The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Fair · Narrative · 2014
Steam Deck VerifiedThe verdict
WAIT.
Fair today. The Winter Sale opens Dec 17, and it was discounted in 8 of its last 8 seasonal sales; 80% in the Winter Sale 2025.
Today
$19.99Fair
Typical seasonal cut
$3.9980% offWorth it
- Cost per hour▼
- $5.26/hr
- Reviews▼
- 88% of 8,986
- Critics
- 82 players 6 higher
- Genre rank
- Top 20% Narrative
Holding it back: Cost per hour, Reviews
Why
Watch this gameOne alert at $3.99 or less.
Time and effort
- Main story
- 3.8h
- To 100%
- 4.3h 1.1x the story
- Achievements
- 14
Price and sales
- Sales
- 68 on record
- Typical cut
- 80% off
- Steam low
- $1.99 July 2024
- Sale every
- 48d last October 2026
Players and genre
- Online
- 1 now
- Cheaper than
- 6% of its genre
- Better reviewed
- 88% of its genre
Price and player charts
The drop-off
42% start to 9% rarestThis site could not identify an ending achievement for this game, so there is no finish rate. Steam global achievements
The value story
The value story
68 discounts in the 12 years on record, a median of 80 percent off across all of them, roughly 7 weeks apart. Today it is at full price, and its last discount ended about 4 weeks ago.
Its score sits in the top 20 percent of its genre. It is pricier than 94 percent of its genre, and better reviewed than 88 percent. Among the games that feel like it, The Painscreek Killings ($19.99, scores 66) beats it on value, while it beats Gray Dawn ($19.99, scores 46).
More about The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
1 of the 479 Steam-purchase reviews sampled here comes from a buyer who refunded the game, sampled from reviews written March 2020 to October 2026. Inside the two-hour refund window, 75 percent of the 1,274 reviews written there were positive, against 88 percent overall, and those are 19 percent of everything written about it.
At 3.8 hours it is a handheld-sized game, and Valve rates it Deck Verified.
Buy now or wait
Buy now or wait
Next discount: likely in the Winter Sale, Dec 17 to Jan 4, at about $3.99 (80% off). Predictions like this were right 92% of the time when tested on 70 past weeks.
Last discount ended 31 days ago.
Sources: IsThereAnyDeal, Valve.
What drives the score
Grades: S best, D weakest
S is the best grade and D the weakest, judged as a buyer. ▲ raises the score, ▼ lowers it, ? is an input we do not have, • is a fact this genre's score does not use. How the grades work
What players say
The game starts strong with enough exploration and mystery to keep you curious throughout. I had a really good time with this short experience and the ending was honestly a little hard to digest (quite traumatic, to say the least). If you enjoy walking simulators with an emotional story and a mystery that slowly unfolds, then this one is well worth your time.
2 more reviews, 1 not recommended
Beautifully looking short walking detective simulator with, even after all this years (as in 2026). The story isn't particularly revulutionary but it has slight Cthulhu vibes and I followed it with enjoyment. Great thing is that we are actually able to 'run/sprint', which lets the player stay awake if there is a need to cover bigger distances, not all walking simulators have that option, so it's worth mentioning...
I have no idea what to do or what's going on. Needs instructions/directions as the areas can be big.
Steam reviews, mixed to its ratio and rotated daily. Opinions are theirs.
About the game
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.
Minimum specs
Minimum on the Steam store: 6 GB of memory, DirectX11 compliant card with 1GB of VRAM, 9 GB of storage. Windows only.
Cite this score
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter scores 52/100 on the BANG Score (fair value) as of Nov 8, 2026. The BANG Score rates what a game is worth for the money. Via Steam BANGERS. https://steambangers.com/game/258520/the-vanishing-of-ethan-carterReviews set the ceiling, and price against real length moves the BANG Score inside it. How it works, and where it is weak → Steam reviews as of Oct 13, price as of Nov 7. A number here look wrong? Tell me and I will check the inputs.