The Vanishing of Ethan Carter similar games & best alternatives

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter - Trailer
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The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox One, Nintendo Switch • 2014

Should you play it?

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a first-person story-driven mystery. Purchase this game to get both the original and the Unreal Engine 4 remaster called The Vanishing of Ethan Carter Redux.

What works

  • Stunning photorealistic graphics
  • Immersive atmospheric sound and music
  • Engaging supernatural detective story
  • Freedom to explore large detailed environment
  • Unique puzzle mechanics and narrative style

Things to keep in mind

  • Short game length
  • Lack of manual save in original version
  • Minimal gameplay complexity
  • Some players find puzzles or exploration confusing
  • No multiplayer or social features

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • The Secret Order 2: Masked Intent

  • Darkarta: A Broken Heart's Quest Collector's Edition

  • Lake Ridden

  • Enigmatis 2: The Mists of Ravenwood

  • The Frostrune

  • Meridian 157: Prologue

More survival-focused

Games that feels like The Vanishing of Ethan Carter but with a stronger survival pressure

  • Blair Witch

  • Amnesia: Rebirth

  • Hollowbody

  • Lethe - Episode One

  • Kona

  • The Sinking City Remastered

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter: A very typical example of its motivational profile. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Survival, Violence, Competition, Thrill. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Thrill. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Intimacy, Expression.

Last update: 03/08/2026