The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter Looks Intense

You can’t really refute the popularity of murder mystery stories, and if the trailer is any indication, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter looks to be right up that alley.

In development by The Astronauts, a studio founded in 2012 and comprised of some familiar faces from big studios like People Can Fly (Bulletstorm, Gears of War, etc.), the game looks to bring the creepy back without resorting to, the undead, aliens, or monsters, though some macabre elements might be prevalent.

It’s one of those games that I would say is truly an “adult” game, something I’ve said in the past about a few games. It’s not adult in that there’s tons of blood a nudity and all the things that people love to hate video games for (those are notoriously adolescent things to have in a game), but rather it’s a mystery game that’s set very much to intrigue and disturb purely on character, and less on action.

I understand that this is a bit of an odd thing to include in the major gamescape—especially coming from developers who have made some of the more bombastic games we’ve ever seen—but it’s also one of those games that could really be important, at least in the sense that it can further support that games can act as a stronger narrative form, one that truly helps you to identify with the characters involved because you interact with them, rather than observe them.

The game features no combat, and a pacing meant to be enjoyed at your leisure. While The Astronauts themselves say it’s “a game to be played alone, at night, and with headphones,” it’s still a game that’s less about utter terror and more about a general disquiet and unease.

Thus far, there’s not much else to know, but I can say that something about the game is strangely compelling, kind of like LA Noire but further in the investigative direction. The idea of playing a game that can really bring you in without making you shoot people or crush skulls is a nice change of pace.

The game is releasing exclusively for PC later this year, though no specific release date has been set. You can get yourself prepped and ready by reading the prequel comic about the game here. We’ve got a trailer below for you, too.