Ether One

74%
Game Brain Score Based on 334 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
Ether One Game Cover
If you enjoy the sort of puzzles found in Myst, then you'll feel right at home in the clever, exploration-focused world of Ether One.
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"Ether One" is a first-person adventure game that explores the human mind's fragility through two paths. One path is a story exploration without puzzles, while the other involves solving complex puzzles to restore patients' life-changing events. The game offers accessible and optional challenging environmental puzzles, encouraging players to solve them with friends and family. It brings back pen and paper puzzle-solving for a nostalgic experience.

  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Play​Station
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

74%
Audience ScoreBased on 334 reviews
story134 positive mentions
grinding10 negative mentions
  • The game features a captivating and emotional story that explores themes of dementia and memory, making it a unique experience.
  • The visuals and art style are beautifully crafted, creating an immersive atmosphere that enhances the storytelling.
  • The puzzles, while challenging, encourage exploration and critical thinking, rewarding players who engage deeply with the game.
  • The inventory system is cumbersome, allowing players to carry only one item at a time, which can lead to frustrating backtracking.
  • Some puzzles are overly obscure and counterintuitive, making it difficult for players to progress without resorting to guides.
  • The game suffers from bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay and lead to confusion about puzzle solutions.
  • story377 mentions

    The story in "Ether One" is a poignant exploration of themes such as dementia and memory, delivered through a mix of environmental storytelling and character-driven narratives. Players engage with the narrative by solving puzzles and uncovering hidden details, which enrich the overall experience, although some find the pacing and clarity of the story to be inconsistent. While the game allows for a more straightforward path through the main story, those who delve into the optional puzzles will find a deeper, more rewarding narrative experience.

    • “The story is quite simple, but also emotional and captivating, if you want to empathize with the virtual characters that you read and hear about.”
    • “The story is beautiful and the gameplay, especially through the things that people see as flaws, complements it perfectly.”
    • “The story is rich and compelling, unfolding itself deliciously slowly as you learn to love the characters within, the environment feels real, even without next-gen graphics.”
    • “The main problem with the story is that you can't appreciate the story (and thus the entire reason for playing the game) until after you finish the game.”
    • “The puzzles are frustrating and the story is too dull and vague to stay in the game's world to solve them all.”
    • “While the simple game mechanics, sedate pace and subtle story exposition may frustrate some gamers, I found it engaging and very moving.”
  • graphics92 mentions

    The graphics of the game are generally described as simplistic yet effective, with a unique art style that blends cartoonish elements and painterly aesthetics, reminiscent of titles like Borderlands and Dishonored. While some players find the visuals dated or substandard, many appreciate the atmosphere they create, enhancing the storytelling experience. Overall, the graphics are considered decent, with some minor glitches, but they effectively support the game's exploration and narrative focus.

    • “The graphics are superb, audio is wonderful and the different places are really cool to explore.”
    • “The effective use of cell-shading and traditional art styles really gives the game a unique look that oozes style and mystery while still being relatively believable.”
    • “The sound is really nice in the game, I found it quite immersive walking around in different locations and the art style is really nice; I love how from a distance things look pretty realistic, but up close it's as though everything is drawn and painted onto the world, it really seems to fit the game and is an excellent design decision.”
    • “The graphics are not overwhelming but okay as such.”
    • “I found the graphics disappointing in their blockiness and flat lack of detail, and to top it all I found myself frustratingly stuck in a toilet stall unable to get out!”
    • “The graphics are also not stellar, being the clear product of trying to leverage a small art budget as well as possible and muddy textures are omnipresent.”
  • gameplay86 mentions

    The gameplay in "Ether One" is primarily exploration-focused, involving puzzle-solving and item collection to advance the narrative. While some players appreciate the emotional storytelling and logical puzzle design, others criticize the simplistic mechanics, slow pace, and frustrating item-hunting elements. Overall, the game offers a unique blend of narrative and exploration, but its execution can be polarizing, with some finding it engaging and others deeming it tedious.

