the tale, both literally and mechanically, and then spins it on it's head for a little hint of some magic in the far left-field. It still feels like a poorly conceived and derivative story, but they executed the finale alright. The narrative really needed some more polish to it, and this beautiful world needed some more interaction than the 8/9 elements to it.

    Anyway, you have to purchase this game for the space-man segment and the sea-thing segment alone. Not to mention it's gorgeous to walk around this work. There are 2 fun puzzles in this game: House Portal Match can seem frustrating, but is really really good once you solve it. It IS easy, because this world, IS that good.    … Expand
  9. ns0l
    Oct 2, 2014
    5
    I don't understand. How can you rate this 10. I would rate the environment and the graphics 9. But the game is too short, very simple and full of nothing. For me, it's just a waste of time and money.
  10. markodon
    Oct 12, 2014
    7
    Going into this game, I didn't know much about it, except that it was a mystery/exploration type game with stunning graphics. As most other people, I was pretty much blown away by the visual presentation, which is one of the best (if not the best) I've ever experienced. The atmosphere in this game is simply amazing. As for the gameplay, I have to admit I ended up being somewhatGoing into this game, I didn't know much about it, except that it was a mystery/exploration type game with stunning graphics. As most other people, I was pretty much blown away by the visual presentation, which is one of the best (if not the best) I've ever experienced. The atmosphere in this game is simply amazing. As for the gameplay, I have to admit I ended up being somewhat disappointed. Although some of the mystery-solving mechanics are pretty well thought out, the feeling of spontaneity is soon gone and you realise that the puzzles are actually quite contrived. Instead of having to explore this large world and slowly unravel the mystery at your own pace, you basically walk from one scene to the next and solve incredibly simple crime scenes with your supernatural powers. The game is short (took me about 4-5 hours), and almost half of the total length is walking, which isn't bad in itself, but given that the environment is completely empty in between the "scenes", I couldn't help to think this stunning map could have been better used. The story is mature and interesting, although confusing at times, and while the ending left me baffled at first, it is though-provoking and satisfying. Overall, I enjoyed the game, but I do feel it could have been even better given its potential.… Expand
  11. Jetpil0t
    Oct 16, 2014
    7
    The most compelling component is the games story, which is interesting, builds well and ends nicely, but don't expect a lengthy or complex plot. The visuals are excellent and the game runs great with no bugs or performance problems.

    However the puzzle and encounter designs never really develop in complexity or mechanics beyond the first set piece and the quality of the gameplay and    The most compelling component is the games story, which is interesting, builds well and ends nicely, but don't expect a lengthy or complex plot. The visuals are excellent and the game runs great with no bugs or performance problems.

    However the puzzle and encounter designs never really develop in complexity or mechanics beyond the first set piece and the quality of the gameplay and puzzles even seems to taper off as you progress towards the end of the game.

    Overall the game is somewhat light on content and perhaps a little to light to really be engaging for its admittedly brief run time. However the game is an interesting mix of detective mechanics with walk around story exposition that would make for a more compelling game if it only it were filled with more puzzles, more complex puzzles and more story to explore.

    Looking forward to this teams next endeavor.    … Expand
  12. Wesp5
    Oct 1, 2014
    5
    While the game world is very beautiful, but it is also very empty with a lot of walking between only a few interesting places. There is no real story, rather a loose connection of scenes, which is how the game calls them as well, and the ending destroys whatever connection one hoped for. There is not much investigation or puzzle solving either, the whole thing is played rather more like aWhile the game world is very beautiful, but it is also very empty with a lot of walking between only a few interesting places. There is no real story, rather a loose connection of scenes, which is how the game calls them as well, and the ending destroys whatever connection one hoped for. There is not much investigation or puzzle solving either, the whole thing is played rather more like a 3D version of a hidden object game.… Expand
  13. Storm1672
    Sep 30, 2014
    6
    I do not understand the reviews this game gets.
    This is absurd. The game clearly lacks any structure and is ridden with backtracking. And because IT SAYS that it doesn'd hold your hand with a message at the beginning, we praise it for its "originality"?
    To get clear, the game is beautiful without much variety. Some great texture work and beautiful lighting, but beyond that, the models    I do not understand the reviews this game gets.
    This is absurd. The game clearly lacks any structure and is ridden with backtracking. And because IT SAYS that it doesn'd hold your hand with a message at the beginning, we praise it for its "originality"?

