ETHER One

 PlayStation 4
User Score
4.8

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 98 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 98
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 98
  3. Negative: 46 out of 98

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  1. tsakiym
    Jun 2, 2015
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Maybe the first game that makes me feel that I'm loosing my time on in. I tried for one day to play it and I'm not happy for that. The concept is interesting but they didn't try to make it playable. One more thing the subtitles was asychronously… Expand
  2. Nel
    Dec 13, 2016
    4
    Puzzle tale, really slow game. It gets pretty confusing, and you might have to look up guides to actually not spend your entire life trying to figure things out, the story isn't very good either.
  3. SirSoil
    Feb 28, 2020
    4
    Ether One is a game that has an interesting narrative with beautiful looking areas and frustrating puzzles. The games story is about mental illness, and the games story explains it very well with amazing ideas and visuals. However the gameplay is terrible, it’s a puzzle based game and almost all the puzzles get frustratingly bad and slow. Sadly the puzzles are a major thing, you might evenEther One is a game that has an interesting narrative with beautiful looking areas and frustrating puzzles. The games story is about mental illness, and the games story explains it very well with amazing ideas and visuals. However the gameplay is terrible, it’s a puzzle based game and almost all the puzzles get frustratingly bad and slow. Sadly the puzzles are a major thing, you might even get stuck for hours not knowing what to do. At least the voice acting and the story narrative are very good. Ether One shares a great story with good moments and visuals, but it doesn’t share good gameplay or good puzzles unfortunately. (Medicore 2/5) Play It If Your A Fan Of Story Telling Games… Expand
  4. drlowdon
    Nov 17, 2015
    3
    I'm perfectly happy to play story led games but, unless the gameplay is at least somewhat interesting or I can have some control over the way events play out, I feel as though I may as well watch a movie instead. Unfortunately Ether One meets neither of those criteria, telling a linear (albeit potentially interesting) story though gameplay that involves little more than slowly wanderingI'm perfectly happy to play story led games but, unless the gameplay is at least somewhat interesting or I can have some control over the way events play out, I feel as though I may as well watch a movie instead. Unfortunately Ether One meets neither of those criteria, telling a linear (albeit potentially interesting) story though gameplay that involves little more than slowly wandering around low resolution locations reading notes and solving unimaginative puzzles.

    I've played plenty of great indie games over the last few years but this isn't one of them.    … Expand
  5. theche
    Oct 6, 2016
    3
    ETHER One gave me a really hard time. It's a rather slow puzzling game in 3D whose strong point is supposed to be the story. However, the story didn't cut it for me either, lacking heavily in elements motivating players to go forward. This games requires a lot of effort and good-will before rewarding the player eventually. The sub-par presentation and crude controls don't help either.
  6. Sparkticle
    Nov 6, 2015
    3
    You know great puzzle games like The Talos Principle, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and even hell, games like SOMA and Resident Evil and alike? All very different puzzle games and some not solely based on puzzle alone. Some just have puzzles as an additional feature to make the game more challenging and interesting. The one thing these games I've listed have in common is that no matter howYou know great puzzle games like The Talos Principle, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and even hell, games like SOMA and Resident Evil and alike? All very different puzzle games and some not solely based on puzzle alone. Some just have puzzles as an additional feature to make the game more challenging and interesting. The one thing these games I've listed have in common is that no matter how different the puzzles in them are, they all make you think in the ways their designers intended you to think in. What can I say, the designers of the puzzles are actually geniuses. They have to really work out how they would hint and point you towards locations where you would be able to solve this puzzle.

    The Ether One is not one of those games with amazing puzzle designers. As a game solely based on puzzles and getting through a narrative, it really doesn't hit the edge on both ends. The game itself seems uninspired and bland, and the puzzles are severe disappointments. They are just not well-designed, and it would be much better if you could have a single clue what you were doing before you realized that you are actually doing something completely useless for the past hour. It happens. It's not great. It really feels like a huge waste of time, and if there's anything in your precious lives that you wouldn't want a game to waste -- it's your time. There is no experiences to be had here, people. Move along.    … Expand
  7. BenjaminLinus
    May 24, 2015
    3
    I wouldn't call this a game, because you don't play it, you don't enjoy it. You're just walking around and looking for well hidden solutions for puzzles without any sense. You can keep just one object at once (what the...)! Prehistoric graphics, bad sound, bugs (sometimes it simply doesn't work), crashes. Control system on PS4 will drive you mad. I don't recommend it at all.
  8. tr3472
    May 9, 2015
    3
    Awful game another wasted slot on the ps+ list. the puzzles in this game are some of the most optus i have seen. Its clumsy and slow and very dated. if you like you games to be the ones where nothing happens and you want narrative knock yourself out. I made it to the end of level 3 before i needed to delete it and I needed a walkthrough to get that far.