    • “The gameplay is pretty simple, and even if some of the puzzles are not easy, almost every single one is 100% logical. The solution will be quite obvious after you stop a little, listen, observe, and read things.”
    • “The gameplay design is pretty intriguing, combining narrative elements with exploratory gameplay, allowing players to engage with the story in a unique way.”
    • “The gameplay consists of wandering around, looking for red ribbons to collect and store in 'the case', which adds an interesting layer to the exploration.”
    • “The hidden items across the maps which you are supposed to look for make the gameplay too much of a nuisance.”
    • “A good story and setting augmented with good voice acting gives this game a lot of promise, but the item hide-and-seek sort of mechanic for progression, which I assume is an attempt at pushing exploration, just ends up being frustratingly boring.”
    • “The controls are terrible, the gameplay is obtuse, and the whole thing seems designed to induce motion sickness.”
  • emotional55 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is widely praised for its touching and immersive storytelling, particularly in its exploration of themes like dementia. Players report feeling a deep connection to the characters and their struggles, often leading to moments of genuine emotional impact, including tears and reflection. While some found the gameplay mechanics challenging, the overall narrative experience is described as heartwarming, thought-provoking, and capable of evoking empathy, making it a memorable journey for those willing to engage with its emotional depth.

    • “Overall, I enjoyed the game a lot and would recommend it to people looking for an emotional and immersive adventure that rewards taking your time and paying attention to the environments.”
    • “With a lot of empathy and narrative creativity, the developers have succeeded in giving the still incurable disease dementia a face that is touching and horrifying at the same time.”
    • “This game took the hours I invested into it and rewarded me with a subtle, sweet, and heart-wrenching conclusion -- it made me cry, and I'm glad it did.”
    • “The emotional depth of the story was lacking, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
    • “I felt no emotional investment in the plot; it was all very predictable and uninspiring.”
    • “The game failed to evoke any real feelings, leaving me feeling detached and uninterested.”
  • music39 mentions

    The music in the game is described as minimalistic yet impactful, often featuring calming and haunting melodies that enhance the serene and surreal atmosphere. While some players appreciate the emotional depth and quality of the soundtrack, others feel it is sparse and occasionally monotone, leading to moments of silence that can detract from the experience. Overall, the music effectively complements the game's themes of memory and exploration, contributing significantly to its immersive environment.

    • “The aesthetics are the selling point, especially the music, which establishes and maintains the proper tone throughout the entire game.”
    • “It's absolutely gorgeous, the music really makes the isolation and nostalgia stick, and there's so much to explore.”
    • “The music, area design, and voice acting are fantastic, and the story is enough to get at least two playthroughs out of you.”
    • “The music is mostly not present, and when it's present it's monotone and nothing spectacular.”
    • “For one, the game doesn't have enough music for me.”
    • “I wish there was a soundtrack, instead it's silent unless you turn on a radio you find.”
  • atmosphere32 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its captivating and immersive qualities, drawing comparisons to titles like Firewatch and What Remains of Edith Finch. Reviewers highlight the blend of beautiful visuals, haunting sound design, and a tranquil yet eerie ambiance that encourages exploration and reflection on deeper themes such as memory and decay. While some find the atmosphere bittersweet and melancholic, it effectively enhances the overall experience, making it a standout feature of the game.

    • “Ether One has an interesting world to explore and its design and detail provides a tranquil atmosphere.”
    • “The entire atmosphere, visuals, and sound are amazing and they make you want to explore just a little more so you can understand what the hell is going on... the end is mind-blowing.”
    • “Wonderfully atmospheric locales that are as creepy as they are strangely beautiful and serene - based just enough in reality to make the game's many anomalies create a sense of unease.”
    • “Sadly, there's not much replayability, since that atmosphere is lost once you know the story.”
    • “The atmosphere throughout was very captivating and despite never really seeing another living thing it still felt very much alive.”
    • “Whether you play only for the main plot, ignoring the game's many puzzles, or you take it slow and uncover all the mysteries Pinwheel has hidden behind its spooky and unsettling atmosphere, Ether One will impress.”
  • grinding10 mentions

    Players consistently describe the grinding aspect of the game as tedious and repetitive, with excessive backtracking and a lack of clear guidance on puzzles contributing to a frustrating experience. While some find moments of compelling gameplay, the overall sentiment is that the grind detracts significantly from enjoyment, making it difficult to stay engaged.

