The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Nice little game with wonderfule landscape, interesting puzzles and story Maybe at full price a little expensive, but on sale a very good choice.

This is one of the real suprises of the recent years: An adventure totally different than everything what has been called adventure before. Usigng the unreal engine, you get real strong atmosphere, sometimes depressing or horror-like, since this game is not a bright one. It's maybe the best adventure I have ever played, although it is very short and can be played in one single prolonged night.

I had a wonderful evening playing this game! Agreeing with what other people have said, it is a short game (a few hours), but don't let that fool you into thinking that it isn't well done or worth your time/money. This game is beautiful! The graphics and paroramic views of the lakes, mountains, forests, and city are gorgeous. While it doesn't "hold your hand," as the game tells you in the beginning, it does give you all the information you need to figure out the puzzles and characters and I felt invested in figuring out what had happened. It also does an excellent job at keeping you creeped out, and always alert as to what might be going on in the next room or around the corner. There were a couple moments where I jumped and made a pathetic yelping noise, which was a lot of fun haha, but it isn't a "horror" game and the "scary" moments make complete sense in the context of the narrative. I would absolutely love more of this game!

TVOEC is another entry into the currently popular walking simulator genre with a nicely written story. You walk/run around following the narrative.. which I can't say much about since that would be a spoiler, but suffice it to say there are elements of horror and drama in the story. Now as with every game your mileage may vary, but my first playthrough took me just under three hours. It's a beautiful experience if you have the patience for these walking simulators, but I would still recommend getting it at 40-50% off as there is no real replay value and it's a short game.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is astounding on so many levels. Visually, it presents itself almost photorealistically. After completeing the game, I come back, over and over, simply to walk the landscape and take screen shots. The ambience of the game is reminiscent of the old Phantasmagoria and 7th Guest / 11th Hour games from the early nineties. Everything in the game looks meticulously hand-crafted and will make your jaw drop. Once the initial load screen has passed, the game seems to never load areas again. There is no quick travel, which upon closer reflection makes a lot of sense, as I feel it would break the immersion. The gorgeous landscapes makes the missing quick travel unimportant anyway. I absolutely recommend this game. I am looking so much forward to the next project from The Astronauts.