Ether One is an exploration puzzle game about the tragic story of a dementia patient. Ether One delivers an interesting narrative, but ultimately I am not recommending the game due to poor gameplay elements.

Ether One suffers from a lot of negative possibility space. You will spend a lot of time exploring rooms that ultimately have nothing in them. The two core gameplay objectives are solving puzzles (to learn more about the story) and collecting ribbons (to progress through the game). There are hundreds of objects scattered across the levels. Similar to L.A. Noire (but even more poorly implemented), a lot of the difficulty comes from determining which items are needed to solve puzzles. The inventory system is atrocious: only one item can be held at a time. and picking up an item will put your currently held item in its place. Items can be deposited at vault-like location that is easy to access at any time, but the player will often not know if an item is actually part of a puzzle or not. So, if you were to pick up a puzzle item, travel a bit, swap it for another item, and then continue, you will no longer have any way of knowing where the puzzle item is located. In addition, movement is very slow and the maps are pretty big. You may know exactly what it is you need to complete a puzzle but end up spending a long time slowly trying to find a building or item. Solving the puzzles is not required to progress, but the puzzles are the only engaging part of the game.

Some of the puzzles are fun and engaging, but other puzzles are extremely lacking. The most frustration came from combing the levels for items and trying to determine which items are puzzle items. Many puzzles make you search for a needle in a haystack. Some involve leaps of logic that are difficult to make.

Ether One has some positive aspects. The narrative and writing are good. The environments are well crafted. You will find notes that do a good job of describing the residents and events of the village. The sound, music, and voice acting are all very good.

Overall, Ether One is too slow paced and frustrating to enjoy. The great narrative is hampered by poor design.

Ether One is an exploration puzzle game about the tragic story of a dementia patient. Ether One delivers an interesting narrative, but ultimately I am not recommending the game due to poor gameplay elements. Ether One suffers from a lot of negative possibility space. You will spend a lot of time exploring rooms that ultimately have nothing in them. The two core gameplay objectives are solving puzzles (to learn more about the story) and collecting ribbons (to progress through the game). There are hundreds of objects scattered across the levels. Similar to L.A. Noire (but even more poorly implemented), a lot of the difficulty comes from determining which items are needed to solve puzzles. The inventory system is atrocious: only one item can be held at a time. and picking up an item will put your currently held item in its place. Items can be deposited at vault-like location that is easy to access at any time, but the player will often not know if an item is actually part of a puzzle or not. So, if you were to pick up a puzzle item, travel a bit, swap it for another item, and then continue, you will no longer have any way of knowing where the puzzle item is located. In addition, movement is very slow and the maps are pretty big. You may know exactly what it is you need to complete a puzzle but end up spending a long time slowly trying to find a building or item. Solving the puzzles is not required to progress, but the puzzles are the only engaging part of the game. Some of the puzzles are fun and engaging, but other puzzles are extremely lacking. The most frustration came from combing the levels for items and trying to determine which items are puzzle items. Many puzzles make you search for a needle in a haystack. Some involve leaps of logic that are difficult to make. Ether One has some positive aspects. The narrative and writing are good. The environments are well crafted. You will find notes that do a good job of describing the residents and events of the village. The sound, music, and voice acting are all very good. Overall, Ether One is too slow paced and frustrating to enjoy. The great narrative is hampered by poor design.