![the vanishing of ethan carter. the vanishing of ethan carter.](https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/258520/ss_2bbc4e208f82fef934f437863011f12d44be310e.1920x1080.jpg)
That being said, there are some downsides to having absolutely no guidance-foremost that it’s easy to miss something.
![the vanishing of ethan carter. the vanishing of ethan carter.](https://c.opencritic.com/images/games/629/KolhMmjGTxaz4xDvB6hFWZwt9354Je3I.jpg)
I’m thinking, for instance, of the recent Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments which is at times so heavy-handed with its player feedback that it feels almost patronizing. It’s the type of decision most games either can’t or don’t try to get away with, and you know what? Most of the time that’s fine. There’s something special about knowing nothing when you play Ethan Carter. Each of Ethan Carter‘s ten or so mini-stories is scattered around Red Creek Valley for you to uncover as you go, with the order seemingly ambiguous enough so that if you miss one piece you won’t totally lose the thread of the overarching story. Uncover enough clues and you’ll eventually be able to use Prospero’s supernatural side to psychically reconstruct the events that transpired. Did he crawl? Was he dragged? And why is there a rope tied across the tracks? Upon closer inspection you’ll find the unlucky man’s torso lying a dozen feet away. Half a body, really, considering only the legs are visible. Maybe you’ll narrowly escape the clutching jaws of a half-buried bear-trap, or your pleasant walk will be brought to a halt by a body lying on the train tracks. Who knows what you’ll find first, once you’re turned loose in Red Creek Valley. An America that’s seen its manufacturing, blue-collar past fall out of favor.Īnd Ethan Carter’s small-town America has ripped itself apart, though maybe not without some help from the supernatural. This is the America that Bruce Springsteen likes to sing about-in “The River” for instance. It’s the way the buildings show signs of neglect, the way you stumble on a train platform that’s long been choked with weeds or the way the rusted-out elevator sounds like it might shake itself apart. If you’ve ever been in the backwoods of America, Red Creek Valley feels right. Red Creek Valley is one of the most realistic environments I’ve ever explored in a game-both in terms of raw graphics (the textures are phenomenal ) and in terms of how things are laid out. Call it what you will-a walking simulator, if you’re being derogatory, or an adventure game if you’re into this type of thing. There are a few light puzzles to solve, but most of Ethan Carter involves merely finding those puzzles to begin with.
#THE VANISHING OF ETHAN CARTER. FREE#
You enter Red Creek Valley by way of a set of railroad tracks, and then you’re free to wander the (enormous) area pretty much at your leisure and gape at the scenery. Ominous, right? That’s all the direction you’re given. “There are places that exist that very few people can see,” says Prospero in his opening monologue. You play paranormal detective Paul Prospero, who’s been summoned by the titular Ethan Carter to solve a crime in the sleepy American-rustic Red Creek Valley.