Platform: Nintendo SwitchAlso on: PC, PS4, Xbox OnePublisher: The AstronautsDeveloper: The AstronautsMedium: DigitalPlayers: 1Online: NoESRB: MMentally, I’ve always slotted The Vanishing of Ethan Carter alongside games like Firewatch, Gone Home, and What Remains of Edith Finch — which is to say, “walking simulators that show the very best of what the genre has to offer. Looking back at when, it was around the same time as, and just a few months before any of those other games. It naturally just kind of became part of that pantheon of genre highlights in my head, I guess.Here’s the thing, though: whereas those games have stood up to repeated playings — in the case of, to — now that I’m playing Ethan Carter again, if I’m being totally honest, I don’t totally get why I held it in such high esteem.Sure, it still does a good job of creating a creepy atmosphere. It may not look quite as sharp on the Switch as it does on other systems, but it by no means looks bad, and, besides that, this game isn’t meant to be a graphical powerhouse. It’s meant to be a mystery, and I found that the abandoned houses and big empty spaces that make up the game are every bit as mysterious as they were the first time around.The major difference that I noticed this time, however, is that the game does a lousy job of living up to its stated goal of being a narrative experience. Like, it says that right in the opening sequence that that’s what the game is meant to be. And yet, unlike those other games I mentioned above that do a good-to-great job of telling a story, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter comes across more as a vague, disjointed idea than a solid narrative that needs to be experienced.

Where those other games kept things tight by, at the very least, pushing you in a certain direction, Ethan Carter gives you those aforementioned big empty spaces and basically expects you to stumble across everything it needs you to.To be fair, that’s not the worst way of telling a story. Found art — in whatever genre you want — can make for a pretty compelling tale. In this case, thought, it feels like you’re just wandering around, looking for dead bodies and puzzles to solve. There’s no sense of urgency, no feeling that you’re pushing the story forward in any way. In fact, it’s entirely possible that you can miss huge chunks of the story entirely, unless you’re in the mood to painstakingly cover every bit of ground, trying to find all kinds of little clues.Obviously, looking back at that first time I reviewed this game, I was in that mood the first time I played The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter has had quite a run. Released back in 2014, the game was recognised for its impressive graphics, soundtrack and story. Now, after winning many awards and being.

This time, however, I’m not. Street fighter x tekken roster. Maybe I’m just not in the right mood to appreciate a good, slow-burning mystery, maybe I’m just more protective of my time as I’ve gotten older, but I feel like there are better ways to spend your free gaming time than wandering slowly around a vaguely menacing environment in the hopes that you’ll stumble across something kind of compelling. More power to you if you’re someone who wants that experience — but if you are, I’ve got to say that there are that offer the same thing, but in a much more interesting form.The Astronauts provided us with a The Vanishing of Ethan Carter Switch code for review purposes.

Contents.Gameplay The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is set in an environment, in which the player can roam around and explore at will; in its opening the game notes that it 'does not hold the player's hand', and as such features very little by way of explanation to the mechanics.To piece together the story, the player must solve the deaths of the Carter family. Upon finding a dead body, the player can use paranormal abilities in order to recreate the events: first it must sense where important objects are located and restore the scene to its original state, and then reassemble the timeline of events tied to a certain death.The game also features additional 'stories' that must be fully uncovered for the game to receive its final ending; some of these are puzzles, others are more akin to a which cause the game to be over if the player fails. Plot In 1973, paranormal investigator Paul Prospero receives a fan letter from 12-year-old Ethan Carter, inspiring him to journey to Ethan's hometown of Red Creek Valley,. Upon arrival, he learns Ethan has gone missing and begins encountering unsettling paranormal phenomena, as well as evidence of recent violence in the tiny mining village.As his investigation progresses, Prospero learns the Carter family's dark secret: Ethan had released a malevolent spirit known as the Sleeper through witchcraft, threatening their lives. When his uncle Chad and mother Missy tried to sacrifice him to appease the Sleeper, Ethan escaped with the help of his father Dale; Missy then killed Chad when he attacked Dale, and Dale later killed Missy. Dale then committed suicide in an effort to not become a vessel of the Sleeper as Ethan's older brother Travis now was.

