Critically acclaimed first-person mystery game from The Astronauts studio is exploring a new platform.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter has sold more than million copies, won the prestigious BAFTA Award (Game Innovation), it was also nominated for the game of the year by Gamespot and in many categories by IGN. The game’s soundtrack by Mikolai Stroinski won the Annual Game Music Awards. Now The Astronauts’ game is going to be released on Nintendo Switch.
Inspired by the weird fiction (and other tales of the macabre) from the early twentieth century, the game aims to significantly evolve immersive storytelling in games. While it features a private detective and quite a few mental challenges, it is not a particularly puzzle-driven game. Its main focus is on atmosphere, mood, and the essential humanity of the characters.
This is also the first game ever made and released on a Nintendo platform by Adrian Chmielarz, The Astronauts’ co-founder and a designer of games such as Painkiller, Bulletstorm and Gears of War: Judgment.
“It’s always exciting to do something for the first time, so we can’t wait to hear from the players”, says Chmielarz. “Switch is a completely different platform from the previous Nintendo consoles and it seems to get along well with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. Never before has touring Red Creek Valley under a blanket been so comfortable. And unsettling”.
You play the game as Paul Prospero, an occult-minded detective who receives a disturbing letter from Ethan Carter. Realizing the boy is in grave danger, Paul arrives at Ethan’s home in Red Creek Valley, where things turn out to be even worse than he imagined. Ethan has vanished in the wake of a brutal murder, which Paul quickly discovers might not be the only local murder worth looking into.
Still, the mysteries won’t solve themselves. Using both Paul’s supernatural skill of being able to communicate with the dead, and your own powers of observation, you will discover the mystery behind a trail of corpses, the roots of a dark ancient force lurking in Red Creek Valley, and the fate of a missing boy.
Nintendo Switch version was developed by The Astronauts and SPIN Software.
“Moving to Unreal Engine’s new version was a challenge and many parts of the codes were written from the scratch, but it was worth it”, says Andrzej Poznański, The Astronauts’ Lead Tech Artist. “Nice thing about UE4 is how it can scale, so the engine works great on Nintendo Switch”.
Players may also notice a bigger font, which makes reading easier in the handheld mode.
The Astronauts is currently working on a FPS called Witchfire.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter features:
- Explore and interact with the beautiful, yet ominous world of Red Creek Valley, which was created with the use of revolutionary photogrammetry technology that allows for nearly photorealistic environments.
- Communicate with the dead and see how they died in order to gather clues that help you piece together the truth behind Ethan’s disappearance — and the fate of his family.
- Experience, in non-linear fashion, a story that combines the pleasures of pulp, private eye, and horror fiction, all of it inspired by writers such as Raymond Chandler, Algernon Blackwood, Stefan Grabinski, and H. P. Lovecraft.
- Conduct the investigation on your own terms and at your own pace. The game contains no combat of any kind, and a few scary bits in the game are less about terror and more about clammy unease.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter will be released on the Nintendo Switch on August 15th, and cost $19,99/19,99 Euro. It is also available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
