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The Astronauts, a new eight-person studio founded by key members of the Bulletstorm development team, have released the first images for their Unreal Engine 3-powered game The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.

Gamers are cast as Paul Prospero, an occult detective, who receives a "disturbing" letter from Ethan Carter, realizing that the boy is in grave danger. When he arrives at Ethan's home, he finds that Ethan has vanished in the wake of a "brutal murder."

Players will use both regular and supernatural detective skills to solve the case of what happened to the missing boy. Using a first-person perspective, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter has players interacting with and exploring the environment to find clues about the case.

The more clues players discover, the clearer and longer Paul's vision will become. The game is described overall as a "weird fiction horror" title. There is no combat in The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. "If our game leaves any scars, you won't be able to see them," the developer said.

"The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is our own attempt to tell a multilayered story while keeping the player completely immersed and constantly engaged--with the unique sense of presence only video games can offer," the developer said.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is currently in development for the PC, though The Astronauts said it is hopeful to bring the game to next-generation consoles in the future.

The Astronauts was founded in 2012 by Adrian Chmielarz, Andrzej Poznanski, and Michal Kosieradzki, the original three founders of People Can Fly.