Travis turns on Ethan, forcing his grandfather Ed to kill Travis. Ethan and Ed try to destroy the Sleeper's chambers, but Ed traps Ethan inside the chamber and waits to die outside as Ethan sets a fire within. Prospero finds Ethan, but he suddenly vanishes after they both realise Prospero was too late.If Prospero has uncovered all of Ethan's stories around the world, then using an elaborate mural created by Ethan, Prospero discovers that he is in fact a figment of Ethan's imagination. The cult of the Sleeper was an invention, as were the deaths of the family members during Prospero's investigation. Ethan had built a sanctuary inside a mansion in town to escape his family, particularly his overbearing mother, and abusive brother and uncle. When his mother accidentally sets the mansion on fire, trapping Ethan in the room with no way to save himself, he summons Prospero to provide comfort as he's consumed by the smoke by enacting a fictitious series of events.

Having fulfilled his purpose, Prospero tells Ethan to let go, and that a new story awaits before both of them fade from the world.Development The game was developed by three former employees, who had previously worked on video games with the company. The team was interested in moving into more story-heavy games. They almost released Come Midnight as a collaboration with, although ultimately this was canceled. Upon forming their own company, The Astronauts, the team had the freedom they needed to work on such a game.From the start the game was always going to be focused on horror. In dissecting the genre, lead designer Adrian Chmielarz discovered the genre of and took inspiration from '. Although he stated that he had the basic idea in mind prior to reading it, the story helped solidify the concept in Chmielarz mind.Feeling that settings in games inherently felt 'a bit artificial', the team instead were inspired by nature to create a more natural-feeling world. The setting in particular takes inspiration from the Polish mountains.

Chmielarz described the game as being 'shot' there. The team used technology in order to create the in-game environment and make it look like the mountain range. Reception The Vanishing of Ethan Carter received positive reviews. Aggregating review websites and gave the PlayStation 4 version 82.46% based on 26 reviews and 81/100 based on 32 reviews and the Microsoft Windows version 81.27% based on 41 reviews and 82/100 based on 65 reviews. The game sold 60,000 copies in its first month on sale.

As of December, 2017, the game has sold over a million copies.Julian Aidan from Hardcore Gamer praised its well-designed open-world, visuals and story, but criticized the gameplay for being too linear, as well as finding the narrative aspect of the game weak. Shaun McInnis from praised the simple yet enjoyable puzzle-solving, captivating story, outstanding graphics and breathtaking environments, but criticized its weird and vague auto-save system. Christopher Livingston from also criticized the save system, but praised the decent voice acting, enjoyable puzzle-solving, as well as the intriguing, satisfying, and wonderfully restrained story. Awards The Vanishing of Ethan Carter received the Best Game Innovation Awards at 2015's (BAFTA). Port The Vanishing of Ethan Carter was ported to, and was released for the PlayStation 4 on July 15, 2015.

The Unreal Engine 4 port was released for the PC on September 11, 2015, under the title Vanishing of Ethan Carter Redux. Apart from the new engine, the revised version includes a new save system, and eliminates the backtracking from the ending sequence of the game. References.

Sinha, Ravi (April 2, 2015). Retrieved April 23, 2015. Purchese, Robert (April 30, 2013).

Retrieved March 27, 2014. Purchese, Robert (May 21, 2014). Retrieved May 21, 2014. Hryb, Larry (January 5, 2018).

Retrieved January 5, 2018. The Astronauts (September 26, 2014). The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. The Astronauts. ^ Reeves, Ben. Game Informer. Retrieved 1 May 2017.

Retrieved August 10, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.

October 31, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014. The Astronauts blog.

Retrieved 2018-10-08. Aidan, Julian (September 26, 2014).

Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved September 26, 2014. McInnis, Shaun (September 26, 2014). Retrieved September 26, 2014.

Livingston, Christopher (September 26, 2014). Retrieved September 26, 2014.

Gera, Emily (March 13, 2015). Retrieved July 5, 2015.

Scammell, David (July 1, 2015). Retrieved July 5, 2015.

11 September 2015.External links.