Choose The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Choose The Vanishing of Ethan Carter if you want an Indie experience. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 86.4% positive across 4,130 reviews.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter vs Call of Cthulhu®
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and Call of Cthulhu® both land in Adventure on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Adventure games on Steam. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (2014) is 4 years older than Call of Cthulhu® (2018). The Vanishing of Ethan Carter scores higher on Steam reviews (86.4% positive) than Call of Cthulhu® (76.4% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Call of Cthulhu®
Choose Call of Cthulhu® if you want a RPG experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2018) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 4,768 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and Call of Cthulhu® sit in Adventure on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 The Vanishing of Ethan Carter |  Call of Cthulhu® | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2014 | 2018 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure | Adventure, RPG |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Verified |
| Price | 19.99 USD | 19.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 86.4% positive (4,130 reviews) | 76.4% positive (4,768 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | The Astronauts | Cyanide Studio |
Side by side
- Both are Adventure games on Steam.
- The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (2014) is 4 years older than Call of Cthulhu® (2018).
- The Vanishing of Ethan Carter scores higher on Steam reviews (86.4% positive) than Call of Cthulhu® (76.4% positive).
- Call of Cthulhu® is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (19.99 USD vs. 19.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is Deck Playable, Call of Cthulhu® is Deck Verified.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter vs Call of Cthulhu® — FAQ
- Which is better, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter or Call of Cthulhu®?
- On Steam reviews The Vanishing of Ethan Carter scores higher (86.4% positive) than Call of Cthulhu® (76.4% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play The Vanishing of Ethan Carter or Call of Cthulhu® first?
- If you want chronology, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (2014) came out before Call of Cthulhu® (2018). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and Call of Cthulhu® similar?
- They overlap on Adventure on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.