The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a first-person supernatural murder mystery set in the haunting Red Creek Valley. Red Creek Valley is an abandoned locale overtaken by nature. The beauty of the environment is astounding and the technical capabilities of the developers are showcased in everything you see. The title takes place in a gorgeous open world where you must use your paranormal investigating abilities to solve crimes. The game takes place from the perspective of Paul Prospero, a detective in search of the titular character whose gift for peering into other realms leads to his disappearance. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter features an amazing story and everyone should experience this title. Aside from some confusing moments while navigating the landscape, the game is truly mesmerizing.
The contrast this title offers between its beautiful, peaceful environments and gruesome crime scenes is a sight to behold. It enhances the horror elements at the foundation of this game. The desolate and decaying world adds to the feeling of dread. The haunting music coupled with the other two pillars makes it a unique experience and a horror game unlike any other.
As mentioned earlier, you play as a detective and it is your responsibility to combine clues to uncover what happened at each crime scene. When you come across an object of importance, you see Paul’s thoughts dancing around the screen. These words reveal little bits of information that help point you in the right direction. After examining a multitude of clues, you have enough to put together a timeline. This becomes a little puzzle in itself. The game provides you with little flashbacks pertaining to the crime scene and you must determine the order in which they took place. If you get it right then you can move onto the next part of the story. I was hoping for more of a challenge because navigating the environment and finding clues is quite difficult. I suppose it is good to have a reprieve now and then.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter deals with important topics such as dysfunctional families and how children cope with these problems. The fact that the developers tackle serious issues in the purview of a mystery game is also commendable. This makes the title into something more and separates it from other supernatural mystery games like Murdered: Soul Suspect. The shocking and unexpected ending is emotional at the same time and brings the whole experience together. Like many of my friends, I felt the need to play through the game again because there are so many hints to what is really going on in the game. I cannot believe I missed them. That is all I am going to tell you because I do not want to spoil the surprise.
You cannot predict what is going to happen in The Vanishing of Ethan Carter due to its nature. While everything is connected to Ethan Carter, your encounters throughout the game are bewildering and out of the ordinary. It is remarkable how the developers were able to weave in so many different ideas and connect it all at the very end. As alluded to earlier, the game is a testament to amazing storytelling as well.
Some sequences in The Vanishing of Ethan Carter lead to confusing moments which take you out of the experience. For example, early on in the game when Paul Prospero first enters Red Creek Valley, you eventually have to follow an apparition. Chasing it becomes a chore because it disappears and reappears in the distance and is very hard to find for some odd reason. If you are unable to keep up you have to start the chase from the beginning. Navigating the environment can also get confusing because it always seems like you are stumbling across clues and structures and do not really know where to go. Maybe this was a design decision by the developers but it also takes you out of the story as you are constantly worried about where you are. The good news is that these issues do not detract that much from the overall experience and playing the game in a cautious and vigilant manner alleviates these concerns. You cannot rush The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
The best part about the game has to be how all the clues come together when you solve a crime. Many games have attempted to do this in the past but not many have been successful. Murdered: Soul Suspect is the most successful example I can think of before The Vanishing of Ethan Carter came along. Even though The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is much simpler than the other title, it presents the same challenge in a much more creative and focused way. By peeling back the mystery one layer at a time, the developers paint a complete picture of everything that happened to Ethan Carter. When you know what is going on, they give you with the biggest shock ever in any game and completely turn everything around. I said this before and I will say this again, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a phenomenal experience that all gamers should get their hands on. The technical foundations of the title are as strong as its storytelling front and it was a smooth experience. I cannot recommend this title enough. Do yourself a favor and play this game.
Asher is a games journalist, former News Writer (Gaming) at Windows Central. They contributed 1110 articles to ICXM between 2015–2017, focused on opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news: wrote over 1,100 ICXM pieces on Xbox news, hardware reviews, and platform commentary before joining Future plc’s Windows Central in 2017.