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. 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
  2. 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
  3. Xon
    Dec 15, 2014
    8
    The game is brilliant on many levels, but I would not have been able to play it without using IGN's guide. For me it is definitely one of the top 10 games of the year; it experiments with storytelling and creates a realistic location (though empty).
  4. 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
  5. ricmetal
    Feb 4, 2015
    8
    The only criticism i would have for this game is the non-linear possibility. By allowing me to examine places randomly the story was broken up and made very little sense to me. If you haven't played the game yet, my advice to you i don not do too much exploring off the beaten path or you'll end up finding places you shouldn't at that time. Still, i enjoyed the game.
  6. Rex_richards
    Dec 22, 2014
    10
    OK so if you look around you might see some general truths about this game - its a resource hog, it stutters when you try and run, it looks beautiful, it is better with subtitles off, it has a very annoying feature towards the end where if you have not discovered all the bits, you have to wander off all over again and find them which is tedious in the extreme. Also, it makes you finishOK so if you look around you might see some general truths about this game - its a resource hog, it stutters when you try and run, it looks beautiful, it is better with subtitles off, it has a very annoying feature towards the end where if you have not discovered all the bits, you have to wander off all over again and find them which is tedious in the extreme. Also, it makes you finish scenes before you can save. It is really hard initially to work out what to do, and annoyingly I had to google it, so lost out on the experience a bit
    BUT aside from this, the reason I will suggest this should be a 10, is that the puzzles so to speak are not really difficult, as in unlike many adventure games they don't need weird illogical connections to be made. In other words, anyone can figure out what to do to win. The other great thing is that the puzzles dont get harder or weirder as you go along, they are fairly consistent. So unless you are really really mentally off your game, you won't get stuck, and you can immerse yourself and just really enjoy a great game.    … Expand
  7. 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
  8. 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.
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. MadJaples
    Oct 4, 2014
    6
    This game is a beautiful one, with excellent scenery that runs pretty well on an Nvidia Gforce M series card.
    I liked the game with it's haunting music and as already stated, it's excellent scenery, scenery good enough to put Skyrim to shame, however and it is a BIG however - if you buy this expecting to not be hindered by 'artificial blockers' (see the video the devs put up on Steam    This game is a beautiful one, with excellent scenery that runs pretty well on an Nvidia Gforce M series card.
    I liked the game with it's haunting music and as already stated, it's excellent scenery, scenery good enough to put Skyrim to shame, however and it is a BIG however - if you buy this expecting to not be hindered by 'artificial blockers' (see the video the devs put up on Steam regarding this) then you will be disappointed. You CANNOT take short cuts, you CANNOT cut corners on winding forest paths (which was really annoying), and you CANNOT - as far as I'm aware - swim anywhere, despite there being a lot of water. The dev's claim to there being no restrictions regarding movement in that video is very vague and smacks just a little of dishonesty - SO DON'T BE CONNED into thinking this game is going to be so good that you'll be able to walk freely amongst tightly planted trees or something because that **** simply ain't gonna happen. IF you overlook that little porky, it's actually not a bad attempt at an exploratory game with haunting music that isn't remotely cheesy or off-putting, a generally engaging game played best in the dark, and it's a good waste of money despite the dev perhaps lying just a smidge. If it wasn't for that little fib, I'd have given it 8, but instead it gets 6 for falling short of implied expectations....see the video here:

    http://store.steampowered.com/app/258520/

    Second video. 1:29.    … Expand
  14. fludziom
    Jan 24, 2016
    4
    Easily the most boring game I have played in my entire life. Floating camera monotonous walking simulator with nonsensical puzzles. I don’t remember ever being this bored with a game. What a waste. I should have been paid for time wasted on finishing this game. It’s short the only positive I can say about this game.
  15. SuperkenGaming
    Jul 17, 2015
    8
    The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
    A beautiful puzzle
    The vanishing is a great looking game with a dash of challenge and mystery essential a linear openish world murder mystery game that doesn’t hold your hand Youre placed into a gorgeous world and aren’t really told what to do youll come across notes and dead bodies and have to figure out how they got there you do this by examining    The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
    A beautiful puzzle
    The vanishing is a great looking game with a dash of challenge and mystery
    essential a linear openish world murder mystery game that doesn’t hold your hand
    Youre placed into a gorgeous world and aren’t really told what to do
    youll come across notes and dead bodies and have to figure out how they got there
    you do this by examining scenes and items
    using your sense will show you where an item youre missing is located visually without just handing the solution to you
    you still need to put in the work of studying your surroundings.
    After you’ve found all of your clues you can touch the dead body and attempt to place the events in chronical order to see how they all played out and get clues on where to head to next in your search for Ethan
    This is the best mystery solving ive ever seen in a game and think developers should really take note.
    This is the new standard.
    The Vanishing of Ethan Carter will take you on a great adventures and various locations.
    You’ll never feel too board, as the pacing is perfect enough and problem solving is simple enough to not have you feel frustrated or like you are dragging yourself through this 4 hour game.
    The downside though is of course that it is only 3 to 4 hours long and there is absolutely no replayability.
    Once you’ve found the few secrets and surprises the games have to offer that’s about it..
    The openish world is very linear and leaves little to no room for exploration.
    The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a one time deal
    And honestly I think this one time deal is worth your time
    for what it is
    Action-Adventure/Murder Mystery: 8.5/10
    Overall: 8/10    … Expand
  16. nnssdd11
    Oct 18, 2015
    10
    Very Good aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
  17. Broyax
    Mar 29, 2017
    1
    Hallucinant graphiquement ! et en plus ça tourne bien, même sur une config moyenne (i7/6870) avec une zone de jeu pas négligeable... quoique l'appellation "jeu" soit assez exagérée... Tel qu'il est, Vanishing bidule ressemble à un concept, un prototype de "jeu", quelque chose de pas fini.

