The Witness

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 853 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 557 out of 853
  2. Mixed: 148 out of 853
  3. Negative: 148 out of 853

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  1. Huffyupp
    Jan 27, 2016
    6
    After about four hours, I grew tired of the endless iteration on the same basic mechanic. The world is beautiful, but the puzzles are so disconnected from any real physical process or interaction with the setting that it really does just feel like a couple hundred puzzles you might find in a free to play phone game, plopped into a nice landscape. Bottom line: When I solved a puzzle, IAfter about four hours, I grew tired of the endless iteration on the same basic mechanic. The world is beautiful, but the puzzles are so disconnected from any real physical process or interaction with the setting that it really does just feel like a couple hundred puzzles you might find in a free to play phone game, plopped into a nice landscape. Bottom line: When I solved a puzzle, I didn't feel intelligent. I didn't really feel anything except relief, until the next puzzle, and repeat that 600 times.… Expand
  2. Nath6349
    Dec 8, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Witness is a really good puzzle game, some very tricky challenges in a lovely setting. This game has you doing unusual things, at one point I was sitting right at the TV tracing a path, the next I was turning up the volume really loud. Looking back through my notepad is like viewing the scribes from an alien language.

    I completed the main story and felt great satisfaction, only to then realise one extra challenge! I still have not beaten this challenge, I had plenty of attempts and I know I could do it with enough time, but finally the frustration got the better of me and there are other games to play. I feel this challenge has slightly detracted from the rest of the game which was enjoyable the whole way through.

    The puzzles are very clever but they all revolve around the central grid based theme. I cant help but think this limits the creativity. If they expanded the puzzle type I could imagine much more interesting gameplay and utilise even more of the environment, with more hidden mysteries. I feel this would make a good sequel.

    For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and exploring every corner of this enticing world. The developers deserve credit for making what is a dull mechanic very engaging, though this will always limit the games full potential.    … Expand
  3. Noahsmith37
    Feb 9, 2016
    7
    To start off, I simply want to say that I beat the game and I earned the Platinum trophy, so I did give the game time. However, I just feel that it was way too pretentious.

    The world is gorgeous, with an incredible art style, and I would love for another game to come out looking the same. However, The Witness just felt kind of empty. Also, I can understand treating gamers like they are    To start off, I simply want to say that I beat the game and I earned the Platinum trophy, so I did give the game time. However, I just feel that it was way too pretentious.

    The world is gorgeous, with an incredible art style, and I would love for another game to come out looking the same. However, The Witness just felt kind of empty. Also, I can understand treating gamers like they are smart, but giving absolutely no direction in 2016 isn't pushing boundaries, it's antiquated.

    In the end it is a puzzle game, if you love the puzzles then by all means, play the game. However, the story is almost non-existent within the game and you have to dig really deep and even then it still just gives off that same "holier than thou" feeling, like they knew they were making some that is just "different" than other games. In comparison Bloodborne had little storytelling, but the rest of the game blew me away, so I loved it. I'd give The Witness a 7.5 but I had to choose so I went lower rather than higher.    … Expand
  4. asterafe
    Jan 27, 2016
    7
    This game is wonderful and beautiful. The graphic of this game is too nice to focus the puzzle, outer environment match with the puzzle and its hints. It something like Darksouls or Bloodborne, There is no advice, really hard to find hints and method to solve the puzzle, several tutorials. not everything define exactly. So if the player like the solve puzzle this game is one ofThis game is wonderful and beautiful. The graphic of this game is too nice to focus the puzzle, outer environment match with the puzzle and its hints. It something like Darksouls or Bloodborne, There is no advice, really hard to find hints and method to solve the puzzle, several tutorials. not everything define exactly. So if the player like the solve puzzle this game is one of masterpiece, but if player think the game need to guide and indicate something important, this game is worst game. What I want to say; this game is best game with puzzle game player, worst game with action game player.… Expand
  5. rodericrinehart
    Feb 17, 2017
    5
    I'll update this as I give it more time, but I just found the game lifeless and boring. Who makes a game based on a single puzzle type? This guy, that's who. The game world is nice looking, but so are fan-made drawings on imgur and Deviant Art. There is just nothing to the world or story at all.

    You will walk around a beautiful world, but spend 90% of your time staring at a line puzzle    I'll update this as I give it more time, but I just found the game lifeless and boring. Who makes a game based on a single puzzle type? This guy, that's who. The game world is nice looking, but so are fan-made drawings on imgur and Deviant Art. There is just nothing to the world or story at all.

    You will walk around a beautiful world, but spend 90% of your time staring at a line puzzle of increasingly obtuse solutions. I did not at all get the same sense of presence and philosophy and that the story bits instilled in The Talos Principle. And that game had such varied puzzles.    … Expand
  6. GamingNinja
    Feb 9, 2016
    7
    A pretty good puzzle game with loads to uncover. Problem is all puzzles are kinda the same but different.
    The world itself really shines, with beautiful graphics and intelligent level design. A great game for anyone wanting to challenge his mind but I would wait for a price drop because this is not worth the 36 euro's price tag unless you are the biggest puzzle enthusiast.
  7. ishadow
    Jan 28, 2016
    5
    You will love this game, or you will hate it. There's little in between. It's like contemporary art. If you think a one color painting or a photo of a potato is an awesome art, you will like The Witness.

