The strongest puzzles were the РІР‚Сљmurder mysteriesРІР‚Сњ, where you stumble across evidence of a crime and must recreate what happened by seeking out environmental clues. There are about ten intricate puzzles hidden throughout Red Creek Valley, and simply finding them is as much of a challenge as actually solving them. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter could be described as a РІР‚Сљwalking simulatorРІР‚Сњ in the vein of Gone Home or Firewatch,Р’В but its strong focus on puzzle-solving makes it feel a bit closer to something like Myst. Although this is annoying and distracting at the outset, however, the sense of exploration it creates soon becomes the gameРІР‚в„ўs greatest asset.

Obviously giant on-screen arrows directing me where to go would pull me out of this РІР‚СљnarrativeР’В experienceРІР‚Сњ, but so does the concept of this detective arriving in this town without an address, a map, or any sense of where heРІР‚в„ўs going at all. It might be a bit hypocritical for me to say this, especially after bashing Uncharted 4 for the exact opposite reason, but I kinda wish Ethan CarterР’В had a teensy bit moreР’В hand-holding, especially at the beginning. The gameРІР‚в„ўs lack of guidance is its greatest strength, as well as one of its few weaknesses. You have absolutely zero guidance at any point in the game, just a large mountainous area to explore and ProsperoРІР‚в„ўs cryptically noir-ish quipsР’В to keep you company.

The first screen you see when you loadР’В up the game is thisРІР‚В¦ The Vanishing of Ethan Carter puts the player in the well-worn shoes of Paul Prospero, a РІР‚Сљparanormal investigatorРІР‚Сњ who has travelled to the small town of Red Creek Valley, Wisconsin,Р’В to search for theР’В eponymous Ethan Carter, a young boy who has gone missing.

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