    To get clear, the game is beautiful without much variety. Some great texture work and beautiful lighting, but beyond that, the models look kinda dated and the effects (e.g. fire) too. The sound effects are solid and the music is great. Technically is above average. As it was made by a small group, this is quite an accomplishment.

    Also, the story is great, as is the ending. The atmosphere is heavy, both eerie and fairytale-ish, but it doesn't have a pace. You are supposed to make your own pace but it can easily go to **** We do not learn much about the side-characters and sometimes their behaviour is lifted from an '80s movie; too silly. Since this is the most important aspect of the game, I'd say it handles pretty well, hence the above average score. Beyond that...

    There is minimum gameplay. Very few puzzles (one or two are nice, the others uninspired) covered with A LOT of uninteresting exploration. Why are you giving me an entire field to walk if there is nothing there to do? The games lasts about 4 hours and about 3 of them are either backtracking to the places where you didn't discover what you were supposed to or slow strolls through the fields. I get it. The free exploration is nice, as is the idea to go wherever you want, right from the beginning. It just doesn't work. If it works for some people, that doesn't mean that it works. For success in games where you are given freedom, EVERY path must work, or at least some of them.

    Let me explain myself. I passed the first sections mostly as they were supposed to be passed. When I got to the middle, I solved the final puzzle. How can there be a final puzzle, you say, since that is the whole point? I passed the puzzle, then went on further, then reached a dead end, which was the "finally final place". To activate the ending sequence, the game had me go back to solve the same letter puzzle again, just to show me a slightly different outcome, so I can arrive at the last place and show me the ending. This was absurd.

    And that happened, while I had a bug where the last door, which I had opened previously, was closed. I finally tried to reload the checkpoint for it to work properly.

    All of the above showed me that obviously there meant to be a final puzzlebut for some reason, you can solve it midways. If you do that, then you mess with the "open and free" structure of the game. And since that is the premise of the "originality" of the game, I cannot accept it as a win.

    It does have some good parts, but this is obviously a case of people over-reacting because of the "we won't hold your hand" thing. Unfortunately, a game sums more parts than just story.

    If you like the "not so much gameplay" titles, there's Dear Esther and Gone Home and if you want a similar game, you can try Eleusis or Penumbra/Amnesia. I could recommend this game, but since I only see positive reviews and no-one speaking about its problems, I just can't.    … Expand
  14. 138
    Oct 12, 2014
    6
    I would rate this an interesting experience. Gorgeous graphics, great music and sounds, very atmospheric with a good enough story. The problem is that it's just not much of a game. The puzzles are fairly simple and if you can't figure them out, you'll still have them beaten within minutes using trial and error. There is a lot of just walking around trying to figure out where to go next.I would rate this an interesting experience. Gorgeous graphics, great music and sounds, very atmospheric with a good enough story. The problem is that it's just not much of a game. The puzzles are fairly simple and if you can't figure them out, you'll still have them beaten within minutes using trial and error. There is a lot of just walking around trying to figure out where to go next. The game says it won't hold your hand and while I like the sound of that, there were times I wished there was some clue as to where to go next. Oh, there is that beautiful view from the bridge. Again.

    So much about this experience is just great. I want to be in this world, but I want a game too!    … Expand
  15. ChosenOne
    Nov 29, 2014
    6
    The landscapes are the best I ever seen in games. Characters and animations - some of the worst. I loved the story presentation and mechanics.
    But when a veteran developers like the Astronauts releasing a game without proper auto-save feature - it's just stupid. I just can't get it.
  16. DrZomboid
    Oct 29, 2014
    7
    Environment looks amazing, water and rocks on some places photo realistic, but humans are really bad.
    This kind of puzzles puzzles are not for my taste, I prefer Resident Evil style. Story is so-so. Too bad there is no single animal in this nature. Atmosphere is big plus.
  17. bjaz
    Oct 23, 2014
    6
    No doubt it's one of the best game in this year
    Players will enjoy the audio & visual beauty of this game,but for how long???
    Still it's a worthy game to play...
  18. cwilder06
    Sep 26, 2014
    6
    I've just finished the game, and while generally I think people should allow some time to decompress before reviewing the game given the dearth of reviews out there from any trustworthy sources I thought it may be of some help to those who are on the fence whether to buy or not. Before I get into it, I also just want to note I'm impressed with how communicative the dev team has been bothI've just finished the game, and while generally I think people should allow some time to decompress before reviewing the game given the dearth of reviews out there from any trustworthy sources I thought it may be of some help to those who are on the fence whether to buy or not. Before I get into it, I also just want to note I'm impressed with how communicative the dev team has been both throughout the day on Twitter and on these forums answering peoples questions and helping them get going on the game, it's far too unusual in this day and age. I will try to keep this relatively succinct.

