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Ether One

While the storytelling doesn’t even hold a candle to the likes of The Stanley Parable or Gone Home, the story itself is fairly elegantly written if you can keep a handle on it, and Ether One’s efforts at gameplay clearly outshine both of those overblown walking simulators.
Ether One Game Cover
58%Game Brain Score
story, graphics
grinding, stability
74% User Score Based on 336 reviews
Critic Score 70%Based on 2 reviews

Platforms

PCPlaystation 5Playstation 4WindowsPlayStation
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Ether One Game Cover

About

Ether One is a single player puzzle game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by White Paper Games and was released on March 25, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Ether One is a first person adventure that deals with the fragility of the human mind. There are two paths in the world you can choose from. At its core is a story exploration path free from puzzles where you can unfold the story at your own pace. There is also a deeper, more adventurous path in which you can complete complex puzzles to restore life changing events of the patient's histo…

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Ether One screenshot
Ether One screenshot
Ether One screenshot
Ether One screenshot
Ether One screenshot
Ether One screenshot
Ether One screenshot
Ether One screenshot
Ether One screenshot
Ether One screenshot
Ether One screenshot
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74%
Audience ScoreBased on 336 reviews
story140 positive mentions
grinding12 negative mentions
  • The art style is gorgeous and plays well into the story, creating an immersive atmosphere.
  • The narrative is emotional and thought-provoking, exploring themes of dementia and memory.
  • The game offers a unique puzzle-solving experience, rewarding players who take the time to explore and engage with the environment.
  • The gameplay can be tedious, with players often needing to backtrack and manage a limited inventory of one item at a time.
  • Some puzzles are overly obscure and require external guides to solve, which can detract from the experience.
  • Technical issues and bugs can hinder progress, leading to frustration and confusion.
  • story
    389 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in "Ether One" is widely praised for its emotional depth and intricate exploration of themes such as dementia and memory, often described as touching and poignant. While the narrative is compelling and well-crafted, some players find it becomes convoluted or loses momentum, particularly during backtracking segments. The game encourages exploration and puzzle-solving to fully appreciate the story, but many reviews note that the main plot can be followed without completing all puzzles, which may lead to a less satisfying 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.”
    • “With a captivating story that focuses on something very real and scary, Ether One had me hooked the whole way through.”
    • “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.”
    • “What you get is a short story which starts off being subtle, then gets bored and screams all its secrets at you part way through the story resulting in an anticlimactic and utterly unsatisfying ending which you unfortunately saw coming if you were paying any attention to the many blatant clues peppered throughout the game.”
  • graphics
    95 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are characterized by a unique and simplistic art style that blends well with its story, often described as cartoonish or cel-shaded, which some players find charming despite its dated appearance. While the visuals are generally considered pleasant and effective in creating an immersive atmosphere, they are occasionally marred by glitches and a lack of detail. Overall, the game's aesthetic is praised for enhancing the narrative experience, making exploration enjoyable, even if the graphics do not push the boundaries of modern gaming technology.

    • “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.”
  • gameplay
    87 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay in "Ether One" is characterized by exploration and puzzle-solving, with a focus on narrative rather than complex mechanics. While some players appreciate the emotional storytelling and logical puzzles, others find the gameplay simplistic, frustrating, and at times counter-intuitive, leading to mixed reviews on its overall execution. The game offers a unique experience but may not appeal to those seeking more traditional or engaging gameplay elements.

    • “While somewhat simplistic gameplay, there is a marvel of emotional storytelling that sits with me to this day.”
    • “The gameplay is pretty simple, and even if some of the puzzles are not easy, almost every single one is 100% logical, and the solution will be quite obvious after you stop a little, listen, observe, and read things.”
    • “But then the actual gameplay makes it fall flat.”
    • “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 gameplay consists of wandering around, looking for red ribbons to collect and store in 'the case'.”
  • emotional
    57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is widely praised for its heartwarming yet heartbreaking storytelling, particularly in its exploration of dementia and personal histories. Players report being deeply moved by the narrative, with many experiencing tears and a strong sense of empathy for the characters. While some found the puzzles challenging and the gameplay simplistic, the overall emotional impact and immersive experience make it a highly recommended adventure for those seeking a touching and thought-provoking journey.

    • “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.”
    • “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.”
  • music
    42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is described as hauntingly beautiful and emotionally resonant, effectively enhancing the serene and surreal atmosphere. While it is often minimalistic and sparse, with most sound coming from stationary radios or occasional guitar strums, the soundtrack is praised for its quality and ability to evoke feelings of isolation and nostalgia. Overall, the music and sound design contribute significantly to the game's immersive experience, despite some players wishing for a more consistent musical presence.

    • “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.”
    • “I wish there was a soundtrack; instead, it's silent unless you turn on a radio you find.”
    • “For one, the game doesn't have enough music for me.”
  • atmosphere
    32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    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. Players appreciate 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.

    • “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.”
    • “The atmosphere throughout was very captivating and despite never really seeing another living thing, it still felt very much alive.”
    • “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.”
  • grinding
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players frequently describe the grinding aspect of the game as tedious and repetitive, with many expressing frustration over the excessive backtracking and lack of clear guidance on puzzle-solving. While some find moments of compelling gameplay, the overall experience is marred by a sense of monotony and confusion, leading to a general consensus that the game design detracts significantly from enjoyment.

    • “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.”
  • stability
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's stability is a mixed bag; while it features impressive graphics and runs well on high settings, users report frequent bugs and glitches, particularly in the redux version. Many players have experienced frustrating issues with puzzles and camera controls, suggesting that the standard version is a more stable choice. Despite these problems, the game remains enjoyable for many.

    • “The game has a very nice presentation, the art is awesome, and it runs great on max settings.”
    • “I appreciate how stable the game is; I haven't encountered any crashes or major bugs.”
    • “The performance is impressive, maintaining a smooth frame rate even during intense action sequences.”
    • “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.”
  • optimization
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing performance issues while others report smooth gameplay on less powerful systems. Overall, it is described as "badly optimized" with clunky elements, though not as severe as some other titles.

    • “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.”
    • “[A bit rough around the edges, clunky inventory management, not very optimized, slow pace]”
  • replayability
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    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, but the story's impact may not hold up after the first experience.

    • “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...”
    • “It even has replay value to play again to solve some of the puzzles you may have skipped the first time.”
  • humor
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is noted for its blend of lightheartedness and creepiness, providing an engaging experience that elicits laughter, particularly in the context of player frustrations. However, the overall enjoyment is somewhat diminished by technical issues that can disrupt gameplay.

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

    Character development is effectively integrated into the gameplay, with players noting that engaging with puzzles enhances their connection to the characters. However, the value of tackling more challenging puzzles may depend on the player's investment in the characters themselves.

    • “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.”
  • monetization
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization aspect of the game is subtly integrated into the narrative, with advertising elements hinting at a focus on telepathy and memory restoration, suggesting a potential in-game economy tied to these themes.

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70%Critics’ scoreBased on 2 critic reviews
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Frequently Asked Questions

Ether One is a puzzle game with science fiction theme.

Ether One is available on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Windows and others.

Ether One was released on March 25, 2014.

Ether One was developed by White Paper Games.

Ether One has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Ether One is a single player game.

Similar games include INFRA, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, The Painscreek Killings, Goetia, Obduction and others.