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I decided to wait for this to come out on PS4 ... but my resolve weakened tonight so I finally went ahead and played it on PC. I don't think I missed anything by forgetting the still unannounced PS4 release date ... but I do wish I had waited for this game to go on sale ... Ethan Carter is a fine interactive short story but really isn't much of a game. I got just over six hours out of it, earned 13 of 14 achievements, and to be honest I wasted a lot of time fumbling with one of the ... er, puzzles? I guess this game is really just a collection of cut scenes you unlock by solving really simple puzzles.

So are the cut scenes any good? Hold on, let me start by saying the game is beautiful. And the cut scenes are no exception. Voice acting in this game is also decent. The real question is, do the cut scenes tell a good story. For me, the answer is: they build a tense, consistently horrific tale that ends on a pathetic whimper. I expected Ethan Carter would close on a open-ended/Lynchian note but that isn't the case. Instead, it is fairly clear what happened. It's just that what happened is not very fulfilling.

This seems to be a trend in video games. Studios can dream up compelling concepts, build beautiful settings, drive plot intensity ... but they just cannot seem to bring it all together across home plate. This failing hits interactive stories like Ethan Carter especially hard. So what did I get for my time and money? I will be thinking about this game for the next day or two, probably. I am not sure it will make a longer lasting impression than that.

Ultimately, I think Ethan Cater is a bit too big for its britches. Just like Dear Esther. Just like BioShock Infinite. I'm sure you guys could add to the list. Games with so much promise should be commended for their achievements. It's just hard to do so once you've experienced just how terribly short they fall from their promise.