    Graphics: The game is beautiful, right up there with the best of the AAA titles (if not better than them). I have a hard time thinking of a game that has done environments at this level. (5/5)
    Sound: The music and sound effects are spot-on, moody and atmospheric without ever bashing you over the head in that regard. (5/5)
    Gameplay: The gameplay felt, unfortunately, a little more straightforward than I might have otherwise liked in a game of this nature. To wit, the only time I was really "stuck" was because I couldn't find a fifth environmental item - it had nothing to do with being stumped by a puzzle, rather I just hadn't stepped in the right area to cause something to pop up. That is to say that I would have liked the puzzles to require more ingenuity on behalf of the player and a bit more creativity. Everything was very straightforward. While that avoids frustration, it also limits the sense of achievement when you "solve" the puzzles as it never felt like you were really acting as a detective or solving puzzles in the way that games like Myst did. This is puzzle-lite. Some people will like that, but it definitely felt very casual friendly in that regard despite the warning at the start of the game that it does not hold your hand. (3/5)
    Story: That being said, the story was original and lovely. It wasn't momentous in the sense that games like Walking Dead and Last of Us made you care so much about the protagonists that you were brought to tears during the climax, but it was thoughtful and engrossing enough to keep you want to keep going to unravel the mystery surrounding the eponymous character. Intelligently things that seem cliche at one point make sense as you grow an understanding of what it is that's going on. (4/5)
    Value: The game is on the shorter side. I just beat it in less than 4 hours - solving every puzzle along the way. It's up to you to decide whether a four hour game warrants the price - for me I equate it to going to see a movie, so in my mind this is money better spent. But for those looking for a game where you are getting dozens of hours of playtime, this isn't it - especially considering there is really no reason for replayability (as it wouldn't change on multiple playthroughs).

    Overall
    + Graphics are superlative
    + Sound and music is terrific
    + Story is original and engaging
    - Gameplay is simple
    - Puzzles are very easy
    - Game is quite short    … Expand
  19. flexy123
    Oct 5, 2014
    6
    This game has as much "game play" and "depth" as a a typical graphics benchmark, such as "Heaven Benchmark". It looks pretty. It has awesome environment rendering, nice to show off your new graphics card...but I am afraid that it is as far as it goes from what I've seen in about three hours playing.

    The game world is literally dead. There are no NPCs, animals, or anything to interact    This game has as much "game play" and "depth" as a a typical graphics benchmark, such as "Heaven Benchmark". It looks pretty. It has awesome environment rendering, nice to show off your new graphics card...but I am afraid that it is as far as it goes from what I've seen in about three hours playing.

    The game world is literally dead. There are no NPCs, animals, or anything to interact with. Nothing lives in that word. But you'll get lots of trees. Wonderful trees. Beautiful trees. And water. Trees and gorgeous scenery. If that's your thing...

    And you run around for hours and literally nothing happens. In fact, nothing really "happened" in those three hours I played the game now.

    The story/plot is cringe-worthy, it seems to be a very stereotypical ghost/paranormal story. All that would be acceptable if the game would actually be motivating, if something, ANYTHING would happen. But it doesn't. Instead you wander around and encounter relatively mindless and "forced" seeming puzzles interwoven with that stereotypical ghost story. Like that door puzzle in that house.

    It may well be the case I change my opinion in case I am motivated enough to continue playing, and something would actually happen in the game. Interaction, WHATEVER "action". Who knows. Maybe this comes later. I don't know.

    So far I got incredible bored with the game and the beautiful scenery cannot change this. As said, I can have as much "game play" running Heaven Benchmark. There too I can wander around between awesome trees and water. Except that no sane person would spend hours wandering about in a graphics demo/benchmark.

