The Witness Reviews

Before i start please keep in mind i went in completely blind to everything about this game. I want to like this game. there are some neat ideas in it. But the overall execution is just terrible. Wondering aimlessly around, not being able to solve anything til you happen upon the "correct" starting puzzle to learn basics for any given gimmick/rule is terrible. Even knowing the answers some of the puzzles make ZERO damned sense at all, and even with knowing the gimmick i don't understand why it works. I don't want to continue playing this knowing may have to google hints to figure out your weird, obscure, and poorly designed mechanics. Not to mention how irritatingly SLOW a lot of the more involved puzzles can be. Im not saying its a bad game, i just don't like it. if all this sounds fun still, have a go at it you might like it.

I really try to finish most games, but I just don't want to finish this one. At this point I've been going through with a guide, I don't understand anything, and there's no enjoyment to be found at all. And believe me, I really tried. I saw a lot of people in the reviews saying this game was pretentious, and I got it because I thought I wouldn't mind. I don't think pretentious is the right word, though. See, apart from the gameplay, all the information in this game is drawn from *other sources* and has been put in the game presumably for the player to interpret on their own. I'd be fine with this if I was taking a philosophy class, but seeing as I'm playing something that someone has actually made, it's not ideal. As it is, the game is not saying anything new or interesting or even substantive, just presenting you with other people's words in such a wide and disparate array of perspectives that ultimately no statements are being made at all. Physicists, gross misinterpreters of physics, philosophers, religious preachers, religious fundamentalists, insane cult leaders, etc. Even if you can ignore the fact that this game is 50% the vague and contextless ponderings of random historical figures, like some weird futuristic holo-museum with no plaques, the other 50% is the gameplay, which is quite bad. Some of the line puzzles were interesting, but they quickly became less and less interesting as the game resorted to random BS for the rule systems. I get that the rules themselves are consistent, but there's no way to know when some rules are applied as opposed to others. Some line puzzles you have to look at through tinted screens to figure out what the correct pattern is. There is no indication of when this applies. Some of the environmental puzzles were cool, but most of them were very hard to find/position in a way that I couldn't really say anything positive about. As I went on it felt more and more like busywork, which led me to look up a guide, which made it feel even more like busywork. At some point it goes from "oh that's why it's that" to "how was I expected to know it was that." Sure, call it a skill issue if you want, it probably is, but keep in mind you will probably end up with the same skill issue after playing this thing for 6 hours. Special mention goes to one puzzle that I only found out about after watching a review. The game has several secret videos to show you, of wildly varying quality. One I quite liked was a lecture called Psalm 46 that was all about becoming obsessed with looking for meaning where there isn't any. Maybe I liked it because the making and quotefinding for this game screamed out to me as an indication of this. I really like puzzles, but only when it's clear there's some intentionality behind their craft. Anyway, two problems: (1) this lecture was at least 45 minutes long, which is not something you can find anywhere in the game, so there's no way to know how long you'll be sitting down and watching this video; and (2) the puzzle in question is happening behind the screen where the video is displayed: at the beginning of the lecture you have to start the puzzle, and at the end you have to finish it. There's no fastforwarding involved, no pausing the game-- you have to start the puzzle, wait 45 minutes while the lecture plays, and then at the exact right time you have to finish it. This is absolutely bananas. Making your players wait 45 minutes for one puzzle, that is visually obvious but cannot be completed in-game without the waiting, is such awful game design that it kind of brings the rest of this into focus. I think maybe the dev is so fascinated with how other people find meaning because he doesn't know how to make something meaningful himself. Not interesting, not inventive, and-- crucially-- not fun.

A game that takes a simple concept and takes it to new levels.

This game pissed me off. If you like some pretentious douche droning on with random pseudo-intellectual garbage while you try to solve bullshit puzzles, this game is for you. I don't know. I get why some people like it, but it was not for me.

Yes, this game is as good as advertised. Went in thinking it would be just a couple of really good designed sliding puzzles and came out 20 hours afterwards after realizing just how interesting and entertaining that simple premise could be. Totes recommended. <3 ~

I bought this game fairly randomly as it was a last minute sale buy, but honestly it turned out to be an amazing purchase. I really love this game, I heard some stuff about it especially about the difficulty but I didn't really have any "spoilers" or anything so I went in basically blind and with the exception of a couple puzzles I could get through to the end with mostly no hints. For the things I love, I really love the vibe and visual style of the game it's honestly beautiful and the way the world is built is fantastic. There was so much care put into how it's built and the movement although limited feels really smooth. There were times where I started the game up, stared at a puzzle for 20 minutes and turned the game off, mad at the game and then returning to beat it in 2 minutes and thinking how dumb I am. I've never played many puzzle games and I just felt really good when I got to solve some of the harder one's and even when I got to a point where I was fairly good at some of the mechanics. I do think there's a couple puzzles that don't work well but compared to how many there are I think it's a negligible amount. Overall a fantastic experience that I would recommend.

This game is the closest thing there is to "required reading" in the puzzle genre, and perhaps in the medium of interactive games itself.

