Ether One

there should be a study on why most walking sims (probably all with surreal concepts) end up being overly dramatic sentimental stories about trauma, loss, grief, etc. this one was ok though, if you're into BioShock Infinite, Shutter Island and Eternal Sunshine.

The Notebook meets Assassin's Creed meets Riven in this walking simulator/puzzle cross. You play the Restorer, traipsing around a patient's mental projection of his hometown as you investigate his childhood and one mysterious event in particular which surrounds it. And you zap those pesky blue dementia crystals away with your trusty lantern! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! While the puzzles were not great, some were not bad and I like this style of gameplay. The aesthetics are the selling point, especially the music, which establishes and maintains the proper tone through the entire game. Unfortunately, the time you must endure walking around five small to medium environments is excruciating, and by about 10 hours, I'd lost almost all patience for this game. Riven is faster than this, and in Riven, you click pictures. On top of that, much of the writing is quite bad. You're constantly listening to a Lara Croft-esque narrator ruminating over le grand science of her experiment with almost comedic douchiness. Yes, at one point, she pours herself a glass of wine. Her reflections never inform the player of characteristics of dementia, just talk about her CERTAINTY that a collectible holds a strong emotional bond with the patient... or complain about her funding getting pulled. Or you listen to what sounds like the Ghost of Christmas Present from the Muppet Christmas Carol reminisce about childhood feels. In one level, there's a plaza. Each time you pass through it, there's a 50/50 chance she'll tell a knock-knock joke. Insufferable. My biggest complaint, however, is that Ether One comes off more as someone complaining about their childhood than anything involving an actually complex, interesting, and real disease. It reduces dementia to curable PTSD, then spends a lot of time wallowing in mild expression. It really wants to be special. It's odd because there are moments akin to a horror game which are fairly effective, but the creators always pull back from genre influences to try and hang on to something more literary. The whole time I'm walking through these attics or empty villages or mine shafts, I'm imagining all sorts of stuff following me, but nope, this games all about use of future tech to cure the human condition by unlocking memories. I would suggest this game only if you really, really like the genre. Especially Riven. Like, if you were like, "Dang, I wish they made more pipe, crank, and door puzzle just like in Riven, but like, in a boring ass English fishing town, wouldn't that be cool?" Or if you're type to wax philosophical over feels.

Una belleza de historia. Precioso ese pueblo minero que encierra tantos dramas reales. Un juego que me conmovió un montón. Ideal para pasar una buen rato, dramático pero sin golpes bajos, un finde

So, you have to play through this game to really be able to fully decide how you feel about it. It is not necessarily what you think, but it WILL make you think. And that is perhaps what I loved most about this game. Listen to the story closely--the story is what this game is about. I may or may not have teared up a bit towards the end. This is actually really well done, but you do need to play through to the end.

Ether One is a first-person exploration and puzzle game that focuses heavily on memory, loss, and the human mind. You explore quiet, surreal environments while uncovering fragments of a story tied to mental health and identity. What I really appreciated is the atmosphere and the themes it explores. The game is slow and very introspective, inviting you to take your time, observe, and reflect rather than rush forward. The puzzles can be challenging, but they feel meaningful in the context of the story. Playing it feels calm, melancholic, and a bit heavy emotionally — a thoughtful experience that works best if you enjoy narrative-driven games that prioritize mood and meaning over action.

This game has a soul. It tells a story about dementia, the importance of acceptance, and holding on to your memories. As a game, its graphics feel simplistically drawn, the music is scarce yet becomes meaningful. The numerous puzzles are genious yet occasionally frustrating. Certain bugs might impede your progress, but nothing that can't be restored with timely saving. However, the most important element is the story and its telling. The lives of the main and secondary characters are pieced together through fragments: notes, objects, memories and excerpts of dialogue, unveiled as an interconnected mosaic. At many points, multiple levels of consciousness, different times, places and storylines coexist in the same space-time, connected via allegories. [spoiler]Personal favorite: Jean describing the diagnosis of dementia while Thomas descends deeper into the dark mine.[/spoiler] In this way, reality and imagination are fused together, in the most masterful, filled with tangible emotion, aesthetic interpretation of dementia I have ever experienced.

I wanted to enjoy this game. And there was moments I was. But mostly it was just confusing and tedious. It really has the potential of being great. The story and environments are really interesting. But then the actual gameplay makes it fall flat. The absolute torture of just being able to carry ONE item at the time! C’mon now.. and having to travel back and forth just to drop of one item so you can pick up the other crucial item you need for the same puzzle. And speaking of the puzzles.. the people who have done guides to this are heroes and without the very detailed guides this game is unplayable. It is an old game so maybe not much can be done to improve it. If someone was to take inspiration from this game and make a more thought out version it could be great.

Heartwarming and at times heartbreaking puzzle walking simulator. Art style is gorgeous and plays well into the story which is topnotch

A brilliant game. Easy to miss things but most can be recovered without stalling. Two things that would have made it even better were a save facility and a map.

Wäre gut, wenn man nicht so langsam laufen würde. Fühlt sich nach Zeitlupe an. Geht mir deutlich zu langsam vorwärts, asl das ich es fertig spielen werde. Gaming on: Details über mein Laptop hier: https://valid.x86.fr/4zvdwc Performance Test hiert: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/49244514