Online specials: Steam, Greenman Gaming, GamersGate, etc

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

I glance at the sale going on at Humble Bundle and nothing really caught my eye, trying my utmost not to spend any more, I have so many to complete still, but then I saw The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. I'm all for games where you blow shit up and fire enough ammunition to give Rambo a hard on, but every now and then, more lately, I just want to play a game that different from the mold. (Life is Strange is great example! Eshter too.)

But, if you know the game already, read the devs blurp here below:
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a first-person story-driven mystery game that focuses entirely on exploration and discovery. It contains no combat or explosions of any kind. If our game leaves any scars, we hope you won’t be able to see them.

You play the game as Paul Prospero, an occult-minded detective who receives a disturbing letter from Ethan Carter. Realizing the boy is in grave danger, Paul arrives at Ethan’s home of Red Creek Valley, where things turn out to be even worse than he imagined. Ethan has vanished in the wake of a brutal murder, which Paul quickly discerns might not be the only local murder worth looking into.

Inspired by the weird fiction (and other tales of the macabre) from the early twentieth century, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter aims to significantly evolve immersive storytelling in games. While it features a private detective and quite a few mental challenges, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is not an especially puzzle-ridden game. Our focus is on atmosphere, mood, and the essential humanity of our characters.

Still, the discoveries won’t happen on their own, or without your help. Using both Paul’s supernatural skill of being able to communicate with the dead, and your own powers of observation, you will discover the mystery behind a trail of corpses, the roots of a dark ancient force lurking in Red Creek Valley, and the fate of a missing boy.

Key Features
  • Explore and interact with the beautiful yet ominous world of Red Creek Valley, which was created with the use of revolutionary photogrammetry technology that allows for nearly photorealistic environments.
  • Communicate with the dead and see how they died in order to gather clues that help you piece together the truth behind Ethan’s disappearance -- and the fate of his family.
  • Experience, in non-linear fashion, a story that combines the pleasures of pulp, private eye, and horror fiction, all of it inspired by writers such as Raymond Chandler, Algernon Blackwood, Stefan Grabinski, and H. P. Lovecraft.
  • Conduct the investigation on your own terms and at your own pace. Although there are a few scary bits in the game, players will have no need for sedatives. Our game is less about terror and more about clammy unease.
Click to expand...

The STEAM rating for the game is Very Positive and on metacritic, both the critic and user reviews are above 80% on average. Granted, I have not played it, but just bought it after watching TotalBiscuits demo build vid down at the bottom of my post.
The graphics also look very top notch!

If you are interested, purchase it at HumbleBundle sale, going for $6.79 (normal price is $19.99)

Imho, from reading the various reviews, seeing the gorgeous world, doing something else than go there, blow that up, go here and pickup. Nothing much wrong with that, but my point is, this looks like something else you should try...

 
Last edited:
FarligOpptreden said:
It must be REALLY bad. I'm staying far away from it.
Click to expand...

Fishy. It is no longer on Steam. Just the TITANS version of it. From what I last remember this game got bad reviews due to unfulfilled promises. TITANS scoring much higher, even though you have to essentially buy the whole game again...
 
FarligOpptreden said:
It must be REALLY bad. I'm staying far away from it.
Click to expand...

No, its because they released an expansion (Titans) that contained the main game also removed original Planetary Annihilation from Steam lib (Unless you bought it)

Kinda a dick move if you ask me, esp seeing that they gave Titans to Kickstarter backers but not Steam Early access users.... Was big war about that one.

You can therefore say you getting a demo/BETA for $1

TiTANS contain game-play elements that was promised to Early access users so yeah....
 
VirtualForce said:
looool, dewd, I love the pessimism. :D Brutal honesty that. :D
Click to expand...

What can I say? Life has soured me the past year, so I call it like I see it.

oltman said:
Fishy. It is no longer on Steam. Just the TITANS version of it. From what I last remember this game got bad reviews due to unfulfilled promises. TITANS scoring much higher, even though you have to essentially buy the whole game again...
Click to expand...

AlphaJohn said:
No, its because they released an expansion (Titans) that contained the main game also removed original Planetary Annihilation from Steam lib (Unless you bought it)

Kinda a dick move if you ask me, esp seeing that they gave Titans to Kickstarter backers but not Steam Early access users.... Was big war about that one.

You can therefore say you getting a demo/BETA for $1

TiTANS contain game-play elements that was promised to Early access users so yeah....
Click to expand...

Well, you 2 guys just sealed the non-deal for me. Why the hell would I buy something that's been chucked in the Steam garbage bin that's not gonna be supported anymore? No thanks... Besides, I just spent R740 on Rocksmith which is sure to last me the rest of my life.
 
Wyzak said:
It's not that bad. I played the game when it was still in development, and it had some serious issues then but I believe most of those have since been resolved. I'm going to give it another shot soon.
Click to expand...

Ya, it was only $1 anyways... Would have rather waited to contribute that dollar towards Titan when it eventually goes on sale, but like mentioned already, it was a pretty dick move by the devs...
 
murfle said:
Ya, it was only $1 anyways... Would have rather waited to contribute that dollar towards Titan when it eventually goes on sale, but like mentioned already, it was a pretty dick move by the devs...
Click to expand...

Yeah, the whole reason the game got such bad reviews in the first place was also due to a mistake the developers made imo. They appeared to be in a hurry to make the game v1 and released it as v1 when it wasn't ready yet. The reviewers tore into it, and they've been trying to dig themselves out ever since.
 
Planetary Annihilation has certainly improved and now has the features that were promised (especially offline play). I'd say it's worth $1 if you want to check it out. Those who own PA get a discount 66% discount on TITANS (until 18 Oct) so by getting this you can effectively get PA: TITANS for $14.60 (including the $1 for PA) - we at least in theory. Disclaimer not sure if this will work but it may be worth investigating.
 
DarthMol said:
Planetary Annihilation has certainly improved and now has the features that were promised (especially offline play). I'd say it's worth $1 if you want to check it out. Those who own PA get a discount 66% discount on TITANS (until 18 Oct) so by getting this you can effectively get PA: TITANS for $14.60 (including the $1 for PA) - we at least in theory. Disclaimer not sure if this will work but it may be worth investigating.
Click to expand...

Well, I did get the $1 version and I'm seeing the 66% off. Too bad I only have $8 in my steam wallet...
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top