toblix

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Recommended Posts

I could not find the thread for this game, so here is one. Look at this video:

 

Pretty interesting, right? Open world, seems like it's not combat or action oriented, weird puzzles with mangled corpses right after crossing a bridge, etc. The mechanic of finding an object in an open world by getting to see its surroundings seems like it could carry a game all on its own, but here we get weird murder mystery stuff as well, and magic doorways. I don't know, I feel like this game could be pretty awesome, and it's out next month!

 

But. I've commented on this before, but it bears repeating: Look at these pictures from the game. Look at them:

 

Y6rQ8dD.png7ljCYmy.png

 

How has that bridge not fallen down? Is this the mystery of Red Creek Valley?

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm wery excited for The Wanishing of Ethan Carter.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I like these first person adventure games. It's a cool evolution in adventure games. Like Gone Home, and now that Silent Hill P.T. thingy. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Color me interested. The look initially (before the bridge) reminded me of another game in the making with really realistic graphics that were made from photos or video or something. Can't remember what it was, maybe it was on Kickstarter.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This game is using tech like that, I'm pretty sure.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That looks really intriguing so far, and that method for converting from photos to 3D objects is fascinating... looks similar to the driving force behind those smoothed hyperlapse videos that have started appearing recently.

 

The gameplay mechanics aren't clear to me yet... a walking simulator with a psychic detective? I absolutely loved Gone Home after I played all the way through in a single sitting, so that's not a bad thing!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

After making my dumb Star Trek post, I meant to say that I'm pretty interested in this game. Since the team making this at least shares some members with the people who made Bulletstorm, I'm excited to see what they do with more subdued material. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Anyone playing it? I just started. First impression is that it looks real pretty, about what I expected. It's a bit slow on my computer, though, when I make any sudden movements. I played about as far as a gameplay video went. At first I went past the first bigger puzzle, and saw that it seems to be rather open ended in that it doesn't require you to solve it right then, but I eventually returned without finding a lot of other interactive stuff nearby -- maybe that increases when the first puzzle is solved?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yea, I finished it in one sitting. It is so beautiful to look at (I just built a new PC so I could just put everything up to 11). I felt satisfied just strolling through the world, taking in the scenery and the way the music swells up in places and sometimes falls away completely, Mmmmmm! The way this world is connected is really cool. If you see something interesting in the far away distance, you'll be able to explore it at some point. Beyond the puzzles, there's not a lot of interactivity in the world, but I'd say that each distinct area has a puzzle in it. I like that, in that when you find an object of some kind, you kind of know it's related to a puzzle. There is a lack "clutter", which feels appropriate. It feels to the point. Oh, oh, and it also has the thing, where if you pick up newspaper clippings, it's high res enough so you can read the actual article and turn it around (like in Gone Home). It's a little thing, but  NHHH, I love that so much.

 

So although they say it's open ended, in retrospect I did feel like there was defined order to the puzzles? You can leave 'em for later, sure, but in terms of how each puzzle relates to the story... So, I'm not sure, but (don't read if you haven't finished it yet)

Is it possible to find the hidden entrance into the mine on the outside of it? I jumped down the elevator at the 2 houses over the dam and it felt like I shouldn't have been able to do that? I feel like that kind of flubbed up the natural progression of how the devs figured you'd move through the world? I feel like it should've gone train bridge, dam, houses, church, hidden entrance, mines and then coming out near the bottom of the dam.

 

I really liked it and if you like walking simulators, you'll really like this game too! 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've played the first puzzle (the same thing they showed in the video) and expect this to quickly become a weird supernatural thing that doesn't engage me a million percent, but hopefully remain as wisually impressive and immersive as the first twenty minutes. Also, I was glad to find out that it's actually a linear game that lets you explore every area without worrying about heading the wrong way or missing important stuff.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

And talking to 'blix about the game I realized I completely missed the mechanic where one can have a "vision" of where the object you're looking for is. I just walked around a bunch and found them that way...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm about an hour in and I must have missed that mechanic too. I thought when you found a spot where a missing object is, it just would tell you the name of the missing object a bunch. 

Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank

 

By the way, does anyone else feel like we really need a genre name for these kinds of game that isn't "walking simulator." That name was first used to be dismissive, and it doesn't seem to fit here especially well. If anything I'd say that his is an adventure game with shiny graphics. Maybe we could just call them exploration games or something instead. I don't know. I worry about semantics too much.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, I was being facetious when I referred to it as a walking simulator. I think it's an adventure game. But yea, when Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank Crank happens, if you look into the direction the item would actually be located, the words go into focus and you get a prompt for a vision of the objects surroundings.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So I'm the biggest of babies when it comes to any kind of unsettling fiction, the upper limit of my comfort zone extending about as far as maybe a tame episode of Dr. Who, so I'm struggling with this already though I'm only an hour in. I'll echo the astonishment that you guys have expressed regarding the visuals - I mean, I haven't seen game environments rendered as lifelike these before, a fact that certainly isn't helping me any. In the back of my head I know that the technology isn't there yet to present animated models with the same degree fidelity but that hasn't stopped my mind from racing each time I enter a new area. 

 

Folks who are further on, how've you been finding it scaryness wise? So far I'm feeling that same sense of thick, lonely unease that really got me going in Gone Home and Dear Esther though I suspect that's only a taste of what's to come with this game. *gulp*

 

On a related note, anyone have a particular strategy for coping with spooky stuff in games?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Without giving anything away for others, it's probably going to get worse, but you'll probably know when it's at its scariest. 

When I hit that point, I waited until daytime. I played the original Amnesia at night with headphones, but that's not what I wanted most out of this game.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I finished the game yesterday, and I would say that in terms of scares,

anything outside of the mine (so 80% of the game) is quite fine. Nothing will fuck you up out there. And you don't have to do the scary bit until the very end if you don't want to. But if you can't stomach such things, when you descend down that long-ass mine staircase and encounter the warning sign - you'll know it - don't go in there. I'm pretty good about horror games but jesus fucking christ.

 

Ha Lu you jumped down the elevator shaft? You survived? Wow. I looked at the shaft but figured I'd be able to summon the elevator later so I continued to the graveyard and then followed the downhill path to the entrance of the mine, and up to the right of that is a hole where you can enter.

 

Overall I really enjoyed the game. I think that watching the commented gameplay vid before playing the game really gave me a leg up (like I knew how the floaty word mechanic worked and that I had to arrange the scene first). I also liked how despite being a fairly open environment they still guide you to the right places, and I think I progressed in the intended way (except for most of the side quests which they do a good job of informing you about once you get to the 'end'.

 

I especially liked

the foreshadowing at the start that prospero was really just a figment of Ethan's imagination. The timestamp versus the clock at the end where Ethan is found, him knowing it's his last case before he enters the town, it's pretty solid.

 

I did have some stuttering, but I lowered the draw distance and tweaked the smoothed framerate and other optimizations in the config ini to a satisfying degree.

 

Some screenshots:

http://steamcommunity.com/id/hedgefield/screenshots/?appid=0&sort=newestfirst&browsefilter=myfiles&view=imagewall

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You know, there didn't appear to be any falling damage. I was honestly just testing to see if there was a collision mesh anywhere preventing from doing just that, but I guess not! Like I said, I'm not sure I was supposed to be able to do that.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I played another hour or so, and I'm really into the game overall. As everyone said, the visuals are just beautiful, and the music (and how it responds to your movement) is pretty good too. I'm a little disappointed with some of the writing and voice acting though, which is kind of disappointing for such a story-heavy game. I think the overarching plot is fine, but some of the moment-to-moment dialog is kind of spotty, and whenever Ethan talks, I cringe a bit.

 

The mines are really something. I don't get scared too easily, in games or movies, but from the elevator ride on, I was on edge. After finding the warning and getting caught by the wandering zombie guy, my heart rate didn't go down for quite a whiile.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now