    This game is just boring and repetitive. It's hard, but in bad way. You will often find locked doors with puzzle mechanic you don't know, or panels that require some unique patterns    You will love this game, or you will hate it. There's little in between. It's like contemporary art. If you think a one color painting or a photo of a potato is an awesome art, you will like The Witness.

    This game is just boring and repetitive. It's hard, but in bad way. You will often find locked doors with puzzle mechanic you don't know, or panels that require some unique patterns found elsewhere. It's a pen and paper game, or at least take your phone and take a photo of a screen. And it's repetitive. Panels, panels, panels.
    Controls are clunky. Player character walks to slow, and you have to press run button all the time to WALK a bit more faster. Interacting with panels is also flawed, both gamepad and mouse+keyboard feel just wrong.
    On the other hand, island is beautiful and open world exploration is good. Following cables and searching for puzzles is nicely done, game just breaks when you start solving panels and there's just about it. Panels, panels, panels.

    This game reminds me a Talos Principle in a few ways, but The Witness is inferior in every aspect. Talos Principle had good puzzles, great story and introduced new gameplay mechanics through all the game. The Witness is just boring after 50-60 panels, there's virtually no story, just a plain island filled with panels.

    I haven't finished this game yet and I'll probably wont. Looking forward to play XCOM 2 in a near future:)    … Expand
  8. Jovuto
    Feb 14, 2016
    5
    Gameplay: 7/10

    For the most part, the puzzles in this game are pretty entertaining and require the player to think in different ways. However, unlike games of a similar nature (like Myst), the puzzles become really repetitive and boring after a while as all puzzles are solved via the panels (except for one area). The puzzles also become unbearably difficult later on so the gameplay may    Gameplay: 7/10

    For the most part, the puzzles in this game are pretty entertaining and require the player to think in different ways. However, unlike games of a similar nature (like Myst), the puzzles become really repetitive and boring after a while as all puzzles are solved via the panels (except for one area). The puzzles also become unbearably difficult later on so the gameplay may not be accessible to some.

    Controls: 4/10

    If you're planning on playing this, play it on PC because the controls on the PS4 are dreadful. Moving the camera is unbearably slow and what's worse is that there's no setting to change the camera's speed. The lack of camera sensitivity settings is unacceptable in a game like this.

    Aesthetic: 10/10

    This game is gorgeous and what's surprising is that everything seems to be low poly to some degree. Jonathan and his team did a great job.

    Sound and Music: 10/10

    When I heard that this game would have more than a thousand footstep sound effects, I was blown away and I still am. You can just tell that a lot of care and attention went into making the game sound just right. Usually I'm a fan of games with great soundtracks but The Witness doesn't have one. But that's because it simply doesn't need one. The sound design in this game is enough to win me over.

    User Experience/Tutorials: 9/10

    Apart from telling the player how to move, how to activate a panel and how to run, the game tells the player nothing in terms of how to play the game. The game shows the player instead. Each area of the island is a tutorial for a puzzle mechanic and each area (minus a few) does such a great job in teaching the player how a certain mechanic works.

    Story: 0/10

    Ooooh boy.... this fell apart really quickly. So, there's two endings. One that happens when you get to the end and one that happens when you discover a secret after getting the normal ending. The first ending simply puts the player back to the beginning of the game, resets the puzzles whilst some people say some meaningless quote on quote "deep" drivel. This honestly feels more like a troll ending than anything. Like, did Jonathan Blow just waste a good chunk of my time with this game just for it to be reset? The secret ending is even worse than the first. It's basically an "it was all a dream" ending. The worst and laziest kind of ending to any story. Except this time, it was all just a crazy VR game. The ending is complete and utter **** and I'm so glad that I used a walkthrough for the last segments of the game because I would've felt so defeated if I had wasted my time actually solving the last few puzzles.

    Price: 1/10:

    After an ending like that, I can't help but feel ripped off by the shocking £30 price tag. I would probably give this section a higher score but after all the "don't pirate our game" drama I can't help but be even more annoyed by the price tag. Hey... if you want to pirate The Witness, go right ahead because it is no way worth £30.

    Overall: 5/10    … Expand
  9. Tricksy_Raist
    Jan 31, 2016
    5
    If you're on the fence about this game, I encourage you to read both the glowing and the harsh reviews as objectively as you can (as long as you can identify the trolling for trolling's sake; those should always be discounted without hesitation). If you're after a lovingly crafted landscape, and tons of increasingly difficult maze puzzles, then this game could be for you. Other reviewsIf you're on the fence about this game, I encourage you to read both the glowing and the harsh reviews as objectively as you can (as long as you can identify the trolling for trolling's sake; those should always be discounted without hesitation). If you're after a lovingly crafted landscape, and tons of increasingly difficult maze puzzles, then this game could be for you. Other reviews will elaborate more on both of these features, and you'll see why some loved what they found and others hated it. Personal filters make for some very polarizing reviews, so I also recommend that you watch gameplay videos wherever possible so you can see as best you can what you're actually getting.

    As for me, while I do admire the developer's efforts, I have to admit that the only feeling I'm left with on this game is buyer's remorse. I feel that the price we're being charged with is being justified by the developer's sense of his own worth. I would have much rather kept the $40 in my pocket, downloaded Flow for free on my phone, and read a good Bradbury novel.