    • “All was going well playing this game, then it just got so tedious and repetitive walking back and forth through a maze to solve puzzles to activate a camera.”
    • “The total lack of any indication of which puzzles do what (and the lack of a map to navigate by), make this process excruciatingly tedious.”
    • “Maybe this all makes more sense if you complete all the puzzles, but the pathway to achieving that is so daunting and tedious that I just can't face attempting it - and that is ultimately the game's biggest failing.”
  • stability7 mentions

    The game's stability is generally described as inconsistent, with users reporting various bugs and glitches, particularly in the redux version, which is noted to be more problematic than the normal version. While the graphics and overall presentation are praised, the presence of significant bugs, especially in puzzles and camera functionality, detracts from the experience.

    • “The game has a very nice presentation, the art is awesome, and it runs great on max settings.”
    • “However, it is still buggy; for me, the camera in minders dry refused to come together, even after hours of reloading saves and doing all the steps needed.”
    • “Many of the puzzles are currently pretty buggy, which is a real shame, considering their difficulty and general time consumption factor.”
    • “Also, the redux version is far more buggy; I'd suggest just playing the normal version.”
  • optimization6 mentions

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing performance issues while others report smooth gameplay even on less powerful systems. Overall, many users find the optimization lacking, comparing it unfavorably to other titles, though it is noted to be an improvement over certain past games.

    • “I didn't have any further issues with the performance, but others have reported issues.”
    • “The game ran fine on my laptop, which is by no means a dedicated or optimized gaming rig.”
    • “I really like the game, but I have some problems with its optimization.”
    • “And the game is so badly optimized it is not even a joke.”
    • “The optimization here reminds me a lot of Gone Home, though admittedly this isn't as bad as that and at least has better visuals and more complex environments.”
  • replayability5 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the opportunity to explore alternate endings and tackle missed puzzles, others feel that the initial atmosphere diminishes upon subsequent playthroughs. The challenge of completing all aspects of the game adds to its replay value, making it worthwhile for those seeking a deeper experience.

    • “It even has replay value to play again to solve some of the puzzles you may have skipped the first time.”
    • “Even the replay value is there, since you can finish the game once, or finish it in a whole other way.”
    • “The story draws interest until the end and the game has replayability with the alternate ending from solving all the challenges.”
    • “Sadly, there's not much replayability, since that atmosphere is lost once you know the story.”
    • “Even the replay value is there, since you can finish the game once, or finish it in a whole other way...”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game is appreciated for its blend of lighthearted moments and clever wit, often eliciting laughter from players, especially in the face of technical difficulties. While the story adds depth with heartwarming and creepy elements, some players feel the overall experience is somewhat brief.

    • “The story is quite interesting, and even heartwarming at times (with moments of creepiness and humor for added flavor).”
  • character development2 mentions

    Character development is effectively integrated into the gameplay, with players noting that engaging with puzzles enhances their connection to the characters. While some puzzles may be challenging, the rewards in character growth make them worthwhile for those invested in the narrative.

    • “The puzzles aren't all too difficult and can be fun to figure out, although the hardest puzzles simply reward you with more character development, so it may not be worth it if you are not as invested in the characters as I was.”
    • “Character development is a success, particularly how it is tied in with solving the puzzles in the game.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game is subtly integrated into the narrative, with advertising elements suggesting that the institute's focus on telepathy is tied to a broader commercial strategy aimed at memory recovery for patients.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

70% average critic score

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