    xxxxspoilerxxx for an    Awful game another wasted slot on the ps+ list. the puzzles in this game are some of the most optus i have seen. Its clumsy and slow and very dated. if you like you games to be the ones where nothing happens and you want narrative knock yourself out. I made it to the end of level 3 before i needed to delete it and I needed a walkthrough to get that far.

    xxxxspoilerxxx
    for an example of the rubbish puzzles. in a pub there is a panel with a picture. if you click on it you can write on it, what do you write, only the name of the the beer that has the picture and that name is not on any bottle in the pub with the picture for its label - if you even guessed that, but on one bottle elsewhere in the village. i disrepair.    … Expand
  9. seinfeldand24
    Aug 3, 2015
    2
    First person exploration game that has so many bugs it has made the game unplayable. I only made it to the second area but when fast travelling to the third area the game froze and I have been unable to reload/continue from a previous save; just sits a black screen. Lots of frame rate issues and texture pop in's from the hour I spent with the game.
  10. Dude_Largepants
    May 11, 2015
    1
    I love these types of games. Intriguing narrative told through exploration of the environment, almost like Myst and Portal had a baby. The story comes in chunks but from what I've understood, you play the part of a "Restorer" and you're put into someones mind digitally in order to sift through their memories to restore what dementia seems to have taken away.

    That being said, the    I love these types of games. Intriguing narrative told through exploration of the environment, almost like Myst and Portal had a baby. The story comes in chunks but from what I've understood, you play the part of a "Restorer" and you're put into someones mind digitally in order to sift through their memories to restore what dementia seems to have taken away.

    That being said, the enjoyment stops there. I wanted to enjoy this game more, but the game breaking bugs are all over the place. And they are as follows:

    1.)I've lost count as to how many times I've clipped through walls, into areas I'm not supposed to be, fallen through floors into inescapable areas or the game has simply frozen for no reason.
    2.) The amount of texture popping or textures not showing up is inexcusable.
    3.) A majority of the time when I resume my game, a good number of the items I've collected have disappeared from the shelves in The Case.
    4.) My projector count keeps resetting to 0 and I can't access any area of the game I've been previously because they disappear from the map as if I've never been there.
    5.) One of the trophies is impossible until they fix the game because you can't use one of the shelves in The Case.
    6.) My personal hated flaw, there's no way to invert the Y-axis.

    Individually these issues might not amount to anything more than a minor flaw, but together I've experienced all of them in one single playthrough. A playthrough that I now have to restart from the beginning because when I warp from The Case into the world, I spawn outside of the world and fall forever, and since I don't have the ability to transport to any other unlocked area, I'm doomed. The bottom line is that you can easily tell that the developer hastily ported this otherwise amazing game onto the PS4 and in the process created more bugs than this player can handle. If you're obtaining it through PS Plus, give it a shot, but don't pay money for it.    … Expand
  11. skrill3d
    May 11, 2015
    1
    Game crashed 4 times within the first hour of playing it. Constant texture bugs and other issues which make it unplayable at times. Luckily it saved before crashing completely so I was able to continue on where I left off. Puzzles are incredibly obvious, game is very dated, graphics are meh at best.
  12. danisaia
    May 30, 2015
    1
    I tried this game for about two hours, and I think it was too long. When I escaped back to the PS4 OS, I caught myself saying out loud: "what a **** game it is!"

    I'm not going to repeat all that was already said here in the other negative reviews. Just to add something new: why does the player have to to try so hard just to position the HUD crosshair on the objects he wants to interact    I tried this game for about two hours, and I think it was too long. When I escaped back to the PS4 OS, I caught myself saying out loud: "what a **** game it is!"

    I'm not going to repeat all that was already said here in the other negative reviews. Just to add something new: why does the player have to to try so hard just to position the HUD crosshair on the objects he wants to interact with? This is SO ANNOYING!

