I played through The Vanishing of Ethan Carter this past weekend. Overall, I thought it was a great game. The puzzles were interesting and fun, and the graphics looked awesome. I would definitely recommend the game if you enjoy narrative based “walking simulators” like Gone Home, etc. It took me about 6 hours to complete the first time, so the $20 price tag may be a bit steep, but definitely worth the $6 it was on sale for during the winter sale.
But what I really wanted to talk about here is the story. [Spoiler](The prevalent theory I’ve been reading on the internet is that the entire story the player experiences is a dream of Ethan’s as he is dying of smoke inhalation. While I can see why people have come to this conclusion, it doesn’t make sense to me that this is the correct/full explanation. To me, the story seems incredibly dark and detailed for a 12 year old boy to have thought up on his own. His father locking his mother in an old mine elevator and drowning her, his grandfather cutting of his brother’s legs with a train, these types of thoughts seem to go well beyond what a 12 year old, upset at his family for not supporting his creative writing, would think about. The game acknowledges this fact as soon as it opens up, when Paul says that Ethan’s fan mail letters contained things “no little boy should know about.”
In another one of Paul’s monologues later in the game, he mentions that he “Could feel two kinds of darkness here at Red Creek Valley. The first you walked into, and with any luck, walked out of. But the other darkness was deeper, stickier, unknowable. And it wanted me to leave.” My interpretation of this is that Ethan’s feelings are the first darkness. He’s upset with his family, but this darkness isn’t very deep. It’s a phase in Ethan’s life that he will outgrow, or walk out of, as Paul says. But the second darkness, that’s what I haven’t been able to figure out. It seems to me that there is another layer to the story, and I haven’t found a full explanation anywhere on the internet. What are everyone else’s thoughts? Did this stand out to anyone else, or am I reading too much into this?)
Also, I’ve been playing Rocket League, because it’s awesome. Probably my personal pick for GOTY 2015 and on sale this weekend on steam. Highly recommend it. Make sure you have a controller to play with.