By Drew Beasoleil

Mystery and tension is in the air as you walk upon an abandoned railway. Blood stains are found on an old railway car, questions are prompted as you investigate the scene only to be presented with more questions.
There is nothing to guide your investigation only your exploration of the abandoned area which looks like it hasn't seen any signs of life in quite some time. Searching for clues is your only aid in finding more on the disappearance of Ethan Carter and the story that unfolds as you learn about the other side.

I see dead people is a gift that Paul Prospero our main protagonist empowers. Inspecting more clues allows Paul to unravel the mystery of Ethan's disappearance from the other side, literally. Re-enacting the scenes from the ghostly visions that unfold from the clues found. The players reward for finding all the clues needed to solve the current mystery is absolutely a very unique experience in story telling. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is simply one of the best looking games on a console I have ever seen. The world is so well realized and meticulously detailed you feel that you're apart of the world. Dust particles float throughout the building as you search around tipped over chairs with a ray of light that shines through the broken boarded up windows. Visually breathtaking!

Solving each mystery is spooky, creepy, and unnerving from the atmospheric surroundings to the tone in music that will send chills down your spine. With very little explanation of what your next objective should be, I feel this game will not be for everyone. The story is there and once you explore enough of your surroundings to find the next clue, its great. But with no real guidance this could be an off putting experience for some.

The way the story is told is something I have never experienced in a game thus far. Its something that the Polish based studio The Astronauts needs to get credit for. More often than not we experience much of the same game mechanics. A First-Person-Shooter will always be a FPS, but if found a different path of story telling that explores the FPS genre that has not yet been explored, than that feeling of story telling feels very rewarding and that is exactly what TCK studio has done with this First Person Exploration of The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.