    After getting burned on Fallout 4 and SW: Battlefront, I'm anxious that I'm going to start getting used to that feeling of impotent regret that some of these very anticipated titles have been inspiring. And Faith, if you let me down this coming May, I may just have to hang up my controller for a while.    … Expand
  10. thryce3
    Mar 11, 2017
    5
    The game is equal parts brilliant and infuriating. Solving progressively harder puzzles as you figure out the rules for yourself is, at times, immensely satisfying. The problem is you often come across new elements that you don't yet know how to solve. The simple versions may be on the opposite end of the island, which is beautiful, but a chore to traverse and there's no telling whereThe game is equal parts brilliant and infuriating. Solving progressively harder puzzles as you figure out the rules for yourself is, at times, immensely satisfying. The problem is you often come across new elements that you don't yet know how to solve. The simple versions may be on the opposite end of the island, which is beautiful, but a chore to traverse and there's no telling where they may be. Worse yet, there are many puzzles that require you to stand in EXACTLY the right spot to get the proper perspective. Even then, what you need to see may be to small or not stand out enough against the background. And then you find out it doesn't' even contribute to the main goal.
    Eventually, you will find the end level and what is your reward? A level almost entirely designed to make it difficult to see what you're doing.
    Its really a shame, because a lot of the puzzles are well designed and integrate the elements in clever ways. However, just as often, the puzzles are frustrating to complete after you've already figured out the answer. That is the biggest sin a puzzle game can commit.    … Expand
  11. SirYakalot
    Feb 4, 2016
    6
    Some of what is done with the puzzles is extremely clever, though you do have to get past the first hour of the game which can be tedious and confusing. It's nice to play a game that expects you to work out how the rules of the puzzles work before you can then solve the harder puzzles.

    Unfortunately the problem is a lack of editorial - for every good puzzle type or element, there is    Some of what is done with the puzzles is extremely clever, though you do have to get past the first hour of the game which can be tedious and confusing. It's nice to play a game that expects you to work out how the rules of the puzzles work before you can then solve the harder puzzles.

    Unfortunately the problem is a lack of editorial - for every good puzzle type or element, there is another whole section which is tedious or frustrating. Frankly the creator needed someone there to tell him not to include every last idea he came up with. Sadly it's the puzzles that could simply have existed on a phone screen that hold the greatest intruigue with what little is done in the environment feeling like a shallow attempt to make the 3D world more relevant.

    This is another main downside for me - although the style and colour of the world are beautiful - the design is not. It's a static, sterile feeling world, reminding me of an American theme park version of a beautiful island deigned by someone who's never actually travelled. There is an artificial boat reck you can take a little ride though. There is an Asian zone, a forest zone and so on. In the end it feels more like some sort of awful theme park prison than anything enjoyable.

    As a last point - it's a real shame more was not done with audio, portal 2 did incredible things with ambient soundscapes and the silence does not help the atamosphere. Foley is, frankly, too realistic for the style (this is not Dogville), and the recordings you find are meaningless and frankly, incredibly pretentious (and this is coming from someone who liked Dogville!).

    I did enjoy it, but if you only play one 70 hour game this year, choose another. I would recommend waiting for a sale and then playing it but by bit. Hopefully the creators will focus more on their craft next time around, and less on their own image as intelligent, artistic 'auteurs'.    … Expand
  12. MisterZorin
    Jan 29, 2016
    6
    Beautiful game, but after 4 hours of endless puzzles that are basically the same I grew tired of it. This game could really use background music and some sort of common thread to follow. Because right now I'm solving a lot of puzzles without knowing the goal. This made me lose interest in it.

    Don't get me wrong, I like games that try to be different. But this just doesn't do it for me.
  13. Bugstaman
    Feb 18, 2016
    6
    Decent game was cool in the beginning but got tired of it towards the end. Got to be very difficult and couldn't wait to beat it and bury it. Kept working through it cause thought there were gonna be some cool secrets and stuff advancing through the game never really found anything interesting about the island. Thought the ending was stupid
  14. KB5K
    Feb 8, 2016
    5
    I really wanted to play this game, but after purchasing and within 5 minutes of playing it made me incredibly motion sick to the point where the game is unplayable. Apparently this game causes simulation sickness for a lot of people who don't typically suffer from it, and the dev is working on a patch.

    Making a game comfortable to play and knowing how to make a 1st person game have the    I really wanted to play this game, but after purchasing and within 5 minutes of playing it made me incredibly motion sick to the point where the game is unplayable. Apparently this game causes simulation sickness for a lot of people who don't typically suffer from it, and the dev is working on a patch.

    Making a game comfortable to play and knowing how to make a 1st person game have the correct FoV to keep the player from barfing - this falls under design competency. Until this is fixed, the game is literally unplayable for about 33% of gamers.

    Once it's patched, I'll update my review.    … Expand
  15. TixyLix
    Jan 28, 2016
    5
    I just don't get it, I played about 3/4 hours and I'm bored.

    The world is static and lifeless, there is no interaction with it what so ever, you cannot even do basic things like jump up or down... so you have to walk around what feels like a theme park ride line. It's annoying solving a puzzle, having to go back and not being able to jump down as a shortcut because you're glued to the    I just don't get it, I played about 3/4 hours and I'm bored.

