THE VANISHING OF ETHAN CARTER Review - Tension In The Daylight

Daylight has never been so disconcerting.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter isn’t a horror game — not by a long shot. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t skirt the edge of tension throughout its 6 hour or so stay. The game declares from its opening moments that it is a narrative experience, and no hand-holding is in store. It isn’t lying, and while that is initially a tad frustrating, it teaches the player to focus on the task in front of them, as well as to constantly be aware of their surroundings. You might hit your head against the wall a few times in the midst of attempting to solve what the game wants you to do next, but those moments are few and far between. More often than not, you are moving along at a steady pace, latching onto the cues the world gives as well as the occasional narration by your faceless hero.

You step into the worn soles of a private eye attempting to find a missing boy. It becomes quickly apparent, though, that there is more to this then a child running away from home. There won’t be spoilers here, because that would be robbing you of a journey that is well worthwhile. At the center is Ethan Carter, a boy you get to know throughout your journey in this beautiful world without much interaction with him. The Astronauts have crafted an absolutely gorgeous game, with incredible sound design. The environments feature sparkling waterfalls and picturesque trees; orange, green, and red leaves litter the pathways in front of you. It is something out of a painting, and yet the silence that inhabits this place is just eerie enough to unsettle you. It is at these points that the game infuses a touch of the supernatural or just plain weird to throw things into high gear, and you aren't ever truly sure what to believe. 

Mechanically, the game revolves around you finding clues in the environment, and, once those are all collected, putting the events that transpired into chronological order so you can see what happened and continue following the trail. You definitely empathize with what Ethan is going through, which pushes you on to find the next bit of clues. What I would encourage you to do is to explore, and not be afraid of going the wrong way or getting ahead of where you think you are supposed to be. The game has a built-in mechanic towards the end of the narrative to negate just that, so just find the path you want to follow and follow it. Be curious, and that will ultimately help you in the end.

The game has a few surprises, and a few minor annoyances. Both of these can be found in the underground mine section of the game. There is a genuine surprise that will probably freak most out upon first sight, but the puzzle part of this area can be a bit frustrating.

It involves finding multiple bodies, namely their souls, so you can open a gateway. You have to find a number of these before you can open it. The first few are easy, but the windings of this maze are a bit too confusing, leading to some frustration and probably to some just abandoning the area all together (you can just leave and move forward with the story). I personally had to get some extra help ala some online FAQs to get past it, as I wasted about an hour or so on just wandering around the mine looking for the last soul. The maps are just a bit too vague, and could've used a bit more detail. The thing is, one of the most jaw-dropping moments follows the completion of this section and its puzzle, so ultimately it was worth seeing, but it didn't have to be that cumbersome a process.

The gameplay loop might not sound very deep at its core, but paired with the lush visuals and mysterious narrative, the game made a definite impression on me, and I'm glad I got to experience it. It might not appeal to everyone, but if you are looking to try something a little different, then The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is definitely worth your time.

GeekTyrant Homepage