The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Gameplay

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is set in an open world environment, in which the player can roam around and explore at will. The player can use paranormal abilities in order to solve crimes, such as sensing where important objects are located and reassembling the timeline of events tied to a certain death.

Plot

Paranormal investigator Paul Prospero receives a fan letter from 16-year old Ethan Carter, inspiring him to journey to Ethan's hometown of Red Creek Valley, Wisconsin. Upon arrival, he 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, threatening their lives. When his uncle and mother tried to sacrifice him to appease the Sleeper, Ethan escaped with the help of his father, who 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.

Using an elaborate mural created by Ethan, Prospero discovers that he is in fact a figment of Ethan's imagination, summoned to provide comfort to the dying child by enacting a fictitious series of events. The cult of the Sleeper was an invention, as were the deaths of the family members, and the fire had been started by a simple domestic accident in which Ethan was the only fatality. Having fulfilled his purpose, Prospero tells Ethan that a new story awaits before both of them fade from the world.

Reception

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter received positive reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic 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 June 3, 2015, the game has sold 250,000 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 GameSpot 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 PC Gamer also criticized the save system, but praised the decent voice acting, enjoyable puzzle-solving, as well as the intriguing, satisfying, and wonderfully restrained story. Matt Sloan of CultNoise Magazine described the PS4 version as an 'interactive novella that begs you to live in and experience its world ... A Lovecraftian mystery that thrives on its ambiguity."

Awards

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter received the Best Game Innovation Awards at 2015's British Academy Games Awards (BAFTA).

Unreal Engine 4 re-release

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter was ported to Unreal Engine 4, 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.