If you are wondering which of the two versions you should play, then I would recommend the Redux version. This version looks better and generally ran better for me than the original.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter impresses with its graphics, its beautiful photorealistic landscapes and its mysterious story and atmosphere, which is further enhanced by the soundtrack. And there are definitely H. P. Lovecraft references present.

The puzzles, on the other hand, are varied but also confusing at first because there are no explanations. The detective tasks were interesting but always followed the same pattern. The playtime is short at around 6 hours and the replay value is low and then you can play through the game in 1 hour like I did. (I played the Redux version first and then the original).

All in all, I can recommend it, but only if it's on sale.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a short walking sim set in the beautiful countryside of...somewhere. As a detective, you search for young Ethan Carter and try to piece together what happened to his family.

The game is very short - I played the Redux version, which Steam did not let me review for some reason, so I am leaving the review here. It took me about 3 hours to finish, and that is with a bit more exploration and also being AFK for a short time, so it may even be a bit shorter for some. The game is beautiful, has a nice soundtrack and good atmospheric sound effects, though some of them are a bit buggy and cut off rapidly when you look in certain directions. The game also had a few other bugs I experienced, but nothing too major or detracting from the experience.

I will say that, while TVoEC is, at it's core, a walking sim, there are a few puzzles, some of which optional, that range from nice to annoying, but they can all be solved rather quickly and are just there to mix up the gameplay a bit. The story was decent and the ending, while a bit unexpected, makes sense and ties up the story neatly.

I had a good time with TVoEC overall, but I thought it was a bit short and flat, with the gameplay being too infrequent and "random". Sure, it's a walking sim at it's core, but the moment you introduce some sort of gameplay into a walking sim that goes beyond, well, walking and looking at stuff / reading notes, it should be somewhat engaging, which I think TVoEC slightly misses the mark on. My biggest complaint, though, is the sound mixing in this game. With the default settings, voices are WAY too quiet, environmental sounds are jumpscare-level loud and the music, while nice, blares into your ears. It takes a bit of fiddling to get everything to a good level, but the default should be mixed well enough in advance and not be left up to the player.

Overall, though, you get what you expect - a short, nice romp through a beautiful environment with good music and a decent story, interrupted by some okay puzzles and some sound issues and bugs. Still a good recommendation, but wait for a sale.

Amazing mystery adventure with supernatural elements. It's extremely atmospheric, the sound design, music and the realistic environments are superb. Both puzzles and exploration are rewarding and make for an incredibly satisfying short adventure.