I adored this game! I've been playing since early access, and it's amazing to see how far it's come since its first few versions, and so satisfying to play until the end now. This is a wonderful blend of modern action-RPG (think The Witcher, Thief) and classic adventure games (I couldn't help but be reminded of the Dizzy series - some of my favourite games of all time) with gorgeous graphics that make it such a joy to play. It's not the biggest game ever, and I seriously hope for a sequel or a DLC, but what's there is a meaty adventure with some really memorable characters (Kerold the Pirate Frog being my absolute favourite) and enough unique storylines and game mechanics to keep you coming back. For such a small development team, this feels like a AAA game, and I really hope this isn't the last we've seen of SeithCG or Tilo.
It's not often you find video games that have literary aspirations, but "Ethan Carter" attempts to tell a short "weird tale" in the tradition of Lovecraft, Blackwood, Dunsany, Bierce and their ilk. If you were a fan of "Dear Esther," this takes that conceit to the next level. The graphics are utterly stunning -- that is the first thing that you will notice, and the feature that keeps the player so engrossed in the game all the way through. There is a "Making Of" extra included with the game, as well as a few videos on the developers' website that explain how much effort went in to creating such an authentic-feeling world. The game mechanics centre on a detective's investigation in to the missing titular child. Along your journey to finding Ethan, you uncover various murders which are solved with the aid of your psychic/spiritually-sensitive powers. The puzzles don't require too much thought once you figure out some of the quirks of locating important items. Your character is never in any real jeopardy, aside from one memorable section of the game, and even then you are able to respawn where you left off. The game's story is really what sets it aside from other games. Yes, we've had Lovecraftian games before, but this is a really unique, original story and world that the developers have built. There are nods to their forebears at certain points, but many of the conceits are wholly their own. It really feels like being immersed in a work of short fiction from the early 20th century and, even though it has a contemporary setting, there are many great set-pieces in the tropes of its fiction: the abandoned mine, a ritual murder in a cemetery, a malevolent "sleeper" from beyond, and a family with buried secrets. For all its originality and technical excellence, "Ethan Carter" is a short play and not one for the casual gamer, thanks to its lack of a save feature (it's checkpoints only). Nonetheless, it leaves me really excited to see what The Astronauts do next.
