The Witness Reviews
I also can't be upset about how hostile The Witness often felt, because the game taught me a lesson that was worth the pain—about how intimate puzzle games are. I think they represent a more direct relationship between creator and participant than most genres, and that's an aspect of puzzle games that I've never really appreciated before.
more, everything about the game—its puzzle structure, its philosophical leanings, its mysteries—eventually comes together in pretty arresting fashion. Part of this is thanks to the game's multiple layers of puzzle-solving gameplay. We've been asked not to say more about that part. Players may need as little as an hour or as long as two weeks to figure out one of The Witness's coolest parts, but however and whenever players get to that point, it's a pretty clever one. (Some of the game's most incredible aesthetic trickery comes as a result of this part of the game, by the way. Kudos to Thekla for pulling it off.)
A colossal achievement in puzzle gaming, with a very cleverly conceived setting and story, but the lack of variety and reward becomes stifling.
Blow does it again. Exquisitely layered puzzles populate a world that will keep you guessing.
A meditative masterpiece of virtual architecture and puzzle design.
As brilliant as it is infuriating, The Witness' ingenious puzzles all too easily have their shine worn away by length and a constantly extending complexity.
It's a brilliant, beautiful, masterfully crafted work, and the more you discover, the more apparent it is.
The Witness is a game that will genuinely have you punching the air or laughing out loud, just from correctly drawing a line on a grid. If that isn't the mark of a truly special game, I don't know what is.
It's easy to fall in love with The Witness, and even easier to have your heart broken by the callous indifference of Jonathan Blow's beautiful island. A healthy challenge is good for any game, but the puzzles on display here offer few inroads to understanding for those who can't think exactly like their creator.
When I step back and think about The Witness, it is a game that challenged me more than any has before. No matter what though, the challenges were always worth pushing through to find a solution because of the rewards that were hidden behind them. There will be a group of people who love this game for how rewarding it is, and at the same time, there will be a group that loathes it for how frustrating it is. All I know is I fell in the group of the former.
Some fans of Blow's earlier work seem to have been hoping that the mazes they saw in the trailers are just a veneer for a deeper, mind-blowing experience, but really the world and whatever narrative you can find in it are dressing for an incredibly impressive collection of puzzles. Whether or not you find a deeper meaning at the end, the journey will have been worth it.
Break it down and The Witness is nothing more than variations of the same simple maze puzzle, spread across a gorgeous island setting.
The depth of organic interaction, witnessing the world melt seamlessly into itself, makes for a near perfect experience. The Witness is a constant idea just within reach and then, once you grasp it, a new perspective altogether. It won't be quick nor easy to solve, but you can't help but be enraptured by its beauty through every frustration and moment of clarity.
[Spoiler Warning] The Witness makes a game of epiphany.
The Witness is an excellent and unique puzzle experience that will put you to the test. Not only will it challenge you with beautifully designed puzzles but it will also task you with marshalling yourself; patience, sticktoitieveness, and a continually churning mind will be rewarded. Eventually.
Despite occasional pangs of belittlement, The Witness refuses to release its hold on me. Although there are aspects of the game that I clearly dislike, part of me longs to be immersed within its fascinating world. It feels strange, therefore, to try and put a score on this review, given how each individual will react differently to it. That term may be overused but if you were to spend just an hour or two with the game, you would know it to be true. Unique, divisive, and fiendishly clever, there are bound to be those who love it and those who absolutely hate it. Then there are those, like myself, who fall somewhere in between, able to appreciate Thekla's achievements but frustrated at how The Witness continues to build a wall around itself, as if guarding a secret from its players.
The Witness is an intentionally simple game to grasp, but enjoyment almost feels proportional to patience. These puzzles are absolute brain-breakers, so anyone that doesn't have the patience for them will get no enjoyment out of The Witness. I was certainly on the verge of being one of those people, but exploring the sheer beauty of the island and learning more about its central mystery turned out to make returning worthwhile.
The Witness is a masterpiece of video game design. It presents a mysterious and fascinating world to explore, full of puzzles that will confound the player, but also delight them as they figure out the solution. The island setting is both fun to explore and endlessly enjoyable to look at. The game's true achievement though is in how it teaches the player its intricacies, with minimal intrusion and subtle hints, allowing for a great feeling of accomplishment when everything clicks into place.
The Witness might be one of the best games ever made, but there's no denying it's also infuriating in equal measure.
With the involvement of Jonathan Blow, there's been a lot of chin-stroking and borderline pretentious articles going up about The Witness - understandably, given it's such an arthouse project. But there's no need for that here: the game is very good, and if you've even an inkling you might enjoy solving 600-plus puzzles in a gorgeous island setting, we'd heartily recommend The Witness.