Traversal is decently paced, there is a run button that allowed me to move a bit faster, but some issues cropped up when wanting to drop from a ledge. It’s not that big of an issue, but when trying to experiment with ideas when solving a puzzle, the last thing I want to do is have to reenter the solution to the puzzle that came before it. If I were to solve the first two connected panels then fail the third panel, the second panel would reset and I would have to solve it again. For instance, certain puzzle panels are connected. A few times I was annoyed with things that never broke the experience for me, but I most certainly found them to hinder me in a few spots. It was very compelling for a game that has no characters. I wanted to see what else this island held. Looking back on it, I can now see that was the drive to keep me playing and exploring. There are audio logs that can be found that have clips containing quotes, but it is rather obscure and mysterious, much like the island itself along with the entire experience. Now, there isn’t much story to be told here. They may very well see something that interests them and not realize it could be a puzzle to solve. Players need to pay attention to their surroundings. This also works in multiple ways for puzzles themselves. The art style and look of it all is really unique and had me in awe a few times as to how pretty it looked visually. For one thing, it is absolutely gorgeous. A puzzling paradise.Īlong with exploring puzzles, players can take in the views of this island. There is no gated access or some type of progression system in place here. That is the brilliance of The Witness, every puzzle players come across is solvable right then and there. When it becomes apparent what they need to do, they will see the answer was right in front of them the entire time, they just never realized it. If logic isn’t working for a puzzle, people need to realize they may very well be focusing on the wrong thing. Those quintessential “ah-ha!” moments are sometimes difficult to find, but every time I had one, it was rewarding and satisfying. I want to be slightly vague on this game due to the fact that figuring out how some puzzles work is part of the game itself. Puzzles become larger, have more rules to figure out, and some really begin to test both the player’s logic as well as their observation. Soon enough, players will begin to see that not everything is apparent. Exploration is key to not only finding the puzzles, but also solving them.Įverything starts out simple enough, finding panels that activate more panels when solved, following power cables that light up when a panel is solved, etc. Walking around the island via a first person perspective, finding panels with puzzles on them, and solving them is the entire point of the game. Essentially, everything is up to the player on what they want to see and do. There is no explanation, no tutorial, nothing to tell players where to go or what to do. The game takes place on a mysterious island. Certain puzzles utilize unexplained rules that players will have to figure out via trial and error and through the power of their own observation. Start at a circular area, and draw a line to the end of a grid. The puzzles themselves are simple in concept. The Witness has a very simple concept – find puzzles and complete them. Now, at first I didn’t know what to think, is it really that long? Do I want to play a puzzle game for that many hours? Astoundingly, after putting some time into it, I can safely say absolutely. After years in development, Jonathan Blow has finally released his highly anticipated game, The Witness – a game that has been touted as a 30 hour puzzle game. Flexing my brain muscles is usually rewarding and fun in its own right, and finding a game that does this well is sometimes a bit of a challenge. I enjoy a good puzzle game from time to time.
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