    The world is static and lifeless, there is no interaction with it what so ever, you cannot even do basic things like jump up or down... so you have to walk around what feels like a theme park ride line. It's annoying solving a puzzle, having to go back and not being able to jump down as a shortcut because you're glued to the ground.

    I have no idea why the world is even there, it has no purpose, no mechanics, no gameplay. This could have just been a series of maze puzzles on IOS, it didn't need to be a £30 3D PC/console game. There is no story to pull you through, nothing to make you want to do the puzzles, it's nowhere near the levels of Portal 2 with it's amazing story.

    Every puzzle is also the same basic idea, just draw a line around a maze, they may add some different rules, but you're are essentially just doing abstract mazes. It becomes so boring and you just wish'd there was so variety to them....

    Myst this ain't, not even close.    … Expand
  16. scarab5Q
    Mar 14, 2016
    7
    Firstly let me say this game is absolutely beautiful. Every screen looks like a painting and its almost worth buying it for the world that you can look at and explore. Having said that, this game is a walking simulator . Now don't get me wrong I really enjoy walking simulators allot of the time. I adored Gone Home and Firewatch is a must play.

    However, Those games work because they    Firstly let me say this game is absolutely beautiful. Every screen looks like a painting and its almost worth buying it for the world that you can look at and explore. Having said that, this game is a walking simulator . Now don't get me wrong I really enjoy walking simulators allot of the time. I adored Gone Home and Firewatch is a must play.

    However, Those games work because they use the game play to tell a story, rather than having game play that you go through and there just happens to be a story thrown in. If there is no story in a walking simulator they are nothing more than a demo. This game's story is fairly "ambient". Things happen and stuff changes and its quite intriguing at points but especially early in the game there isn't much that compels you to keep going.

    There are puzzles sure and they are tough at points. There are "rules" about what certain symbols mean and how you have to plan your path in order to solve them. However this means that allot of the time you spend solving them you are just guessing at what the symbol means in order to proceed.

    This means allot of the time spent playing the game you are aimlessly floundering around in order to try and iterate a solution out of it and move on. This might work for a mobile game where you need to kill time between things you need to be doing. I did not feel that these earlier puzzles were particularly interesting. For a console release that cost a significant chunk of money this really isn't acceptable. I expected much more from the guy behind braid .

    Then why the fairly decent score you ask? Well this game's "story" does get more interesting as you progress and the puzzles require careful observation of things around you to complete. These are slightly more satisfying and you do feel quite good after completing them after a point. However I would say that this is the sort of game that is best to play like a mobile game. A game you play in between breaks of other things. There is no rush to do anything and you can just take the game in at your own pace. Its quite relaxing , seeing how the game changes as you progress is interesting and its the sort of thing that you can come back to . Do not go in expecting this game to keep your attention for hours at a time at least initially.

    Overall I would say get this game if you want something to relax into. This game is not for everyone at all . It is not as accessible as braid. However if you do what I did and play it in between other titles over months you will eventually get hooked. My feeling about the game right now is a 9/10. For the first while I would say a 6/10. I would call it the Andrei Rublev of games: Not much happens it seems to last forever but it is certainly something to marvel at over time. Though £30 is steep I would get it at some point but don't rush out and spend your hard earned money just yet. just sit back and wait until you go through a drought of games. You might not like it but those who do will get 100+ hours out of it and feel rather pleased with it    … Expand
  17. ODM
    Feb 1, 2016
    7
    OK.. so.. I very possibly jumped the gun with my early review on this game and feel I need to amend and append now that I've played the game almost to the end.

    I'd initially called the game out for various reasons a bit too soon; I'm not afraid to admit this, which considering my background as a lifelong gamer and veteran game developer I'm slightly ashamed of.. schoolboy error in    OK.. so.. I very possibly jumped the gun with my early review on this game and feel I need to amend and append now that I've played the game almost to the end.

    I'd initially called the game out for various reasons a bit too soon; I'm not afraid to admit this, which considering my background as a lifelong gamer and veteran game developer I'm slightly ashamed of.. schoolboy error in truth.. anyway..

    I went back to the game after my initial review which I scored the game a 4, mainly for the art (I'd just like to say that No game is worth zero or a 1 and anyone scoring a creative work, lower than a 2 imo just isnt worth listening to regardless how bad it might be.. just my view), the reason I went back to the game was a bit of a mystery to me, was it the draw of the challenge of the puzzles, was it to fully explore the rest of the island or was it simply to try and get my £30 worth out of it..

    For some unexplained reason I was drawn back and soon started to 'lock in' to the experience whereas previously it felt sterile I was now feeling more at home on the island and was being pulled along.

    I still have issues with the variety of puzzle types but I was starting to enjoy the quirky nature and the way that JB was asking me to observe all around me in order to solve some of the islands puzzles.

    I was already in love with the art from before even playing the game and was also beginning to enjoy the exploratory nature of the game; even the puzzles themselves were starting to become less irksome now that I'd discovered the primer..

    So this is a follow up to put the balance straight and give a fairer score (all subjective of course and some will still hate this game).

    If I have learned anything.. and I already knew this so was learning it all over again.. it's to play a game through before jumping in with an opinion.

    The Witness is one of those games that you need to first overcome a few obstacles and then it begins to make a bit more sense.

