It's finally October, which means Halloween is right around the corner. In celebration of Halloween and the upcoming launch of the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles, Game Rant is taking a look at the 31 best horror games that released on the PS4 and Xbox One. The second game in the spotlight is The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, a first-person exploration game with supernatural elements and a tragic mystery to solve.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter was originally released in 2014 by The Astronauts, a studio primarily comprised of former People Can Fly developers, best known for games like Bulletstorm and Painkiller. But instead of being an over-the-top first-person shooter game like one might expect from the studio, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is better described as a "walking simulator" style game, where players walk around the game world, exploring the environment and trying to solve the mystery at the core of the experience.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter sees investigator Paul Prospero investigate the disappearance of the titular Ethan Carter and his family. During his investigation, Prospero discovers the dead bodies of the ill-fated family, and is then able to utilize his supernatural abilities to help solve the murders. The game revolves around finding important objects involved in the death of each family member, and tasks players with putting together the exact timeline of events leading up to each death.
At the time of its release, The Vanishing of Ethan Carters earned mostly positive reviews, with particular praise given to its story and graphics. While not overtly concerned with scaring the player, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter still creates an unnerving atmosphere and leverages its supernatural elements well. So it's still a solid pick for horror game enthusiasts, and it certainly has one of the better-written plots when compared to the many other horror games that were released for PS4 and Xbox One over the years.
The Astronauts has not released a new game since The Vanishing of Ethan Carter's release, but the studio's next game looks like it will also appeal to fans of the horror genre. Witchfire was first revealed at The Game Awards a few years ago, and it looks to be blending the "walking simulator" elements of The Vanishing of Ethan Carter with the more action-oriented first-person shooter gameplay of Bulletstorm and Painkiller. Hopefully The Astronauts can share more about Witchfire sooner rather than later.
While they wait for more Witchfire news, horror game fans can revisit The Vanishing of Ethan Carter on their platform of choice.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is out now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.