    This is my honest impression so far.    … Expand
  20. BLADELING
    Nov 7, 2016
    6
    Positive: graphics, voice acting, controls.
    Negative: everything else.
    This game is *really* short (3-4 hours) and the story, well... too short to talk about without spoilers: let's say the ending is a disappointment. The graphic is nice because the engine is great, there where were developers are supposed to make an effort (internal and characters) there are - immediately noticeable    Positive: graphics, voice acting, controls.
    Negative: everything else.

    This game is *really* short (3-4 hours) and the story, well... too short to talk about without spoilers: let's say the ending is a disappointment. The graphic is nice because the engine is great, there where were developers are supposed to make an effort (internal and characters) there are - immediately noticeable -deficiencies and approximations. Definitely not a 18,99€ game.    … Expand
  21. kharnikhal
    Sep 26, 2014
    5
    Yay, another walking simulator. On the plus side, it looks good at places. On the down side, it's a walking simulator. Not a video game. I played for about 2 hours. You don't get to make any choices, just walking and listening to the narrative. Save your money until it's on bundle or something, until that, read a book or play some video games.
  22. CosyHell
    Sep 27, 2014
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. That was supposed to be a brilliant game. Brilliant by setting, story, sound and graphics. Don't get me wrong they are brilliant, very moody and scary in a good way at times but... Why in the holly hell put a bloody zombie in a game like that? Was it supposed to be funny? Was that supposed to be an area lock down thing? Why not use I don't know door, bridge, lava pool whatever. WHY THE BLOODY ZOMBIE? This single scene broke the entire experience to me. Astronauts f***ed up what could be a one of the nicest games in this years lineup. I am sorry, bout I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish this game now. It has lost its charm to me.… Expand
  23. sh4dow
    Oct 4, 2014
    5
    I just found it annoying to run around in a vast space looking for sometimes tiny things. I almost missed a whole scene in the beginning because I didn't get yet how the game works. And without a walkthrough, I may have never found out.
    But personally, I'm not too keen on games that basically require you to either use a walkthrough or have way too much time on one's hands. I have more    I just found it annoying to run around in a vast space looking for sometimes tiny things. I almost missed a whole scene in the beginning because I didn't get yet how the game works. And without a walkthrough, I may have never found out.
    But personally, I'm not too keen on games that basically require you to either use a walkthrough or have way too much time on one's hands. I have more important things to do than run around a CG world for an hour looking for some item.
    Especially since it also doesn't look as great as people claim. The visuals are good but nothing groundbreaking. Then again, I've worked on digital art myself, so just like one of the creators of the games said as well - I am hard to impress in the art department.
    Also, I was hoping for it to be about a crime story that could be real but instead, it's just another fantasy thing.
    So I stopped playing after the fifth scene or so and switched on a movie ("New World") instead. And took a stroll in an actual forest and continued playing Puzzle Quest 2. Because with all of that, I get dense, high quality story, beautiful sceneries and gameplay that doesn't make me look for **** all night long.    … Expand
  24. TheYeIIowDucK
    Oct 6, 2014
    5
    The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is 2deep4u. That sentence alone could either make run out to buy it or mentally dump it into the "do not touch" hypothetical trashcan. Whether you'll fall into the former category or the later depends purely on your ability to tolerate - or appreciate - pretentiousness in a video game. Yes, it's one of THOSE games. It's a walking simulator with narrationThe Vanishing of Ethan Carter is 2deep4u. That sentence alone could either make run out to buy it or mentally dump it into the "do not touch" hypothetical trashcan. Whether you'll fall into the former category or the later depends purely on your ability to tolerate - or appreciate - pretentiousness in a video game. Yes, it's one of THOSE games. It's a walking simulator with narration occasionally being dumped into your ears. But I'll give credit where credit is due, and TVoEC is probably one of the best walking simulators to date. Visually, it's gorgeous, as you can see from the many screenshots and videos of the game you can find online. The game's amazing graphics and aesthetics is what lured me into it in the first place. In gameplay terms, the game scores higher than most since it actually lets you DO things. A considerable portion of your time is devoted to solving murder mysteries. This essentially amounts to searching for objects to fit into the right slots in the game world. It's not perfect, and a bit tedious, but any form of engagement with the player is better than nothing (I'm looking at you, Dear Esther). But ultimately, what sets this game apart from its many pretentious peers, is the fact that The Vanishing of Ethan HAS A POINT. It actually has a story (which it chooses to tell non-chronologically) with a real honest-to-god ending. And a twist ending at that! Too bad the twist turned out to be a stale old cliche, and that I already starting predicting it about halfway through the game.… Expand
  25. Crescendo
    Nov 17, 2014
    6
    On one hand, this is a very beautiful and I love the fact that you expore the world on your own without having the usual guidance/map/whatever to let you blaze through the game without noticing any details or thinking for yourself. On the other hand, it's - as many have said before - just a walking simulator with the element of exploration being limited to just finding the murderOn one hand, this is a very beautiful and I love the fact that you expore the world on your own without having the usual guidance/map/whatever to let you blaze through the game without noticing any details or thinking for yourself. On the other hand, it's - as many have said before - just a walking simulator with the element of exploration being limited to just finding the murder sceneries/story-pieces.