    Having said all of that I still find certain things about the game to be a bit pretentious, such as the videos that you can find as puzzle rewards as well as the audio log tapes. I can listen to Feynman all day, but I don't want to have his philosophies thrust in front of me as a conduit for someone else's views on life and the universe.    … Expand
  18. Euknowia
    Feb 2, 2016
    5
    The Witness markets itself on being, at least somewhat, a stereotypical Brainiac’s game. It seemed tailored to meet a debatably naïve and rather pretentious misconception of intellect, though even in that delusion I thought it to be lacking. Apparently it takes several easy ten second puzzles to convey rules that could be derived from one mildly challenging puzzle, which I think wasThe Witness markets itself on being, at least somewhat, a stereotypical Brainiac’s game. It seemed tailored to meet a debatably naïve and rather pretentious misconception of intellect, though even in that delusion I thought it to be lacking. Apparently it takes several easy ten second puzzles to convey rules that could be derived from one mildly challenging puzzle, which I think was either an implementation arising after speculating it’s audience's assessment capabilities and measuring their enjoyment accordingly, or filler. For me, it was failure either way. If the puzzles were intended to be rewarding in and of themselves, or if they were to spark my curiosity, then a good portion of them needed to be much more challenging (i.e. cut out the redundancy). On the other hand, some of the more “challenging” puzzles were only tedious- and did not require any pragmatic definition of the term “critical thinking” to be solved. That said-- there were a few puzzles (mainly near the end) that I did enjoy and which also felt interactive enough to justify its placement within a virtual world as opposed to belonging in an amateur made puzzle book. Difficulty levels might have addressed some of my dissatisfaction with this.

    Aside from the graphics, this game was unexceptional as “art.” Ignoring the necessary discussion at properly identifying my interpretation of the term “art” because that dives deep within the whirlwind of philosophy of aesthetics- I will note briefly that the game had no music (which I think it desperately needed), poor voice acting, and both the dialogue and story was dripping in purple prose. It was the kind of thinking conveyed from the cliché art student poorly illustrated in your general cheap comedies (i.e. like wearing a GoPro and pretending to do strange things). Though I don’t think the game took itself that seriously, mocking those typecasts hardly makes for an engaging story.

    Overall- the game had pretty graphics, and a few of the interactive puzzles were genuinely fun. Aside from that a good portion of puzzles were redundant (refinement problems), a few others were unnecessarily tedious (interactive problems), and the story was rather shabby. I’d wait for the price to drop on this one, even if you are a bit of a sucker for puzzles.    … Expand
  19. Underpants158
    Mar 15, 2016
    6
    For the first hour I was hooked. The game can do a good job at teaching puzzle logic without ever telling you but the two factors that annoyed me the most was that due to it being an open world you often come across areas that incorporate some puzzle logic that you have yet to learn. Being that you can't brute force puzzles you just have to move it and look for an area that you can do andFor the first hour I was hooked. The game can do a good job at teaching puzzle logic without ever telling you but the two factors that annoyed me the most was that due to it being an open world you often come across areas that incorporate some puzzle logic that you have yet to learn. Being that you can't brute force puzzles you just have to move it and look for an area that you can do and come back later (WHY IS THERE NO MAP?) The second part that annoyed me was the sheer amount of different puzzle types the game throws at you. Rarely did I ever get into a groove before I had to rearrange my thinking. Figuring out a puzzles logic is very rewarding but there is too much of it. With the sheer variety of puzzles there are some that you'll like and some that you won't and you'll feel that not enough attention was given to the ones you like.

    Aesthetically it is simplistically beautiful and the developers chose to make it a silent world. This is their artistic choice but I can't help but lament the possibilities that a voice over would have. The hints he could have dropped would have made the game much more palatable.

    There is a certain type of person out there and for that person this is the best game ever created. It's probably the same person who loves doing math problems before they go to sleep. Objectively it is a great game. Subjectively I don't care for it.    … Expand
  20. xandrucea
    Mar 2, 2016
    7
    The game has beautiful graphics and the world is very big so there should be enough time to play. Furthermore there are more than 600 of these puzzles you already know from the trailer. There are many different puzzles. What I don't like is, that there are just puzzles of that type. If there would be also different kind of puzzles I would buy it immediatelly!
  21. WrenOz
    Aug 13, 2016
    5
    After about four hours, I grew tired of the endless iteration on the same basic mechanic. The world is beautiful, but the puzzles are so disconnected from any real physical process or interaction with the setting that it really does just feel like a couple hundred puzzles you might find in a free to play phone game, plopped into a nice landscape. Bottom line: When I solved a puzzle, IAfter about four hours, I grew tired of the endless iteration on the same basic mechanic. The world is beautiful, but the puzzles are so disconnected from any real physical process or interaction with the setting that it really does just feel like a couple hundred puzzles you might find in a free to play phone game, plopped into a nice landscape. Bottom line: When I solved a puzzle, I didn't feel intelligent. I didn't really feel anything except relief, until the next puzzle, and repeat that 600 times.… Expand
  22. jackmcready
    Feb 19, 2017
    5
    I like puzzles. I don't mind a game not being intuitive and helping you out by pointing you in the right direction. But this game simply doesn't cut it for me. It's too simple. Not simple as in easy puzzles (they aren't), but it doesn't offer as much variation as I'd expect. It feels a bit like a mobile game, laid out on a map where you walk from puzzle to puzzle, and they are all prettyI like puzzles. I don't mind a game not being intuitive and helping you out by pointing you in the right direction. But this game simply doesn't cut it for me. It's too simple. Not simple as in easy puzzles (they aren't), but it doesn't offer as much variation as I'd expect. It feels a bit like a mobile game, laid out on a map where you walk from puzzle to puzzle, and they are all pretty much the same kinds of puzzles with some variation in how they are solved. They are always "look at this board and figure out where to draw the line" and "follow this cable to the next board".