    Une chose dont même les développeurs ne savent plus quoi faire. Nous non plus d'ailleurs... à toi    Hallucinant graphiquement ! et en plus ça tourne bien, même sur une config moyenne (i7/6870) avec une zone de jeu pas négligeable... quoique l'appellation "jeu" soit assez exagérée... Tel qu'il est, Vanishing bidule ressemble à un concept, un prototype de "jeu", quelque chose de pas fini.

    Une chose dont même les développeurs ne savent plus quoi faire. Nous non plus d'ailleurs... à toi d'inventer le jeu qui va avec ce non-jeu super-con-templatif... Interface (?) réduite au minimum, pratiquement rien, voix off qui raconte de la merde, musique minable... Ambiance ? mouais ! ça donne envie d'aller faire la sieste. En conclusion,, une daube, une très belle, une magnifique daube. Mais une daube.

    Post-Scrotum : à noter que ce pseudo-jeu refuse de fonctionner si Afterburner est dans la place. Yo, pas cool, bro.    … Expand
  18. Kheetor
    Oct 30, 2018
    10
    It's the model example of how a story game should be done. There are no glued-on action elements, quick-time events or forced stealth gameplay sections. This game is about exploring the game world and the story at your own pace, through environments and their various different style puzzles.

    The game is visually beautiful and obviously the story is one of a kind. It's very affordable    It's the model example of how a story game should be done. There are no glued-on action elements, quick-time events or forced stealth gameplay sections. This game is about exploring the game world and the story at your own pace, through environments and their various different style puzzles.

    The game is visually beautiful and obviously the story is one of a kind. It's very affordable game, give it a try if you're looking a quick break between action games or you never were into them.    … Expand
  19. bancandrei
    May 14, 2020
    8
    The potential is there for a straight 10, but it does get a bit boring at times. However it is a great game about exploration, a pretty great ending to tie things up and at least one great puzzle with the rooms in the house changing (I believe it may be optional though). Definitely worth checking out both for fan of walking simulators and adventure games
  20. rodericrinehart
    May 13, 2015
    6
    Ethan Carter was an ok game, worth a play for five bucks or less, but that goes for many games. It is a slow and somewhat boring game and I enjoyed it less than I thought I would. I liked Gone Home far more personally. But it was better than Ether One.

    It has truly fantastic graphics, solid but sparse narration, and a decent story. I can see why many people do like it, but it wasn't    Ethan Carter was an ok game, worth a play for five bucks or less, but that goes for many games. It is a slow and somewhat boring game and I enjoyed it less than I thought I would. I liked Gone Home far more personally. But it was better than Ether One.

    It has truly fantastic graphics, solid but sparse narration, and a decent story. I can see why many people do like it, but it wasn't for me, even at 75% off.    … Expand
  21. TitaniumDragon
    Nov 10, 2016
    5
    The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a very pretty three-to-four hour long supernatural horror game. You play as Paul Prospero, a detective with a penchant for the supernatural who has been receiving letters for a long time from one of his fans, Ethan Carter. Gradually, however, it becomes increasingly clear to him that Ethan is in terrible danger, and so he sets off to go rescue him from theThe Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a very pretty three-to-four hour long supernatural horror game. You play as Paul Prospero, a detective with a penchant for the supernatural who has been receiving letters for a long time from one of his fans, Ethan Carter. Gradually, however, it becomes increasingly clear to him that Ethan is in terrible danger, and so he sets off to go rescue him from the supernatural dangers around him, on what he says he is certain will be his final case.

