Games review : The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter may have been around for three years, but it has finally arrived on the Xbox One, along with full 4K support and a new free roam mode.
It is a story-driven game from developers 'The Astronauts'. Following the protagonist Paul Prospero, you are on a search for a young boy who's gone missing.
From the start you are warned thereis no hand-holding. Controlling Paul, you begin on the outskirts of Ethan's hometown, a tiny mining village called Red Creek.
There are no glaring arrows pointing you in the right direction. Instead, there are just a few visual clues such as a building or bridge on the horizon. Soon, you stumble across a bridge and find signs that Ethan might not be the only one missing. A blood-soaked train carriage and, a little further down the line, a dismembered corpse signify that this is only the beginning.
On finding my way to the first few buildings, I went in for a look around and came across my first major puzzle. It was a house that, after reading a letter near the entrance, would allow me to interact with a doorway to alter the room ahead. There were no instructions but after a brief red or white flash after entering the room I worked out that there was a specific layout I was searching for.
Some challenges were simple - such as windows aligned with the previous room - but others where down to guesswork and eventually I found myself inside a secret room which delivered quite a slice of back story.
Proceeding through the game there are not hundreds of puzzles, but those you find will require an equal amount of patience, intelligence and sometimes sheer luck. Each delivers a large slice of the story.
The great thing about Ethan's story is the freedom you have to discover it. Some might not come across the house puzzle until a little later, others might breeze through it and some may even lose patience at the lack of assistance.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is very much about the story and the most important thing is how well that is presented. It is impressive visually, especially with the stunning 4K textures and resolution on the Xbox One X, but also with the quality of writing, audio presentation and the sense of freedom.
Combined, it is a fantastic experience which will test your nerve while still feeling like a fairly relaxed game.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is one of the best looking 4K titles on the One X, especially of smaller (budget) titles.
Although The Astronauts are an Indie dev, they're also incredibly experienced and graphically they have produced an absolute masterpiece. You can choose to cap the frame to 30FPS or unlock it, and while many will choose to cap it for a smoother experience, frame peaks were so infrequent that it is one of the few games I happily keep on the 4K max frame rate because it is optimised so well.
Walking around, you'll find a level of depth to all of your surroundings that make them believable and intriguing. Sight-seeing is a must and, even mid-puzzle, I'd often stop to admire the view. Thankfully an entire mode has been added to experience this element of Red Creek, as free roam removes the story side and allows you to navigate and enjoy the world, with no puzzles, blood or missing children, just the freedom and detail to enjoy the world around you.
Those looking for action – with signs pointing them in the right direction every five minutes - or multiple engaging modes might not be quite as impressed.
Red Creek is fantastic to look at but I don't see the point of the free-roam mode, apart from making the world blood-free and completely child-friendly.
With such a beautiful world to distract you, it is also a little too easy to lose yourself. It won't be long before you find a path back to that long stunning bridge, but with no map or sign-posts, you're likely to spend some of your time wandering around wondering what happens next.
It is pretty harsh to criticise a game for not giving you direction, while also praising it for being a good, old-fashioned challenge without hand-holding, but it's worth mentioning that the puzzles aren't the only thing you'll need patience for.
Bottom Line
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a beautiful game that rewards patience with an engrossing adventure packed with immersive detail both within the well-written story and the glorious 4K textures.
1080p still looks fantastic, and free-roam maintains the freedom to explore but makes it 100% child-friendly.
If you've got patience, you are likely to really appreciate Ethan's Story, as long as you don't jump in at the deep end expecting someone to throw you a float.
It might have taken three years, but Xbox One owners will be pleased to know that it has been worth the wait.
Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 8.5/10
Story: 8.5/10
Value: 8/10
Overall: 8.4/10
