PCGame

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

First-person mystery adventure examining deaths to find a missing boy

The Astronauts · Released Sep 25, 2014

AdventureIndie

Reviews
Very Positive
88% of 8,976
Recent reviews
Mostly Positive
76% of 13 in 30 days
Players
2
daily peak, Nov 7, 2026
Steam Deck
Verified
Last update on Steam
11 years ago
Sep 15, 2015
Minimum PC
DirectX 11 GPU, 1 GB
6 GB RAM · 9 GB disk
Full requirements

Metacritic: 82/100 (critic reviews)

What is The Vanishing of Ethan Carter?

This first-person mystery takes place in Red Creek Valley, where detective Paul Prospero investigates a boy's disappearance. You explore the valley, examine clues, and use Prospero's ability to communicate with the dead and see how they died to piece together events. The investigation unfolds nonlinearly and has no combat.

For you if...

  • +you like eerie mysteries in detailed natural settings
  • +you enjoy piecing together a story through observation

Not for you if...

  • −you want clear objectives and little backtracking
  • −you expect complex puzzles or frequent action

What players say

88% of 8,976 reviews are positive · 76% of 13 in the last 30 days

Players praise the valley's scenery and eerie atmosphere, and many enjoy the story. Their most common complaint is that sparse directions lead to aimless wandering and backtracking. Some find the puzzles underwhelming or the story thin.

How many players finish The Vanishing of Ethan Carter?

24% of Steam players have unlocked «What happens then?», the achievement for finishing the main story.

Share of everyone who owns the game on Steam, including those who barely played it. Updated weekly.

Screenshots and trailer

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter screenshot 1

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter system requirements

Minimum: DirectX 11 GPU, 1 GB, 6 GB RAM, 9 GB of disk space.

As published by the developer.

Can my PC run The Vanishing of Ethan Carter?

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Minimum

OS
Windows 64-bit
Processor
Intel Core2 Duo or equivalent AMD
Graphics
DirectX11 compliant card with 1GB of VRAM
Memory
6 GB RAM
Storage
9 GB available space
DirectX
Version 11

Does The Vanishing of Ethan Carter have co-op or multiplayer?

No: single-player only, no multiplayer modes declared.

Does The Vanishing of Ethan Carter run on Steam Deck?

Verified Yes, Verified by Valve: it works on Steam Deck out of the box.

  • All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
  • In-game text is legible on Steam Deck
  • Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck
  • External controllers are not supported for the primary player

PC version details

DRM
None declared on Steam
Controller
Full controller support
Platforms
Windows
Achievements
14
Steam features
Cloud saves, Family Sharing, Trading cards
Languages
Full audio: English, Polish. Text only: French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Czech.

Does The Vanishing of Ethan Carter use AI-generated content?

No AI-generated content is disclosed on the game's Steam page.

Self-reported by the developer under Steam rules: it covers AI content that ships in the game, not tools used to make it. Steam page checked on Oct 25, 2026. How to filter AI games on Steam

Tags

Recent updates

1 DLC available.

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