Single-player games like The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Below are 17 single-player Steam games similar to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, ranked by player overlap. Every pick carries Steam's Single-player category, so multiplayer-only titles or always-online games don't sneak in. imho.run pulls the category data from Steam directly — Single-player here matches what the store labels.
Want the full alternatives list (paid + free + Steam Deck + cheaper picks)? See the parent games like The Vanishing of Ethan Carter page.
Ranked picks
- 1
The Painscreek Killings
Single-player alternative to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
Investigate an infamous cold case in the eerie, abandoned town of Painscreek. Search for evidence, connect the dots and uncover who killed Vivian Roberts. Can you expose the truth behind this town’s dark secrets?
- 2
Murdered: Soul Suspect
Single-player alternative to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Adventure with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
MURDERED: SOUL SUSPECT™ takes players into a whole new realm of mystery where the case is personal and the clues just out of reach, challenging gamers to solve the hardest case of all… their own murder.
- 3
Firewatch
Single-player alternative to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
Firewatch is a single-player first-person mystery set in the Wyoming wilderness, where your only emotional lifeline is the person on the other end of a handheld radio.
- 4
Kona
Single-player alternative to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
Northern Canada, 1970. A strange blizzard ravages Atamipek Lake. Step into the shoes of a detective to explore the eerie village, investigate surreal events, and battle the elements to survive. Kona is a chilly interactive tale you won't soon forget.
- 5
Call of Cthulhu®
Single-player alternative to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Adventure with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
1924. Private Investigator Pierce is sent to look into the tragic death of the Hawkins family. Plunge into a world of creeping madness and cosmic horror. Cryptic clues, shadowy figures, and pure terror bar your way as you fight to retain your sanity and solve an otherworldly mystery.
- 6
Transient: Extended Edition
Single-player alternative to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
H.P. Lovecraft meets Cyberpunk. Delve deep into a dystopian world and investigate what is happening to you and your friends in a domed city. Solve puzzles, hack systems and plug in to explore other dimensions. Discover a truth that might tear apart your sanity and question your very existence.
- 7
Enigma of Fear
Single-player alternative to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
Become Mia, a paranormal detective searching for her missing father inside the Perimeter - a place that doesn't exist. Investigate clues like a real detective and unravel the mysteries behind the Enigma of Fear, defeating the terrible monsters who'll try to stop you.
- 8
The Gap
Single-player alternative to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
Driven by a rare neurological affliction plaguing his family, Joshua has to recover his memories by exploring parallel realities through déjà vu. Facing the innermost depths of his past – moments both joyous and painful – seems to be the only way to get his life and family back together.
- 9
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
Single-player alternative to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
Featuring a beautiful, detailed open-world and a haunting soundtrack, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is non-linear storytelling at its best.
- 10
Dear Esther
Single-player alternative to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
Begin a journey through one of the most original first-person games of recent years.
- 11
Gone Home
Single-player alternative to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
June 7th, 1995. 1:15 AM. You arrive home after a year abroad. You expect your family to greet you, but the house is empty. Something's not right. Where is everyone? And what's happened here? Unravel the mystery for yourself in Gone Home, a story exploration game from The Fullbright Company.
- 12
Ether One
Single-player alternative to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
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.
- 13
Papo & Yo
Single-player alternative to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
Quico’s best friend, Monster, is a huge beast with razor-sharp teeth, but that doesn’t scare Quico away from playing with him. That said, Monster does have a very dangerous problem: an addiction to poisonous frogs.
- 14
SOMA
Single-player alternative to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
From the creators of Amnesia: The Dark Descent comes SOMA, a sci-fi horror game set below the waves of the Atlantic ocean. Struggle to survive a hostile world that will make you question your very existence.
- 15
The Beginner's Guide
Single-player alternative to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
The Beginner's Guide is a narrative video game from Davey Wreden, the creator of The Stanley Parable. It lasts about an hour and a half and has no traditional mechanics, no goals or objectives. Instead, it tells the story of a person struggling to deal with something they do not understand.
- 16
What Remains of Edith Finch
Single-player alternative to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — playable solo, no multiplayer required. Shares Indie and Adventure with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
What Remains of Edith Finch is a collection of strange tales about a family in Washington state. As Edith, you’ll explore the colossal Finch house, searching for stories as she explores her family history and tries to figure out why she's the last one in her family left alive.
- 17
Witchfire
Single-player alternative to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter — playable solo, no multiplayer required.
Witchfire is a first-person dark fantasy RPG shooter in which you play as a wicked sinner turned witch hunter on his final mission to reach salvation.