    The gameplay itself is very much that of a walking simulator, though unlike pure walking simulators, there are some (pretty simple) puzzles present in this game. The core gameplay consists of going to a new area, finding various environmental elements in the area, and then putting them together until you’ve gained enough to unlock a cutscene. Sometimes, you have to solve crimes – the deaths of various people – and to do so, you must put the elements of each scene in chronological order. Other puzzles simply unlock when you collect all the elements, while others require some other puzzle to solve them.

    This is, perhaps, the game’s greatest weakness – while the game has a nice aesthetic to it, a lot of the puzzles fundamentally consist of wandering around trying to find things in the environment you can interact with. At its best, this feels like a detective wandering aroun searching for clues. At its worst, it feels like “find the hidden object”. The very first puzzle in the game, somewhat obnoxiously, occurs before you know about how these puzzle elements work, and it is very easy to overlook some of them.

    The core story is decent, but kind of standard – Ethan Carter has woken up “the Sleeper”, some sort of eldritch entity which infects the minds of his family members who start trying to kill him on the Sleeper’s order. The story is presented slightly out of order – one of the very first puzzles in the game actually comes very late chronologically – but otherwise, it is mostly in order, as Ethan and his family members struggle against the Sleeper and each other as they are each possessed in turn. It is presented decently enough, and through the story we get some idea of the personality of each of Ethan’s family members, as well as his feelings towards them.

    That being said, the game has a very standard twist ending which, while I saw it coming towards the end, wasn’t really something that I appreciated very much – it wasn’t terribly interesting as a twist, though the game did a decent enough job of setting up clues about it along the way. And ultimately, the core plot is all very by-the-numbers, while the side-stories, while a bit more eclectic, sometimes feel like they’re outliers just so they can be outliers.

    If there is one thing this game does very well, though, it is the presentation – the Redux version of the game (which is what I played) is gorgeous, and the various side-stories look very pretty. Really, the game as a whole is very visually appealing and is a pleasure to be in, even if dark mine environment #762 is kind of… standard.

    That being said, I’m left feeling ambivalent about it. I don’t know if I can recommend buying it; the experience isn’t bad, and if you already own it, it might be worth three hours of your time, but it isn’t some amazingly above-average experience. The visuals are great but the story is ultimately only okay, and I’m not sure if you’ll walk away from this thinking “Man, that was great” so much as “Well, that was decent.”

    At $20, this game feels overpriced; I got it for $3.50, and I think that was about right considering. I don’t feel ripped off. But I don’t know that I can say “Go buy this.”    … Expand
  22. skeith
    Nov 26, 2015
    5
    Fantastic Graphic, but acceptable game play. Story is not really interesting. Very short story too. May it is just me, never really been a fan of this kind of game.
  23. Budget_Security
    May 20, 2018
    7
    A puzzle walking sim with beautiful environments and a subtle dark atmosphere. The visuals are amazing - the extensive use of photogrammetry produces very realistic models and textures. In my opinion this game represents the largest advance in graphics since 2007's “Crysis”. The story is lean but well written and narrated. The puzzles are fairly simple, but use neat mechanics, and are veryA puzzle walking sim with beautiful environments and a subtle dark atmosphere. The visuals are amazing - the extensive use of photogrammetry produces very realistic models and textures. In my opinion this game represents the largest advance in graphics since 2007's “Crysis”. The story is lean but well written and narrated. The puzzles are fairly simple, but use neat mechanics, and are very well presented. A minor complaint is that there is no manual save system - only checkpoints, and they are quite far apart at times. This game runs well on old hardware, but stutters a bit.

    Overall, this is one of the best indie games of recent years.    … Expand
  24. Enlil
    May 18, 2015
    6
    Many reviews complain that the game is a "walking simulator" and that there isn't much game there. However, I have the opposite problem. As everyone says the setting is gorgeous. I completely enjoyed the first ~10-15 minutes of the game. I walked along a train track that's hugging a lake and leads over a dam to a abandoned little settlement. But then "the game" starts. It throws tediousMany reviews complain that the game is a "walking simulator" and that there isn't much game there. However, I have the opposite problem. As everyone says the setting is gorgeous. I completely enjoyed the first ~10-15 minutes of the game. I walked along a train track that's hugging a lake and leads over a dam to a abandoned little settlement. But then "the game" starts. It throws tedious puzzles at you that just were chores. To make matters worse the game eventually leads you underground. Obviously there is no stunning landscape underground. During certain parts of puzzles the game also applies a blue filter which is supposed to make the game spooky. However, I don't care for that, I just want to see the pretty landscape. I loved Dear Esther which just had you walk through its beautiful landscape and didn't interrupt you with silly puzzles. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter would have been much better if it either had completely left out the silly puzzles or put enough effort into that part of the game to actually make it enjoyable.… Expand
  25. Aeryx
    Dec 14, 2017
    9
    I lost count of how many times I stopped and just looked at the distance while immersing myself in the world and eye-popping graphics. Combine that with a haunting story, brilliant writing and voice acting that really connects and you have a game so good, even buying it at full price feels like a steal.