One of the best puzzle games ever made. Beautiful, clever and addicting. Astonishing achievement by Jonathan Blow and his team.

A tough and fun puzzle game. It consists mostly of the little grid-puzzles that you see in the trailer, but the increasingly complex rules results in some really interesting challenges. Additionally, the game has no overt tutorials, part of the challenge is figuring out the rules yourself. The whole game is enjoyable, but it really gets excellent in the late game when you'll have to account for many different rulesets at once. The 3D environment also matters for some of the puzzles, justifying the island's existence. Many people claim that this game could have just been a menu-based app with the grid puzzles, and that's just not true. I will warn you that this isn't a test-chamber physics-based puzzle game like Portal, or many of its clones. The core puzzle mechanic is very very dry, you will be staring at grid-based puzzle screens for a majority of the playtime. This is something I love about the game, but not everyone may enjoy the lack of spectacle, or the infrequent use of the environment. You also might need to break out some graph paper to take notes and test out your ideas, especially in the late game. Again, this is something I love, but could be a dealbreaker for other people. If you have good memory and the ability to solve branching/visual problems inside your mind, then you might not need to take notes, but I certainly had to. CONCLUSION The game is very good and challenging, but it might be too dry for some people's taste. I don't think it's a *must play*, especially for the pricepoint, but if you can get it on sale I'd recommend it. The late game puzzles are very, very satisfying. WARNINGS -A small amount of puzzles use audio. You need to be able to hear to complete them. Additionally, it's not made obvious that the section is audio-based, so it's difficult to even know that you're missing information. (they are technically optional, as you don't need to complete every puzzle to reach the final area. you can look up the answers if necessary, but this may be a dealbreaker for you.) -A small amount of puzzles require color-recognition. This may be a problem if you are afflicted with some form of colorblindness. (some of these puzzles are optional, but there are a few in the required final area. you can look up the answers if necessary, but this may be a dealbreaker for you.)

The Witness is one of the most stunningly beautiful games I’ve ever played, and not just visually. The island itself is a work of art: the colours are vibrant, the island layout is carefully thought out, and it's filled with so many clever little details. If you look closely enough, you'll find clues all around you as to what this island truly is. I'm not telling you more, because the mystery is part of the fun of the game. Part of the beauty is in how the game presents its puzzles and invites you to engage with them. It's not linear. You can explore the entire island at once. This means that you might come across puzzles that you don't know how to solve yet. What you learn from completing another area's puzzles may be the key to solving those ones later. Clues are everywhere, hidden in plain sight. Some clues help you solve the puzzles in the area, others are hints at what this world is all about. You'll find audio recordings hidden here and there, some of which give you more clues about the island and what's happening. This isn’t a game that you can run through in a weekend. It's not an easy 100%. (I have 1 of 2 achievements at the time of writing). If you’re playing it the way it’s meant to be played, that is, exploring, paying attention to detail, and learning the puzzles without outside help, you’re likely in for 20-30 hours just to reach the mountain and complete the main path. (I have offline hours, so much more than 22.5, at time of review) And that’s not including the secrets, the environmental puzzles, or the small hidden areas that are rewards for deeper exploration. Using a guide might be tempting, especially when you hit a wall, but doing this will rob you of the game's best moments. You know? That sudden "aha" moment that's almost magical, when you finally get what you're supposed to do. I have checked online when I was super stuck, but have only done this maybe five times. A couple of things are not obvious and you might need a prompt on where to look, or how you're supposed to go about a set of puzzles. But I don't recommend using a guide to complete the puzzles themselves, unless you come across one where you really need to. It would kinda defeat the purpose of ever playing imho. I haven’t finished the timed challenge yet. This is a bonus area that requires some extra steps to reach. From what I’ve seen from my first few failed attempts, it’s a test of everything you’ve learned, except this time it's under pressure, and the puzzles are random. I know it’s going to take me many, many tries because I am terrible with timed stuff. But that’s okay. It'll give me something to do when I feel like picking this game back up again. What makes The Witness so unique is that it teaches entirely through it's design and it does it extremely well. There’s no dialogue, no tutorial prompts, no hints. You either learn by paying attention to detail, or you don’t learn at all. And that design choice is part of what makes it feel so rewarding when things finally click. It takes time. So if you follow guides completely, you won't learn the rules, and you will not be able to complete the bonus area. That's the reason I am saying to at least try figuring it all out yourself first. You'll be glad you did, if you're aiming to 100% the game. I will say that this isn’t a game for everyone. I loved it. It felt a little nostalgic, like when we were taken to a forest park as a kid and there were all of these ruins and different places to explore. But some players may hate the lack of direction or find certain puzzles way too frustrating. I'll admit that I had those moments too, so I quit, played something else and came back. But if you enjoy games that reward patience, careful observation, and genuine problem-solving, then The Witness is absolutely worth your time. This is a game that I feel respects the player's intelligence. (Except for maybe that one spinning puzzle, spinning for fake difficulty, that made me feel nauseous, but whatever. lol) Is it worth it's price? I think so. Although, I did pick this game up several years ago in a sale. =)