    The puzzles become too monotone after a while and I have no desire to return to the game.    … Expand
  23. Dawso
    Feb 15, 2016
    5
    Simply put the value for money this game offers is abyssmal. It feels like a well put together phone or tablet game, beautiful world, but one filled with line mazes and puzzles only. Lets face it who wants to pay alot of money for alot of line puzzles that lead nowhere important.
  24. livinghero
    Apr 1, 2016
    7
    Decent game was cool in the beginning but got tired of it towards the end. Got to be very difficult and couldn't wait to beat it and bury it. Kept working through it cause thought there were gonna be some cool secrets and stuff advancing through the game never really found anything interesting about the island. Thought the ending was stupid
  25. drlowdon
    May 30, 2021
    5
    Created by Jonathan Blow, the man behind the excellent Braid, The Witness allows players explore an open world environment solving puzzles in order to unlock the secrets of the island on which they find themselves.

    The game itself essentially revolves around one type of puzzle in which the player must correctly draw a line, or lines, on a grid. There is an impressive level of variety to    Created by Jonathan Blow, the man behind the excellent Braid, The Witness allows players explore an open world environment solving puzzles in order to unlock the secrets of the island on which they find themselves.

    The game itself essentially revolves around one type of puzzle in which the player must correctly draw a line, or lines, on a grid. There is an impressive level of variety to these puzzles, and they’re all very clever, but for me personally it still wasn’t enough to support a game with a run time of at least twenty hours. Each new type of puzzle is often introduced by what amount to tutorials, with the game allowing players to solve simple examples before upping the complexity. All too often however you’ll find that you need to solve 20-30 of the same puzzle type before being able to move on, and this is made all the more frustrating when the game decided it wants you to repeat the previous puzzle after making a mistake. Once you do solve a set of puzzles and unlock a new area your reward is then a load more puzzles to solve!

    I don’t want to be too critical of The Witness as it’s clear an incredible amount of time and effort has gone into it. I can’t help but feel that a bit of editing to reduce the number of times you repeat each type puzzle, and reducing the overall run time, would have made it a more enjoyable experience however...    … Expand
  26. ToshLichev
    Apr 15, 2021
    5
    While I respect the ideas and concept of the creators of The Witness and the style and gameplay are fun at first - line puzzles, as complex as they may be, can only take you so far.

    A lot of the logic behind the puzzle solutions is poorly or not communicated at all and while that may be fun for a while, towards the end you start hitting a Souls-like difficulty curve which is represented    While I respect the ideas and concept of the creators of The Witness and the style and gameplay are fun at first - line puzzles, as complex as they may be, can only take you so far.

    A lot of the logic behind the puzzle solutions is poorly or not communicated at all and while that may be fun for a while, towards the end you start hitting a Souls-like difficulty curve which is represented through puzzles which are more or less "the creators of these puzzles can solve them and so should you" levels of obnoxious and hard.

