PC Critic Reviews

Nothing is so simply put in The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, but to put it simply, this game is absolutely worth the $20 price tag. It’s not long (about four hours), nor is it particularly challenging, but through and through, this is a beautiful game of strange, twisted, and sometimes sick puzzles.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter has a hauntingly beautiful, unnerving world, and when you leave it, it's like waking up from a very complex dream. The game is extremely pretty and demands some interpretation and asking of the right questions. The Astronauts' first game has many little details, and none of them are accidental. Everything is well thought out and the gameplay walks hand in hand with the story. There should be more games like this.

A stirring tale that walks a fine line between the human and the supernatural. As the layers begin to peel back, what you'll find is a story told with a level of cleverness and elegance rarely seen in games. It confirms the feeling you had from the first breathtaking view; when you enter into Red Creek Valley, you're in for something special.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter leaves you with several amazing memories; moments that you will want to talk to your friends about for hours and will take great pains not to spoil for other people. The fact it packs those so painlessly into a three-hour game while other developers create empty works that take ten times as long to complete speaks volumes.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a compelling interactive novella that draws players in with its beautifully atmospheric setting. The slow burn narrative doesn’t quite land the final emotional punch it’s aiming for, but it more than satisfies on every other level.

A singular experience, at times strange, astonishing and even bewildering, but always captivating. The mystery will keep you going, but what the game does best is surprise. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter has a great story to tell, even if it's not the one you were expecting.

If you’re the kind of person that enjoys story and an immersive experience over gameplay mechanics and action, you’ll surely have a blast with this game, in spite of its largely straightforward puzzles, empty world and some other issues that prevent it from being a true masterpiece.

Subtle, atmospheric, beautiful, exiting. A fantastic thriller.

It's the visually masterfully realised translation of a Lovecraftian short story into something that is not necessarily a horror game and maybe not even a real video game per se. But be that as it may, I had two evenings of excellent entertainment, so there is little to complain about.

If you have the three or four hours to devote to it and care about the future of games as a storytelling medium, Ethan Carter is must-play.