    Well, at least It was free on PS Plus. Still, it was such a waste of time.    … Expand
  13. JohnsonStJonson
    Jun 16, 2015
    1
    The woman's voice is DADGUM fine. If i was basing this review solely based on how attracted I am to the narrator, it be an easy 10. But, alas, the game itself was much like my favorite scene from The Notebook- the ending. Lol I'm just kidding, every scene in The Notebook is cinematic perfection. They should remake it starring me and the narrator gal from Ether One.
    Ether one is the kid    The woman's voice is DADGUM fine. If i was basing this review solely based on how attracted I am to the narrator, it be an easy 10. But, alas, the game itself was much like my favorite scene from The Notebook- the ending. Lol I'm just kidding, every scene in The Notebook is cinematic perfection. They should remake it starring me and the narrator gal from Ether One.
    Ether one is the kid that got picked last in kickball. It's slow, weird, and keeps getting out of gym class because he's got a note from his mom. To be honest, I was that kid, BUT LOOK AT ME NOW. Once Metacritic starts paying me for these reviews, I'm gonna be set for life. Anyways, overlooking my sexual attraction to the narrator, there is really no reason to play Ether one. If you told me you enjoyed playing it, I would stop hanging out with you. Unless you're a hot chick, because in that case I would play this game all the dadgum time and I would enjoy it too.
    In summation, avoid like that dude in your Crossfit class that keeps winking at you.
    1/10    … Expand
  14. Brainache
    Sep 2, 2015
    1
    This is a pig of a game. The engine really gives the PS4 a hard time causing the fans to howl. Movement is like through treacle and there are frequent crashes and freezes. To top it off there was a bug making the platinum trophy impossible. I think it's fixed now but I just can't bring myself to play this again. Some of the gameplay conceits are silly, such as only being able to carry aThis is a pig of a game. The engine really gives the PS4 a hard time causing the fans to howl. Movement is like through treacle and there are frequent crashes and freezes. To top it off there was a bug making the platinum trophy impossible. I think it's fixed now but I just can't bring myself to play this again. Some of the gameplay conceits are silly, such as only being able to carry a single item. There also seems to be a lack of persistence in some of the settings, e.g. invert y-axis. Ugh!… Expand
  15. Abeofgradas77
    Nov 11, 2015
    0
    This has to be the worst game of 2015, it is so freaking boring. All you do is walk around and put things in places. Just another poor excuse for PS Plus not to give us a AAA game I guess. Also, it is not atmospheric. The Unfinished Swan was atmospheric, Life is Strange was atmospheric. They weren't not-stop action but they weren't **** boring either.
  16. drunkenspy
    May 13, 2015
    0
    I normally don't rate games this low. I have the game, I just haven't been able to play it. Why? No invert option. Seriously, who doesn't have inverted control options in their games these days. I don't know who messed up more, the developer, or Sony for allowing this garbage to hit the PS4. At least it was free.
  17. doczellstoff
    May 6, 2015
    0
    Well it looks like it could be fun and the story seems pretty interesting...but the fact that there is no option to invert your Y-axis kinda kills it for me...
  18. FrakkinPhoenix
    May 6, 2015
    0
    The only good thing I can say about this game is that I did not lose any money buying it because I got it for free from PS Plus this month. There is no option to invert the Y-axis which made it completely unplayable for me.
  19. druppy
    May 12, 2015
    0
    This game is awful. Really you can't carry two things at once? God didn't give you two hands. Man didn't make pants with pockets. And if u cant hold something in your underarm you should be shot.
  20. phoenix_shade
    May 14, 2015
    0
    I created an account here just to put in my two cents. I play a lot of games, and I was bored waiting for witcher 3 to come out and this was free, so I was like OK i like puzzles.

    Turns out I have just given up on this game. It is an absolute broken piece of garbage. The game freezes during loading screens, sometimes it will crash and then you lose your progress. Speaking of    I created an account here just to put in my two cents. I play a lot of games, and I was bored waiting for witcher 3 to come out and this was free, so I was like OK i like puzzles.

    Turns out I have just given up on this game. It is an absolute broken piece of garbage.

    The game freezes during loading screens, sometimes it will crash and then you lose your progress.

    Speaking of progress, I can appreciate slow pacing, but this game is god awfully slow and dull. And the puzzles themselves give you almost nothing to go on, and involve odd concepts thats that really remind you of the old days of gaming, where you had literally no idea what you were doing, and you have to fumble around constantly. The game was a struggle to not cheat online, and the sad part is, I gave up on playing it before I decided to cave in.

    SOme people on here combat these negative reviews by claiming we cannot appreciate a non COD type game with no reverse Y-axis (why isnt this just a permanent thing anyway?) But no, this game is free for a reason, it's absolutely terrible, and will forever appear as a black mark on my trophie list.

    I'll be avoiding all games from this developer in the future.

