The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

From the very first moments, it’s hard not to admire the stunning environments and the eerie, unsettling atmosphere. Red Creek Valley is easily one of the most visually striking worlds I’ve explored in a game. Unfortunately, that’s where most of the praise ends for me. You’re dropped into a large map filled with side paths and dead ends, with very little guidance on where to go or what to do next. Finding objectives often feels needlessly confusing, turning much of the experience into an unintentional walking simulator. A simple compass or clearer direction system would have gone a long way. More than once, figuring out how to progress felt like searching for a needle in a haystack, and I eventually had to rely on YouTube walkthroughs just to finish the game. I genuinely don’t know how someone is meant to complete it without outside help. The story is certainly unique, but uniqueness alone doesn’t make it compelling. It delivers a serviceable emotional arc, but nothing particularly memorable or impactful. In that sense, it reminded me a lot of Murdered Soul Suspect a game with interesting ideas and atmosphere that ultimately settles into mediocrity. I wish I had more positives to point out, but aside from the visuals, the soundtrack was the only other element that stood out in a good way. Overall, I’d only recommend this to very patient players with plenty of free time who are willing to push through confusion in exchange for atmosphere.

A really gorgeous murder-mystery short experience that might not suitable for everyone, because it seriously requires you to explore EVERY single area and unfold the whole tragic story by your own, its a bit laggy sometimes for me but still IMO this is simply one of the most beautiful game in my library

(tho I admit my library is small...)

You know, I played this game last in 2014, and every time I'm reminded of it... The story is burned into my brain, and the emotions I feel...
It's a good game, but heavy.

Interesting mytery solving game with a really depressing story

Replayed this as a speedrun straight after completing the Redux version to extend the experience. Awesome game. See my Redux review for further thoughts

I played this game roughly five years ago after reading a glowing review of it in an online magazine - the review did not disappoint. I loved this game the format is very different from anything else I've ever played. If you're used to playing standard AAA games with tons of action or crazy special effects you might have to adjust your expectations or this game might not be for you.
The game is heavily story driven and the movement and play reminds me more of Myst than anything else (I think I just dated myself with that reference). I went in not really having any expectations and the story ended up totally blowing my mind. At its heart, it's a story about a young boy but it's really much more complicated than that, and, by the end the story completely cut me to my core.
$20 is a steep price to pay given that I was able to complete the entire game in less than three and a half hours. If you don't mind forking over the cash I think it's a really interesting game to play but it is very niche so you have to be open minded to a new experience when you play.

Good game, cozy, great to finish in 1 sitting, the story was interesting and unique, the narrator was great, visuals were fantastic, the puzzles were kinda iffy, but all in all a great experience packaged into a 4hr estimated runtime.