    In the best case, this is a stunning, immersive adventure that encourages you to think.
    In the worst case, it's an immensly blown-out-of-proportions Myst-game where the entire game consists of 6 (or 7?) easy 5-minute-puzzles and an ungodly amount of just... walking around.

    That said, 20 bucks is an okay price. I'd give it a 7 if it wasn't for the awful ending that seems to ride the ever so popular train of 'how can we explain everthing that happened while doging that we have to explain everything". Which is just not a thing that should happen in a game like this.    … Expand
  26. Klewer
    Feb 13, 2015
    6
    The game has a brilliant story and looks absolutely amazing. However it lacks a little substance in some parts of the game play, and the brilliant bits of the story are filled with a lifeless world and plenty of walking in between. Still worth a look, just could of been something truly great with a few more tweaks.
  27. icheyne
    Nov 5, 2014
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I finished The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. It’s a noble failure. Best graphics I have ever seen. They perfected a new technique that translates photographs of environments into game art. They call it revolutionary and I can’t argue.

    The problem is not with the story. It’s well written and solidly delivered, with reasonable voice acting.

    The flaw is the game itself. At the start they state that the game doesn’t hold your hand, which is just a disclaimer for bad game design. They wanted to have an open-world, but they failed to explain what to do. You will almost certainly have to backtrack to the start of the game once you realise the right approach. Small spoiler: at the start of the game there are several man traps if you go off the path. Do not do the natural, intuitive thing and stay on the path. Find every man trap, even though the game doesn’t give you any explanation why you would want to. It’s typical of the opaque game design and it’s not the worst example. I had to resort to a walkthrough to finish, in other words the game failed me.

    It seems a game with a linear story requires a linear structure to frame it. I’d rather play Dear Esther, even though it’s not quite as pretty and the story is far less sophisticated.

    Having said that, if you can get the game cheaply, it is still worth buying simply to experience the environment. I kept stabbing F12 to take screenshots.    … Expand
  28. PowerGamer
    Nov 10, 2014
    6
    Okay absolutely stunning visuals. By far the best outdoor visuals I've ever seen in a game.

    Looks a bit like ID's "id Tech 5" engine. They probably do some of the same stuff streaming textures and what not. Here there is a lot more realistic flora, water, atmospheric effects et al too. Also I don't think I've ever seen a game where you could look so far off in the horizon. It made    Okay absolutely stunning visuals. By far the best outdoor visuals I've ever seen in a game.

    Looks a bit like ID's "id Tech 5" engine. They probably do some of the same stuff streaming textures and what not.
    Here there is a lot more realistic flora, water, atmospheric effects et al too.
    Also I don't think I've ever seen a game where you could look so far off in the horizon.
    It made for a pretty immersive experience.

    But then after that the game falls flat for me. It's more like a graphics demo without much content.

    The idea of running around in a pretty yet mostly barren landscape is not very appealing to me.
    It does tells you somewhat insultingly at the begging that it "won't hold your hand"; understood
    but that still doesn't cut for me.
    I searched for and found a walk-though online so I could get an idea what to look for in some kind of sequence and still looked boring.