    The Witness is a decent game if you have a ton of free time and enough patience to play it but it fundamentally fails at being a good game. Most of the praise comes from pseudo-elitist journalists who think that if they don't get it - it must be genius. Unfortunately in this case, it's just bad game design.    … Expand
  27. bergcamp101
    Aug 17, 2020
    5
    I don't like, when people call it a good puzzle game, or people compare it to the Myst. The Myst!! This is just casual game with the squares. There is absolutely no plot. All puzzles are completely the same. You can play this or you can just buy a journal with bunch of Sudoku puzzles.
  28. bobbsyw
    Jun 12, 2023
    7
    It's great in parts, but (for me) too difficult/obscure in others, which made it frustrating. There's no way that I would have been able to complete it without looking up the wiki
  29. wesker2012
    Jul 18, 2016
    6
    The Witness is a hard game to review. On one hand, its beautiful visuals and high quantity of unique puzzles makes one feel compelled to give it a high rating. On the other hand though, the game's brutal difficulty makes one think again. I'm a big fan of Johnathon Blow, his thoughts on game development, and the hard work put into this game. I really wanted to love this game, but I justThe Witness is a hard game to review. On one hand, its beautiful visuals and high quantity of unique puzzles makes one feel compelled to give it a high rating. On the other hand though, the game's brutal difficulty makes one think again. I'm a big fan of Johnathon Blow, his thoughts on game development, and the hard work put into this game. I really wanted to love this game, but I just didn't find it fun after the initial exploration of the island. The line puzzles got tedious and boring. And sometimes you just have no idea what to do, so you can't progress. I think this game would have benefited a lot from some streamlining. Making sure the puzzles were intuitive. It's very frustrating spending up to an hour on a puzzle and still not knowing what you are supposed to do. And this happens too frequently in this game.… Expand
  30. anand5059
    Sep 10, 2020
    7
    First of all, this game is not for everyone. I can say I had enjoyable puzzles and equally frustrating puzzles too. I have seen most people saying its about learning on your own and discovering....but I would have preferred a slight hint if not a complete tutorial at the beginning of each type of puzzle. Believe me, event with a hint this definitely was going to be tough. Its veryFirst of all, this game is not for everyone. I can say I had enjoyable puzzles and equally frustrating puzzles too. I have seen most people saying its about learning on your own and discovering....but I would have preferred a slight hint if not a complete tutorial at the beginning of each type of puzzle. Believe me, event with a hint this definitely was going to be tough. Its very addictive after a time and I tried hard not to look at solution or hints...but failed eventually. Spent around 20 -30 hours may be, have completed around 8 lasers but didn't finish the game completely. Lost the fun over time with too much complexity. Maybe not for me.… Expand
  31. mikepatyaev
    Oct 6, 2016
    5
    After about four hours, I grew tired of the endless iteration on the same basic mechanic. The world is beautiful, but the puzzles are so disconnected from any real physical process or interaction with the setting that it really does just feel like a couple hundred puzzles you might find in a free to play phone game, plopped into a nice landscape. Bottom line: When I solved a puzzle, IAfter about four hours, I grew tired of the endless iteration on the same basic mechanic. The world is beautiful, but the puzzles are so disconnected from any real physical process or interaction with the setting that it really does just feel like a couple hundred puzzles you might find in a free to play phone game, plopped into a nice landscape. Bottom line: When I solved a puzzle, I didn't feel intelligent. I didn't really feel anything except relief, until the next puzzle, and repeat that 600 times.… Expand
  32. anarchonobody
    Jan 3, 2017
    5
    I bought this game because it was on so many "Best of 2016" lists, so, hopefully I can illuminate this game a bit more for anyone else sucked into the hype. This is not a BAD game, but it is far from a 10/10 puzzle game... and I love puzzle games. I grew up on Myst and 7th Guest, and I would count them as among my favorite games of all time. The basic premise of the Witness can beI bought this game because it was on so many "Best of 2016" lists, so, hopefully I can illuminate this game a bit more for anyone else sucked into the hype. This is not a BAD game, but it is far from a 10/10 puzzle game... and I love puzzle games. I grew up on Myst and 7th Guest, and I would count them as among my favorite games of all time. The basic premise of the Witness can be illustrated as follows: Imagine you've never seen a Sudoku puzzle in your life... suddenly you're stuck on an island, and the only way off is to solve an entire book of Sudoku puzzles, only, you're not given any instructions on what the rules of Sudoku puzzle are. You can imagine that, after a long time you might finally figure out what the rules are, and be able to solve the first puzzle... then the rest of your time on the island will just be the tedium of solving the rest of them...nothing new, just do 30 iterations of the same puzzle, then you can move on.

    That is the biggest problem with this game. The puzzles are incredibly, and unbelievably unvaried. Trace a line from point a to point b... 500 times...that's it. Yeah, there are different "rules" to the different puzzles, but the rules are like going from one word-jumble where all the words you have to find are in straight lines, to another word-jumble, where all the words you have to find are backwards, then another word jumble where all the words form circles... they're still just stupid word-jumbles, and it gets very boring very quickly.

    Speaking of boring, did I mention the sound in this game? It's almost completely silent! The little sound that exists is done well... like footsteps on a metal floor.... but there is a MASSIVE caveat to that. You'll spend most of your time in this game trying to solve these line puzzles (as, that's the crux of the gameplay), but the sound-effect during puzzle solving is just ABYSMAL. It's like a low-pitched, electric hum...I don't know how to explain it, but that's the primary sound-effect you'll get from this game.... low frequency buzzing. That alone prevents this game from being a 10.

    The one thing this game did 100% right is the visual presentation. It is absolutely gorgeous.

