The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

The story is not nearly as clever as the authors thought it would be and honestly I guessed the final twist after a few seconds (when I tried to walk back the tunnel right at the start). There are too many obvious hints and the idea is not that new or clever anyway. However, from a visual point of view, this is one of the most beautiful games I ever played. Even though some of the object are heavily re-used, things like tree stumps or rocks are detailed and believable like I never observed this in a game before. Even the technically most advanced games tend to disappoint you with simple models and ugly or flat textures here and there but in Ethan Carter's world, nearly everything looks beautiful and the rest looks still pretty good. Which still is not what makes this game so beautiful. It's the extremely well designed environment. The small forest and bridge at the start are already very nice, but the area around the dam with the pictorially deteriorated buildings is simply one of the best world designs I ever saw in any game. And while I wandered through the woods up the hill towards the church and cemetery I thought multiple times that I this is really the most detailed and realistic environment I ever saw in a game. You can freely roam the whole scenario even though it is not very large and while this is really enjoyable, there is not an awful lot of things to do and most of the riddles are very simple and straight forward. There is only one place in the game where you can "die" but then you are just reset to the entrance of the area. And there's only one "secret" to be found (grenade -> sniper rifle.) Well, yeah, it's a bit too short and easy but honestly I also liked that part because my and patience are somewhat limited. I give it four stars instead of five since there is room for improvement, but I'm very happy with this purchase (especially as it was on sale) and consider to even play it again some time (and this time don't miss to throw the grenade).

This game is a very decent atmospheric piece of art. TL;DR just play it: the price is good, it does not overstay its welcome, rather short, but full of suspense. Graphics: - very good vistas all over the place - nature fosters a feeling of loneliness (not in a bad way, rather prompting you to reflect and listen to your own thoughts) Music: - most splendid instrumental pieces - invokes a sense of mystery and is 100% to the point Gameplay: - it is not your regular point-and-click adventure game - it says "we won't hold your hand" and it doesn't lie - the puzzles, IMO, are sometimes challenging, but not in a way you think. The are not complex per se, but rather require you to search the area thoroughly - inventory and NPCs are, essentially, non-existent - in the beginning your understanding of what your character can and cannot do is murky. As you as you get the gist the puzzles will get much more streamlined - the approach of "what I would do IRL" works here almost flawlessly, kudos to the game designers! Story: - it is immersive, you will not notice the time passing while you play - honestly, I did not expect the way the idea of the game is presented at the very end - IMO, the ending could have been more... imaginative? I don't say it is bad in any way, it is just I've expected something to "unwrap" and it didn't. At least, there are no unanswered questions, I suppose, which mentally "joins" the story in a full circle. It is, of course, VERY subjective so try it out and see for yourself ;) My review: 5 stars. For what you pay you get SO much more. It is a truly immersive game, which makes you wonder what's next after every single puzzle. Bravo!

OK, I hoped for a detective story and it seems I should have read more before buying this title. But WTF was it?! Some insane bunch of random stories leading to some supposedly sublime and maudlin ending. I wasted time and money.

A tale of loss, with a beautiful presentation and music score, some may call it a walking simulator, but I always fourd that term dismissive of the value of a good mystery with some light puzzles.

Another walking simulator. A little bit more interactive than Dear Esther, but not much. You are thrown into beautiful landscape but you have no idea what to do in there, no hints, no tutorial whatsoever. I started playing, after 1 hour I have walked across the whole map, found some letters, items and clues and then I got stuck. Then I found in walkthrough that when floating words appear you must position your view so that all words merge into one. The game does not tell you that and it is not obvious at all. Or, in the beginning, there are some traps in a forest. I found some, thought it is only a prop and walked on. Only walkthrough told me that these traps are important for the story and you have to find them all. And the whole game has this issue.