    This graphics engine will be great for perhaps an RPG or somethinge, but my few hours wandering around was enough for me..    … Expand
  29. garyc
    Oct 7, 2014
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter is one of the most interesting and unusual games I have played this year, it was a genuine surprise.
    The first thing you will notice when playing is that the graphics are amazing, some of the best I have ever seen in fact.
    The recreation of the forest and valley that the game takes place in has been made with such fine detail that it becomes easy to believe it is an actual place you are walking through. This, along with a beautifully atmospheric soundtrack gives an air of authenticity that you rarely find in a video game.

    It is driven by a story that is open to a lot of interpretation, right up to the ending and it will leave you in though for some time after the end credits.
    Gameplay takes the form of various environment-based puzzles that usually involve recreating a series of events, finding all the required components of the event and then organizing it in chronological order to reveal story but there is variety as not everything sticks to this one formula. The fun part for me was that the game leaves it up to the player to figure out that this is what you need to do - you can easily spend the first couple of hours playing the game without realizing what exactly the game mechanics are, yet it never becomes frustrating - it feels more like you are discovering something when you finally figure it out.

    On a technical level the game is of good quality, there are no performance concerns and graphical options are plentiful - including an FoV slider. 60fps was achievable easily at 1440p on a single GTX 780 and an i5 2500k without the need to lower any settings other than anti-aliasing, which gave 15+ fps dips at 4x and above.

    I do have several gameplay concerns however.
    The first of which becomes apparent very early on - there are invisible walls everywhere that funnel you in a specific direction and break the immersion of an otherwise perfectly recreated landscape. This contributes directly to the second issue, game length. You are free to explore the entire area at your leisure and it is a pleasure to do so for the entire time, however you are clearly intended to take one specific and quite short path through the game, the whole thing is over just as it starts to get going. I feel a more open environment that focused a little more on exploration would have made a huge improvement to both gameplay and game length. I would have loved to be able to search out additional information on the valley and the people who lived there, although doing so may not have been consistent with how the game ends.
    The final issue I have that contributes a lot to me not giving the game a much higher score relates to the puzzles themselves. They are simply too few in number, literally just 6 or 7 of them in the whole game - the mechanics used are solid but hugely under-utilized. After a great start, only giving you vague hints of what you need to do, some of the later puzzles are overly simple. I feel they could have expanded on this area a lot more to produce a more well rounded game.

    However, do not let the faults put you off as this is still an experienced not to be missed, if not to everybody's tastes.    … Expand
  30. rubencristiano9
    Sep 6, 2015
    6
    They could of done so much more with the ending, pissed me off.
    Enjoyed my time with the game, about 4 hours till completion with having to stop and look at playtrough on youtube in 2 cases to be able to continue because I was stuck on a puzzle.
    They do great with the intro some nice puzzles and story keeps you playing trough, a shame the ending of it is just that, SPOILER WARNING* a    They could of done so much more with the ending, pissed me off.
    Enjoyed my time with the game, about 4 hours till completion with having to stop and look at playtrough on youtube in 2 cases to be able to continue because I was stuck on a puzzle.

    They do great with the intro some nice puzzles and story keeps you playing trough, a shame the ending of it is just that, SPOILER WARNING* a story created by a kid, even you were created, leaves you with a feeling of unnocomplishment in all what you have done trough out the entire game, what a shame.

    Beautifull graphics, had to activate the centre crosshair and put down the FOV because I was getting quite a lot of motion sickness though, still feel a bit weired now (have just finished the game btw).

    I wouldn't generally recommend this game to people, they're uglier but surely better games out there.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

43
#43 Best PC Game of 2014
32
#32 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
40
#40 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 66 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 56 out of 66
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 66
  3. Negative: 0 out of 66
  1. SpazioGames
    Oct 28, 2015
    85
    The Vanishing of Ethan Carter it's a lovely experience that enchants the player with its narrative, and landscapes. Even the sound is fitting in this smart game whose only real problem is the duration.
    Read full review
  2. Games Master UK
    Dec 21, 2014
    78
    A gorgeously crafted experience that's cramped by the occasionally obtuse signposting. [Christmas 2014, p.68]
  3. CD-Action
    Dec 13, 2014
    80
    Some minor disappointments did not prevent me from soaking in the atmosphere worthy of Lovecraft’s horror stories. [Dec 2014, p.46]
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