    Every time I play this, I can almost feel the wind in the game brush against my face.
  26. ihatecheez
    Dec 16, 2016
    4
    the game is beautiful and sounds great, but it's held down by very slow pacing, puzzles that take forever to solve, if you mess up you have to start all over again, and the story doesn't make much sense unless you look up the lore...
  27. cJEThomas
    Apr 4, 2015
    5
    Another in a long line of mostly non-interactive Unreal Engine walking games where nothing much happens. You have to solve a series of mostly illogical logic puzzles that piece together a back-story of how a little boy goes missing. Too vague for its own good, with no gameplay mechanics to speak of.
  28. strav
    May 19, 2019
    8
    Once in a while, you stumble upon and old house, a peculiar landscape or some forgotten music that instantly triggers your imagination, that sets a dreamy mood you just can't let go. Oddly enough for a game, this is exactly what The Vanishing of Ethan Carter did for me. Nothing is rushed on you, you simply wander and uncover the story as you go along. The music, the narrative, theOnce in a while, you stumble upon and old house, a peculiar landscape or some forgotten music that instantly triggers your imagination, that sets a dreamy mood you just can't let go. Oddly enough for a game, this is exactly what The Vanishing of Ethan Carter did for me. Nothing is rushed on you, you simply wander and uncover the story as you go along. The music, the narrative, the landscape, everything is carefully balanced to let you breath and inhale the game. While this is of course along the lines of games like Gone Home and Dear Esther, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is on a completely different level in terms of making you care and being genuinely interesting. It's one of the very rare games in which I got goosebumps while not being directly spooked by some lurking horror waiting to devour my character in some horrible way. In all, on some rainy autumn night, you're looking for an atmospheric, well written, astonishingly beautiful adventure game, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter might be the perfect game for you.

    The only reason I don't give this game 10 out of 10 is that the level of interaction is a little too mild for my taste: a handful of basic puzzle solving here and there, some item finding and that's mostly it. While there is definitely more interaction that what you'll find in Dear Esther or Gone Home, being a puzzle solver at heart, for me, it's not quite enough.    … Expand
  29. nima1990
    Jan 2, 2015
    9
    The mood and atmosphere of this game is simply bleak and sends chills down your spine. Texture resolution is unbelievable and the scenery and foliage bring you down to your knees and the game is powered by Unreal Engine 3. Can you believe it? The only problem with graphics is the lighting engine is a bit dated and doesn't live up to the game's graphical standard. The story is great and theThe mood and atmosphere of this game is simply bleak and sends chills down your spine. Texture resolution is unbelievable and the scenery and foliage bring you down to your knees and the game is powered by Unreal Engine 3. Can you believe it? The only problem with graphics is the lighting engine is a bit dated and doesn't live up to the game's graphical standard. The story is great and the horror that is never shown explicitly makes the game stand out. I'd give it 10/10 if the game had a quick saving feature.… Expand
  30. charmer
    Dec 13, 2014
    10
    The game itself might not have been perfect at release, especially the save system, but the patches released shortly afterwards took care of that and several other glitches.

    The game experience is unique and rewarding for those who pay attention. There is a handful of key locations and scenes in the open world that give away tidbids of the story. Some are associated with a puzzle, some    The game itself might not have been perfect at release, especially the save system, but the patches released shortly afterwards took care of that and several other glitches.

    The game experience is unique and rewarding for those who pay attention. There is a handful of key locations and scenes in the open world that give away tidbids of the story. Some are associated with a puzzle, some are not. The game is quite minimalistic in game mechanics but the gorgeous environment and music make up for that aplenty.

    On the other hand, you might get stuck a couple of times as it is not always apparent what to do next. I take that as a positive though. I knew in advance the game is of the short variety so I didn't take the speedrun approach and explored the heck out of the beautiful photogrammetrized world. When I finally got stuck towards the end, I had already spent over 5 hours in the game.

    The originality of the authors to take the FP engine, normally associated with mindless action, and merge it with adventure elements and a genuine mystery plot, must be commended. I agree with the authors that this is the future of gaming, or at least one of them.

    Bottomline, with the patches available now, I recommend The Vanishing of Ethan Carter to any player willing to try something new.    … 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.
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  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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