The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a first-person story-driven mystery. Purchase this game to get both the original and the Unreal Engine 4 remaster called The Vanishing of Ethan Carter Redux.
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Prices
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About
GOOD NEWS EVERYONE: By purchasing the game, you actually get two games now: 1) The original The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, 2) The Unreal Engine 4 remaster called The Vanishing of Ethan Carter Redux. Please see The Astronauts website for details.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a first-person story-driven mystery game that focuses entirely on exploration and discovery. It contains no combat or explosions of any kind. If our game leaves any scars, we hope you won’t be able to see them.
You play the game as Paul Prospero, an occult-minded detective who receives a disturbing letter from Ethan Carter. Realizing the boy is in grave danger, Paul arrives at Ethan’s home of Red Creek Valley, where things turn out to be even worse than he imagined. Ethan has vanished in the wake of a brutal murder, which Paul quickly discerns might not be the only local murder worth looking into.
Inspired by the weird fiction (and other tales of the macabre) from the early twentieth century, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter aims to significantly evolve immersive storytelling in games. While it features a private detective and quite a few mental challenges, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is not an especially puzzle-ridden game. Our focus is on atmosphere, mood, and the essential humanity of our characters.
Still, the discoveries won’t happen on their own, or without your help. Using both Paul’s supernatural skill of being able to communicate with the dead, and your own powers of observation, you will discover the mystery behind a trail of corpses, the roots of a dark ancient force lurking in Red Creek Valley, and the fate of a missing boy.
Explore and interact with the beautiful yet ominous world of Red Creek Valley, which was created with the use of revolutionary photogrammetry technology that allows for nearly photorealistic environments.
Communicate with the dead and see how they died in order to gather clues that help you piece together the truth behind Ethan’s disappearance -- and the fate of his family.
Experience, in non-linear fashion, a story that combines the pleasures of pulp, private eye, and horror fiction, all of it inspired by writers such as Raymond Chandler, Algernon Blackwood, Stefan Grabinski, and H. P. Lovecraft.
Conduct the investigation on your own terms and at your own pace. Although there are a few scary bits in the game, players will have no need for sedatives. Our game is less about terror and more about clammy unease.
Add-ons
Each DLC is estimated with the same model as a game, then summed — a modeled figure, not reported DLC sales.
Sums Steam only; PlayStation, GOG, Xbox, Epic publish no volume signal, so the true total is higher by an unknown amount.
| Store | Price | Audience | Score | Chart | Est. revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SteamYou are here | $19.99 | 9Kreviews | 88% | — | $3.2M |
| $19.99 | 8.4Kratings | 88% | — | not modelled | |
Updates
Build ids and update times come straight from Steam's PICS — the same source SteamDB reads. Patch history grows as we record new builds.
Engagement
Reviews
Themes across 807 recent reviews and how positive each mention is. A keyword signal, not full sentiment analysis.
Reviews
A lot of people seem to have found a lot to like about this game, but ho boy was I not one of them. As both a fan of, and advocate for, immersive narratives of the kind sometimes derided as "walking sims," I sadly found The Vanishing of Ethan Carter to exemplify everything about the genre that's frustrating. Featuring an unhurried protagonist with a fondness for portentous voiceovers, limited interactivity and an impressionistic plot, Ethan Carter felt more about mood than gameplay or even narrative. After stumbling through the entire game world in less than an hour and feeling I was missing the point, I learned online that progress is through a series of non-linear, un-signposted "puzzles" that principally test the player's patience for scouring the environment for interactive objects. The game apparently does offer some environmental cues, but they were too subtle for me; rendering the exercise one of unappealing trial-and-error. Ethan Carter is beautiful, atmospheric and totally not for me. Maybe grab it on sale and see if it's a better fit for you. But I found Firewatch, Tacoma and Edith Finch all to be vastly superior exemplars of the "walking sim" genre.
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All-time low is the lowest price we've recorded for this game since we started tracking it.
Languages: English*, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Polish*, Czech*languages with full audio support
| $19.99 |
| 657ratings |
| 82% |
| — |
| not modelled |
| $19.99 | 401ratings | 82% | — | not modelled |
| $19.99 | — | 85% | — | not modelled |
Matched by title — a reused name can pair the wrong games. * is a critic aggregate. Prices and positions are each store's United States storefront; Epic charts worldwide. Audience and Score too, except Steam's, which is worldwide.
Hours played at review time, across 808 reviews with recorded playtime.
positive critical· bar length = how often the theme comes up
The world itself is beautiful. I just wish a different game was set in it. I love walking sims, narrative-based games, and mystery, so i really wanted to like this game. Instead I only got through the first little bit before quitting. The puzzles make you figure them out yourself, but don't really give you anything to go off of so it's just a cycle of going back and forth trying things until you figure out the conceit. The story (so far) is seemingly purposeless shock-value paranormal gore covering a "real truth" that is not only boring but also spoon-fed to you as a reward for completing the mediocre puzzles. It doesn't really make you curious about anything, get you invested in anything, or give you any hints to figure things out yourself. I don't think it qualifies as a mystery game- more of a 'spooky vibes' puzzle-horror. The issue is really that it tries to substitute atmospheric tension (gruesome visuals and scary music) for actual narrative tension (making you want to know what happens next) to the detriment of the entire experience. For a better walking sim, I'd recommend Dear Esther if you like tragic sentimental narratives and Firewatch if you want more of that mystery/danger vibe.