    All in all, I'd call this a visually stunning trip through your grandma's puzzle books. It's an OK time-waster, but the puzzles get very boring very quickly (Wait, I got to solve 30 MORE OF THESE SAME PUZZLES?!?). The entirety of the difficulty in this game comes from not knowing what you're supposed to do. Once you figure out what you're supposed to do, the puzzles very quickly become tedious. If you decide to get this, make sure you pick it up while it's on sale... and for the love of god, have a stereo nearby with your favorite grind-core album. 5/10 for being an OK game.    … Expand
  33. knur
    Nov 20, 2021
    7
    This game is fully packed with puzzles. Puzzles are the best thing in this game but they also bring this game down for me - some of the puzzles are amazing, very creative and require a lot of out of the box thinking - however puzzles in this game are somewhat evenly distributed between creative ones, totally obscure and puzzles that are just chore to solve and not fun at all - sometimesThis game is fully packed with puzzles. Puzzles are the best thing in this game but they also bring this game down for me - some of the puzzles are amazing, very creative and require a lot of out of the box thinking - however puzzles in this game are somewhat evenly distributed between creative ones, totally obscure and puzzles that are just chore to solve and not fun at all - sometimes you learn a mechanic and it's fun to solve next puzzles based on it, each puzzle gets more complicated or includes some twist on the mechanic - but going further it gets old and too tedious and there is no more sense of awe and discovery like before. As for the story it's decent but didn't keep me involved. Overall it's a good game worth a buy. It's quite similar to The Talos Principle but not in its league.… Expand
  34. IceCraigg
    Apr 2, 2019
    5
    a very difficult game, how to pass puzzles we do not explain ... everything must be thought of by yourself! even how such puzzles are made (and they are very very tangled)
  35. miczat
    Nov 11, 2022
    7
    This is a beautiful art, with outstanding graphic design and world design. And like Kentucky Route Zero, let down by an incomprehensible narrative. This game raises so my 'why' questions it does not explain in a way that gives any sense of enjoyment or closure.
  36. AMKrishnan
    Jul 9, 2019
    7
    This was a very interesting and challenging game to play. I really enjoyed solving the numerous puzzles and the very end has a series of puzzles that you cannot use a walkthrough for. You have to solve the very last puzzles all by yourself! Exploring the island was also very interesting.
  37. LikeaPisces
    Dec 22, 2019
    7
    I really wanted to like this game. The puzzles are taken to a level that until then might only have been close to a new language. However, it went far beyond a constructive experience. It was deconstructive to me in a negative way.
  38. Bloodnes
    Nov 17, 2021
    5
    Не залетела игра. Головоломки какие-то однотипные, сюжета как такового нет, поиграйте в портал, если нравятся подобные игры. 5/10
  39. Aqua678
    Apr 22, 2022
    7
    The puzzles present an infuriating dichotomy: some are an absolute joy to figure out and solve; others are diabolical and downright obnoxious for you to find out what to do and solve them. As far as puzzle games go, its an alright one, although not worth the 15$ that you would have to pay to play it (I got mine for free via playstation plus). Also, for platinum/achievement hunters lookingThe puzzles present an infuriating dichotomy: some are an absolute joy to figure out and solve; others are diabolical and downright obnoxious for you to find out what to do and solve them. As far as puzzle games go, its an alright one, although not worth the 15$ that you would have to pay to play it (I got mine for free via playstation plus). Also, for platinum/achievement hunters looking for easy pickings, I would advise you to stay away: there is an absolutely insane achievement that is truly not worth your time and effort. If you're looking for a good logic game with balanced puzzles that are both fun to solve and test your mind, I would recommend definitely trying it out at some stage, as it can be frustrating but genuinely gratifying to figure out what you have to do and solve the puzzles, but maybe try playing something like Portal 2 instead before you truly delve into the puzzle genre.… Expand
  40. dariazzo_
    Jun 4, 2021
    7
    I've heard and read lots of praise for this game. I do not entirely agree. The puzzle concept is fine, and there is some genius involved in shaping it up from time to time, situation to situation. The graphics and lore are interesting, with an almost cell-shaded environment that is well suited for the game. There is true satisfaction in completing The Witness, but one might ask: is itI've heard and read lots of praise for this game. I do not entirely agree. The puzzle concept is fine, and there is some genius involved in shaping it up from time to time, situation to situation. The graphics and lore are interesting, with an almost cell-shaded environment that is well suited for the game. There is true satisfaction in completing The Witness, but one might ask: is it balanced?

    The main issue is that, after the first few minutes, the user is left alone understanding puzzles. The concept introduced at the beginning of a "stage" is not enough to finish the stage itself. That happens often, and the open world structure does not facilitate this. By amplifying the sense of satisfaction and adventure, game progression is left behind. Gameplay cycles are this way broken into pieces, leading to frustration, which the absence of action furtherly widens.

    A very good puzzle game. I would have preferred a more scalable approach.    … Expand
  41. AllanWake
    Apr 1, 2021
    5
    Única coisa realmente impressionante é o visual, tanto da ilha como dos puzzles, mas de resto é bem meh e não vai muito além disso. Tentou ser interessante com os áudios e vídeos mas só acabou sendo chato.
  42. Maurer
    Jul 12, 2021
    7
    In general if you like riddles and puzzles this is a fantastic game, although the games not for me and my brain. Done very well.
  43. VioIrdsGX
    Apr 5, 2022
    6
    It's a good game, but... it's very stressful, it makes it difficult for me to progress through the levels since my head almost hurts.
  44. Yojimbo2015
    May 11, 2023
    6
    Interesting and atmospheric puzzler in which you wander an island populated by people frozen in place, solving puzzles presented on screens to progress. It starts very well but soon when the narrative gets less linear it becomes far less obvious as to what you are supposed to do next, resulting in too much aimless wandering. A nice idea well implemented, but many will find it overly andInteresting and atmospheric puzzler in which you wander an island populated by people frozen in place, solving puzzles presented on screens to progress. It starts very well but soon when the narrative gets less linear it becomes far less obvious as to what you are supposed to do next, resulting in too much aimless wandering. A nice idea well implemented, but many will find it overly and unnecessarily frustrating.… Expand
  45. aaronnmp96
    Feb 3, 2023
    7
    Great game, although there are puzzles that can be tedious without a guide, but because I'm not very good at it

Awards & Rankings

14
#14 Best PS4 Game of 2016
24
#24 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2016
23
#23 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 82 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 71 out of 82
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 82
  3. Negative: 2 out of 82
  1. GameSpew
    Apr 15, 2016
    80
    The sound from completing a panel is extremely satisfying, and I’ve followed it with a victory dance more times than I’d like to admit.
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  2. IGN Denmark
    Apr 6, 2016
    85
    Built immensely smartly, the puzzle elements are both captivating and creepily addictive.
    Read full review
  3. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Mar 31, 2016
    90
    A best-in-class puzzler that in no way caters to the lowest common denominator. Punishingly difficult. Extremely rewarding. [April 2016, p68]
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