Ether One

73%
Game Brain Score Based on 242 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

73%
Audience ScoreBased on 242 reviews
story100 positive mentions
grinding6 negative mentions
  • The game features a captivating and emotional story that explores themes of dementia and memory, drawing players into a deeply immersive experience.
  • The art style and atmosphere are beautifully crafted, creating a hauntingly beautiful environment that enhances the storytelling.
  • The puzzles, while challenging, encourage exploration and critical thinking, rewarding players who engage deeply with the game world.
  • Many puzzles can be obtuse and frustrating, often requiring players to resort to guides, which can detract from the overall experience.
  • The inventory system, which allows players to carry only one item at a time, can feel cumbersome and disrupt the flow of gameplay.
  • There are known bugs and technical issues that can hinder progress, including game-breaking glitches that may require restarting or backtracking.
  • story281 mentions

    The story of the game is widely praised for its emotional depth and engaging narrative, often revolving around themes of memory and mental illness. Players appreciate the rich world-building and the way the story unfolds through exploration and puzzle-solving, although some find the pacing slow and the puzzles occasionally frustrating. While the main storyline can be followed without completing all puzzles, doing so enhances the experience and reveals more about the characters and their intertwined lives.

    • “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 world of Ether One is extremely compelling, as the developers did an amazing job with the world-building and subtle storytelling!”
    • “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 story is a little scattershot and tries to be a little more clever than it actually is.”
    • “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.”
  • graphics66 mentions

    The game's graphics are generally described as simple yet effective, with a unique art style that enhances the storytelling experience. While some players find the visuals pleasing and atmospheric, others note that they can feel dated or lack detail, particularly in comparison to modern titles. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the game's immersive environment, despite some technical issues and a mix of opinions on their quality.

    • “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.”
    • “The graphics are superb, audio is wonderful, and the different places are really cool to explore.”
    • “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 the greatest.”
    • “Graphics are substandard (looks like a cartoon).”
    • “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!”
  • gameplay51 mentions

    The gameplay in "ether one" is a mix of exploration and puzzle-solving, appealing to players who enjoy narrative-driven experiences, though it can feel simplistic and reminiscent of older adventure games. While many find the puzzles logical and engaging, others criticize the mechanics as frustrating and counter-intuitive, leading to a divide in player enjoyment. Overall, the game offers a beautiful atmosphere and story, but its gameplay may not resonate with everyone, particularly those seeking more dynamic mechanics.

    • “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, observe, and read things.”
    • “Gameplay comes in two distinct flavors, as there's an exploration side and a largely optional puzzle side, designed to provide a balance for players of all skill levels, allowing everyone to complete the game as hastily or as thoroughly as they prefer.”
    • “The gameplay of physically piecing things together and reconstructing memories is highly resonant and works very well.”
    • “As for the game itself, I found the gameplay simplistic and it feels like an adventure game from the 1990s.”
    • “Sadly, the gameplay gets a little tired over time, and I found myself ignoring a lot of optional content simply to clear the game.”
    • “Gameplay in Ether One is frustrating and counterintuitive.”
  • emotional41 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is widely praised for its touching and immersive storytelling, particularly in its exploration of themes like dementia, which resonates deeply with players. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke strong feelings, often leading to tears, while also appreciating the well-crafted dialogue and atmospheric design that enhance the emotional experience. Despite some criticisms regarding puzzle complexity and pacing, the overall sentiment is that the game offers a rewarding emotional journey that encourages empathy and reflection.

    • “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.”
    • “A very emotional game, gave me chills in many moments; the only 'negative' side is the puzzles, they're very complex and unclear, sometimes very difficult to understand.”
    • “The story is well written, cohesive, and emotionally engaging; never did I lose interest or intentionally skip parts because I knew what was going to happen.”
    • “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 from the experience.”
  • music31 mentions

    The music in the game is described as hauntingly beautiful and emotionally fitting, enhancing the atmosphere and themes of isolation and nostalgia. While some players appreciate the minimalistic and ambient soundtrack, others feel it lacks variety and presence, often resorting to external music during gameplay. Overall, the soundtrack, crafted by Nathaniel-Jorden Apostol, is praised for its emotional depth, though some players wished for more frequent musical elements throughout the experience.

    • “I enjoyed the hauntingly beautiful music and environment, and the abundance of secrets to uncover.”
    • “The atmosphere and music is also a great addition.”
    • “With an attention-grabbing story premise, clever puzzles, and gorgeous music, this game seeks to tackle mental illness in a profound way.”
    • “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.”
  • atmosphere20 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and tranquil qualities, reminiscent of titles like Firewatch and What Remains of Edith Finch. Players appreciate the detailed art design, haunting soundscapes, and emotional storytelling that create a surreal yet beautiful environment, encouraging exploration and reflection. Overall, the combination of visuals, music, and thematic depth contributes to a captivating and evocative experience.

    • “Ether One has an interesting world to explore, and its design and detail provides a tranquil atmosphere.”
    • “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.”
    • “Considering it covers rather delicate themes of memory and illness, the emotive story, the soundtrack, and the atmosphere of the whole scenery are set just right in this game.”
    • “The cell-shaded design may be hard on the eyes at first, but I find it helps in communicating the surreal aspect of the game's premise and creates an atmosphere, together with the overall level design, that is eerie, sad, and many times, heart-warming.”
    • “Considering it covers rather delicate themes of memory and illness, the emotive story, the soundtrack, and atmosphere of the whole scenery are set just right in this game.”
    • “Has weight and atmosphere, which lends to the aesthetic of the environment.”
  • grinding6 mentions

    Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly due to excessive backtracking and navigating large levels. While some appreciate the balance of exploration and puzzles, many feel that the gameplay can become monotonous, detracting from the overall experience.

    • “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.”
    • “A lot of tedious walking back and forth, since the levels tend to get bigger.”
    • “It got a little tedious sometimes running around endlessly in numerous circles and some items just seemed weird.”
  • stability5 mentions

    Overall, users report that the game has stability issues, with frequent bugs and glitches, particularly in the redux version, which is deemed more problematic than the normal version. While the experience is still considered worthwhile, many players have encountered frustrating bugs, especially with puzzles and camera functionality.

    • “Also, the redux version is far more buggy; I'd suggest just playing the normal version.”
    • “However, it is still buggy. For me, the camera in minders 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.”
  • replayability3 mentions

    The game offers strong replayability, allowing players to revisit and solve previously skipped puzzles, explore different gameplay paths, and experience alternate endings by completing all challenges. This encourages players to engage with the story and mechanics multiple times.

    • “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.”
    • “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...”
  • optimization3 mentions

    The game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with some users experiencing performance issues while others report no significant problems. Common criticisms include clunky inventory management and a generally rough feel, indicating that the game could benefit from further refinement.

    • “I didn't have any further issues with the performance, but others have reported issues.”
    • “The game feels a bit rough around the edges, with clunky inventory management and overall poor optimization, leading to a slow pace.”
    • “I didn't have any further issues with the performance, but others have reported significant optimization problems.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game is appreciated for its blend of lighthearted moments and creepiness, contributing to an engaging and heartwarming story. Players find amusement in the game's quirks, though some technical issues can detract from the overall experience.

    • “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. However, the depth of this development may not be as rewarding for those less invested 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.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

70% average critic score

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