This is a reminder of how amazing graphics didn't used to need a truckload of Power, Raytracing, and AI upscaling, and is a sample of the advancements in rendering that GPU manufacturers tossed in the trash to sell their overpriced ♥♥♥♥ that no one should need
I thought this game was extremely pretentious and the story was mediocre at best. Right off the bat, the title screen proudly proclaims itself to be "a narrative experience that does not hold your hand," an unnecessary statement that drips with contempt for the audience. The game then proceeds to trudge through a few hours of weak "puzzles" that failed to keep my interest and a story that thinks that depressing subject matter is the one ingredient needed for an emotional impact, rather than establishing the characters in any way that might make the viewer attached to them or having a plot that's actually engaging. Spoiler: [spoiler]it's all building up to a variation on the dreaded "it was all a dream." That's it[/spoiler] The nicest thing I can say is that the scenery is kind of pretty i guess. I don't agree with the other reviews that are gushing about the "breathtaking visuals" because there's not a lot of style or creativity on display in the visual design, just some kind of pretty scenery. At least it's not very long. The only reason i have 5 hours on record is because i kept getting distracted and wandering off to get snacks and play on my phone because, as established, this game is not very interesting.
A really gorgeous murder-mystery short experience that might not suitable for everyone, because it seriously requires you to explore EVERY single area and unfold the whole tragic story by your own, its a bit laggy sometimes for me but still IMO this is simply one of the most beautiful game in my library (tho I admit my library is small...)
Excellent game overall. I wish a very similar game like this existed except minimal supernatural stuff and more weird/creepy small town vibe investigation. Like Twin Peaks.
I didn't hate the game, but I didn't love it either. The story line didn't really keep me intrigued and the only puzzle I enjoyed was Behind the Veil. The others were boring and repetitive. It had alot of potential, but just didn't hit the mark for me.
Beautiful indie walking simulator. A bit of suspense, a touch of detective work with mystery, and a dash of surrealism.
Краса - страшна сила, і гра The Vanishing of Ethan Carter тому підтвердження, яке здатне закрутити голову своїм зовнішнім виглядом, гарними краєвидами і простою атмосферою, але події гри виявляються дуже не простими, як здається на перший погляд... Детектив Пол Просперо прибуває в глухе містечко Red Creek Valley з метою знайти хлопчика Ітана Картера. У листі, дитина згадувала про речі, про які знати просто не могла. Поліція таким фантазерам не вірить, а от герой, що має надприродні здібності, ставиться до них з усією серйозністю. Гра справляє надзвичайне перше враження, варто Полу опинитися в лісі на теренах містечка. Причому захоплює не так чіткість текстур, як грамотна робота з кольоровою гамою і правдоподібність картинки. Подерті дерева з пожовклим листям, яке колихає вітер. Вдалині видніються гори, оповиті туманом над річкою. Складається враження, ніби творці скрупульозно розсаджували кожне деревце, кожну травинку, кущик і камінчик, щоб позбавити гру натяку на штучність. За рахунок цього світ здається дійсно живим, хоча місцевих жителів ми не зустрічаємо. Чи заглядає герой у занедбані будинки, чи ходить цвинтарем, чи спускається в шахту — скрізь відчувається гнітюча атмосфера цього дивного місця, що ніби зійшов зі сторінок оповідань Говарда Лавкрафта. Відсутність завантажень теж позитивно позначається на сприйнятті маленького всесвіту. Пол може досліджувати Red Creek Valley без обмежень. Спочатку це бавить. Бродиш по найкрасивіших місцях, відволікаєшся на історію і складаєш шматочки пазлу до купи. Але свобода та відсутність чітких орієнтирів обертається проблемами, оскільки не зрозуміло, куди йти і що робити. Чи треба, чи ні зазирнути до цього будинку? Чи обов'язково вирішувати це завдання? Чи є ця сцена ключовою в сюжеті чи ні? Крім того, не всі маршрути легко виявити і герой може опинитися в безвихідній ситуації без поняття, куди рухатися далі. Оповідання, підкріплене розповідями Ітана, змушує з цікавістю стежити за долею персонажів та переживати за хлопця. Декорації полонять природними квітами та чудовими видами природи. На жаль, десь одну годину 3 годинної кампанії витрачаєш на порожню біганину з місця на місце, але різноманітність оформлення миру та відсутність спроб затягнути пригоду приховує дуже сумну історію. Гра сподобається тим, хто любить головоломки. Це розкішний подарунок для шанувальників містичних історій із сумним фіналом. Рекомендую пройти гру, та поглибитись у атмосферу містечка Red Creek Valley, не пожалкуєте витраченого часу.
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