    TRASH.    … Expand
  21. BBmax50
    Jun 6, 2015
    0
    I just "finished" playing this game on the PS4. First let me list the things that do not bother me. Whatever the Y-axis thing is. I never change this so being unable to change it didn't affect me. The game moves the way I would expect it to. The graphics and the glitches don't bother me. The puzzles being difficult and requiring a lot of exploring and trial and error does not botherI just "finished" playing this game on the PS4. First let me list the things that do not bother me. Whatever the Y-axis thing is. I never change this so being unable to change it didn't affect me. The game moves the way I would expect it to. The graphics and the glitches don't bother me. The puzzles being difficult and requiring a lot of exploring and trial and error does not bother me. That's why I played.
    Now to the reason I gave it a zero. Those who played on a PS4 may have encountered the glitch where you can not open a door after the elevator ride will know what I am talking about. I tried several times, went online and found that it wasn't me, but a really bad bug that can not be worked thru. Then (and hats off to the PSN system) I saw that an update had been done automatically. I tried again and sure enough, I was able to move on.
    Now, just today, I was playing and I figure I was maybe 10 to 20% thru the game. This was based on the large amount of things that I had seen while moving thru 3 of the 4 areas. I had completed the 8 ribbons for 2 of the areas and traveled thru the doors with the camera. There were at least 20 to 30 things that I knew of that needed to be solved. Combinations needed to be found, and many other things that I saw as potentially enjoyable and challenging puzzles. Many of which I was looking forward to. I had accumulated dozens of items, expecting to use most or at least some of them at some point. I think I may have used 2. I only remember adding a combination wheel to a safe and opening it. As far as the projectors go, I completed maybe 3 or 4 of them, was never really enlightened by what I saw, and I estimate that I saw at least 12 more in places that I either didn't assemble at all, or put part way together. I was waiting for some kind of ah-ha moment where it would start to tie together. I found all 8 of the 3rd ribbon set (I think the 4th one was a mine or something) and when I was entering the door next to the collected ribbons, the woman said something about whenever I am "ready" to go on this "final" journey.....WHAT? OK, so I will bite. Maybe this is where it starts to get good. But then, sure enough, I basically ended up in the final sequence of the game. As I went on, I just kept thinking, could this really be the end of the game? And then, it was. I can't imagine how much gameplay and possible enjoyment I may have missed and even though I could go back, now that I know how it "ends" (was that really an end??????) I definitely won't bother. What the H*** was that. YES, I know it is about mental illness and I am not trying to be crass, but it just seemed like no end at all. And while I was still holding out hope that this apparent end was not going to actually be the end of the game, the screen goes black and I get: "Thank You For Playing" And just in case you are someone who likes bizarre and confusing things like some independent movies and shows like Twin Peaks and other surreal experiences, THIS IS NOT THAT! I am that kind of person, so don't go disregarding this review thinking that I didn't "get it". Everyone certainly has a right to seek out their own enjoyment, so you may enjoy it. I am just saying that you shouldn't read my review and say "Wow, sounds really creepy and confusing, maybe I'll like it". You most likely won't. Especially if it ends early. OK, so maybe I should have turned around and continued to play the game when she said something about the final journey, but do I really have to do the developers work for them and realize that I should not go there yet? Here's a pointer for them, if you don't want the player to finish the game yet, then don't let them. PERIOD.
    In hindsight, this ending may be one of the most shocking moments of gameplay I have had in my 40 years of gaming. But not good shocking..........    … Expand
  22. grishrak
    Jun 12, 2015
    0
    0 is the score it should get. I can't even play the game really without bugs even after the 3GB patch.

    Takes forever to load. Freezes when I try to fast travel. Lantern doesn't work at all, I hit every button on my DS4. Pretty much when the game freezes or crashes 90% chance you have to start A BRAND NEW GAME and pray to your god that the game doesn't crash again. I think I had to    0 is the score it should get. I can't even play the game really without bugs even after the 3GB patch.

    Takes forever to load.
    Freezes when I try to fast travel.
    Lantern doesn't work at all, I hit every button on my DS4.

    Pretty much when the game freezes or crashes 90% chance you have to start A BRAND NEW GAME and pray to your god that the game doesn't crash again. I think I had to restart it 20 times.

    White Paper Games I pray you go out of business as soon as possible!    … Expand
  23. Chain_Affinity
    Feb 2, 2020
    0
    Sunk four hours into this only to encounter an unforgiving game-breaking bug.

Awards & Rankings

95
#95 Best PS4 Game of 2015
77
#77 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. GameCritics
    Dec 8, 2015
    80
    Although I enjoyed Ether One, the game is based entirely on exploration, and unraveling the story is key to its appreciation. Players who don't have the patience for this sort of slow-burn adventure might find that things are fairly incomprehensible if they don't take the time to do some of the non-essential puzzles. However, those who find the idea of a casual stroll through someone's mind would do well to check this one out.
    Read full review
  2. SpazioGames
    Oct 21, 2015
    75
    From a narrative standpoint, we loved this game, but its technical problems kinda ruin the experience. Truly a pity, considering its brilliant and versatile gameplay that can adapt to many types of players.
    Read full review
  3. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Jun 30, 2015
    80
    A beautifully judged, moving tale with puzzles cleverly entrenched in the story's take on mental illness. [July 2015, p.93]
See all critic reviews »