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The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a murder mystery from former Bulletstorm devs

Former members of People Can Fly are banding together to assemble a murder mystery, free of tacked-on combat.

Ozzie Mejia

August 12, 2014 11:24 AM

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The Astronauts is an indie studio comprised of former members of Painkiller/Bulletstorm creators People Can Fly, but their debut effort looks to be substantially different from their previous games. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a story-driven murder mystery fully centered around exploration with no combat sequences whatsoever.

The game centers around detective Paul Prospero, exploring the circumstances of the title character's disapperance. He finds himself in Red Creek Valley, where he uncovers the details of a brutal murder and at the center of a mystery. Along the way, Prospero will find several horrific sights and supernatural elements.

"We're trying to mix pulp and horror into one cohesive experience," said The Astronauts' Adrian Chmierlarz on PlayStation.Blog. "And if that makes you suspect we're making this game inspired by the weird fiction stories and other tales of the macabre from the early 20th century, then you're on the right track. Writers like Algernon Blackwood, Stefan Grabinski, and of course, the CEO of Cthulhu himself, H.P. Lovecraft have heavily influenced every layer of our narrative and world design."

For more on the suspenseful mystery brewing, check out the trailer below. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is coming soon to PlayStation 4.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?