The Vanishing of Ethan Carter studio is working on an 'action-adventure' game
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter was certainly an adventure, but it didn't have much action. Chris Livingston described it as "a tense and spooky stroll through a gorgeous world", and stroll is the operative word here: it was a slow-paced, investigative experience. The studio responsible for it, Poland-based The Astronauts, looks set to expand its horizons though, according to a job description on its website.
The description is in Polish, but a rough Google translate suggests the studio's follow-up will be "an open world action-adventure". The Astronauts is recruiting for an AI and general programmer who can work with Unreal Engine 4. While the new title will presumably have more "action" the translation suggests it will have a similar mood and focus on narrative.
That's good news, because those elements were the best parts of The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. It was also a very beautiful game too, as these 8K screenshots demonstrate. And it's not like The Astronauts don't have action pedigree: the studio has former employees of People Can Fly, responsible for underrated shooter Bulletstorm.
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Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.