The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Yeti Beast

Remember Painkiller and Bulletstorm? Well, some of the people behind those games have gone and formed a new studio called The Astronauts, and Ethan Carter will be their first offering. You might expect it to be another OTT FPS, but it's something quite.... different. And potentially disturbing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4_TLZ5yQs0

You play as an occult detective investigating the disappearance of a young boy in the isolated Red Willow Creek. This is The Astronauts's description;

Inspired by the weird fiction stories and other tales of macabre of the early 20th century, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a game to be played at night, alone, and with headphones.

Can't wait.

McSasquatch II

Anyone else looking forward to this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsHppcIcpfM

5uspect

So this is out since the 25th. Bought it today on Steam.

I'm really enjoying it so far. All I've done so far is what was shown in the above video however. We'll see how I manage the investigations without that initial guide to help. I like the way you are not rushed from scene to scene and can trudge about and get lost in the world.

It looks absolutely stunning, all that texture work has paid off. Runs nicely as well. I guess you could describe it was Dear Esther with a bit of an Alan Wake vibe in a free roaming beautiful world. If you're looking for a walking simulator with a supernatural mystery puzzle gimmick this is the game for you.

Sand

I finished this. I'd struggle to recommend it though. Its very...French I guess. It is beautiful and the mood is excellent, but very little actually happens and you have absolutely no indicators whatsoever - subtle or otherwise - where the next "thing to do" is. There is no map. At all. So you end up randomly wandering around until you happen to trip over an "event". Its a large map, and there is only a few events - good luck finding them. One of them in particular is so obscurely hidden that it can only be a trolling attempt by the Devs.

Most of these "events" equally have no particular feedback - what do you have to do? are you close to done yet? once done what objective do you have next? But the puzzles are not amazingly complicated - its actually finding them that the difficulty. So its not really a game...there is no gameplay other than wandering around.

There is a story being told, once the story is told there is absolutely no replay value. It is at times very, very, very beautiful, but only get it very cheap on sale and only understanding its basically not a game. Its art, I guess.

Grumpypants

Just finished this today and I'm a bit torn. Looks amazing is an enjoyable game. Delighted for once a game isn't bombarding you with big flashing arrows saying clue here, or pre set routes but rather it forces you to explore, but at the same time there are only a handful of mysteries to find. They are pretty basic and easy to solve and are limited to the few pieces that are relevant. I spent a lot of time at the start looking for stuff that might be a clue but pretty much everything outside of the preset small number of clues is just background.

johnny_ultimate

This is definitely one of the most beautiful looking games I've ever played. The world is captivating, full of photogenic moments and detail. It's a credible, realistic place but with an artist's touch - so every time you turn a corner or enter a new area you're guaranteed to be met with a picture postcard scene.

Storywise it's intriguing and intelligently told throughout. The 'putting together clues from the environment' is a nice way for the story to emerge organically, and the fractured, episodic nature of the narrative means it remains just the right amount of elusive until everything finally comes together for a poignant ending. The highlights are definitely the more fantastical moments, with the

'spaceman'

section particularly well-judged. What's most impressive is that ultimately this flights of fancy gel nicely with the overall theme and characterisation of the main character - they're obviously an opportunity for the developers to indulge some of their more out there visual ideas, but it all comes together coherently.

The gameplay is more involved than you're typical 'walking simulator' type game, and while everything is set in stone, I felt the developers achieved a nice compromise of a directed story without completely foregoing 'interactivity' in the process.

There are some niggling concerns. The floating 'hints' were an odd move for a game that boasts from the outset that it doesn't hold your hand - actually, it does, and quite a bit, which wouldn't have been an issue had the development team not been so vocal about being hands off. The open world is definitely more 'empty' than it should be - with so many dense forests, curious paths and hidden crevices it would have been nice if there were at least a few more rewards for heading off the main track than a couple of pretty scenes. The game is otherwise IMO a perfect length (especially for one with a focused, clear narrative) but could have benefited from the empty space being cut back a bit or alternatively more 'stuff' put into it. Not horrid collectibles or anything like that, but anything that added even more colour to this gorgeously autumnal environment.

Slight disappointments in what is otherwise a deeply impressive title. I have a lot of time for games that are simply content to tell a story in an imaginative and experimental way, and Ethan Carter certainly doesn't disappoint on that front.

pablomakaveli

New "redux" version of this is released.

And they've improved the save system.:D That was my biggest criticism.

I presume the scary bit they refer to in the article is the bit

in the tunnels where you're trying to find the bodies to solve the puzzle and the ghost with the latern appears. That ghost really creeped me out anyway.