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. Niksaa
    Apr 11, 2019
    2
    A perfect description for that game is boring. I decided to play it after so many 10/10 reviews from users, but honestly unless you’re interested in solving the same type of fairly easy puzzles again and again you’ll find the game absolutely boring after 1-2 hours.
    Moreover, that “game” has absolutely no background music and your character is glued to the surface which means you’ll walk    A perfect description for that game is boring. I decided to play it after so many 10/10 reviews from users, but honestly unless you’re interested in solving the same type of fairly easy puzzles again and again you’ll find the game absolutely boring after 1-2 hours.
    Moreover, that “game” has absolutely no background music and your character is glued to the surface which means you’ll walk very slowly.
    Graphics are fine, nice but nothing exceptional, it’s not stunning as some would expect and again with no music the overall impression is poor. There is no story going on and you don’t have a certain goal except solving puzzles to open paths to more of the same type of puzzles. The game is obviously over hyped.    … Expand
  2. mageprince2011
    Jan 29, 2016
    0
    Honestly, The game is horrid absolutely horrid. No game mechanics besides badly designed puzzles. No atmosphere just nice graphics. No story whatso-ever. And the game itself can be completed in 4 hours. That's 10 dollars an hour that's insane. for 40 bucks you might as well save that money and buy battlefleet gothic or GTA. this game is horridly overpriced and the creator is a whiny asshatHonestly, The game is horrid absolutely horrid. No game mechanics besides badly designed puzzles. No atmosphere just nice graphics. No story whatso-ever. And the game itself can be completed in 4 hours. That's 10 dollars an hour that's insane. for 40 bucks you might as well save that money and buy battlefleet gothic or GTA. this game is horridly overpriced and the creator is a whiny asshat who is a ginormous snob. Half of these 10/10 reviews are just making a Last Name Pun to Johnathon Blow, people literally have no taste in anything these days and will do anything for the least bit of attention from devs.… Expand
  3. 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.
  4. TheDisliker
    Apr 3, 2016
    0
    This is not a thinking man's game. The puzzles are easy to solve and repetitive (very very repetitive), and there is no storyline. A few quotes from famous people are thrown in as flashy garbage, but have no coherence and add no context, as much as you might wish they did. The game itself is beautiful, but ripped off of Myst and totally devoid of any originality, unless you countThis is not a thinking man's game. The puzzles are easy to solve and repetitive (very very repetitive), and there is no storyline. A few quotes from famous people are thrown in as flashy garbage, but have no coherence and add no context, as much as you might wish they did. The game itself is beautiful, but ripped off of Myst and totally devoid of any originality, unless you count sacking the storyline something original.

    I really hate this game because famous quotes/clips don't make something "smart". It's just an easy shortcut to sounding smart, so that you don't actually have to do anything smart yourself. Like coming up with an original game idea, instead of just attempting to crudely copy a known success like Myst.

    Save your $40 for 40 sudoku books, because that's all this game is.

    0/10 for all of the 10/10s saying this game is clever. Also, the ending is god awful.    … Expand
  5. 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
  6. MuskelErwin
    Jan 26, 2016
    1
    the game was interesting for like an hour. after that, you only play with variations of the same game mechanic. therefore imho it quickly became pretty boring. visual style is "okay", but nothing special.
  7. inaneHELLRAISER
    Jan 26, 2016
    2
    Do you like stating at boards with dots on them not having a clue what your suppose to do because the mechanics of the game are not explained to you? well then this game is for you! The beautiful minimalist graphics are the one redeeming factor for this game but they are not enough to keep you playing. No direction, boring puzzles, and horribly designed. First disappointment of 2016 andDo you like stating at boards with dots on them not having a clue what your suppose to do because the mechanics of the game are not explained to you? well then this game is for you! The beautiful minimalist graphics are the one redeeming factor for this game but they are not enough to keep you playing. No direction, boring puzzles, and horribly designed. First disappointment of 2016 and boy did it ever disappoint.… Expand
  8. WryMouth
    Jan 27, 2016
    1
    Boring Game with Puzzles, at most cute grafix but nothing special. Wii U could be running this at 1080p. Needs little more options and detail. Play it when its free.
  9. plotlesviolence
    Feb 13, 2016
    8
    OVERALL = 2
    A puzzle game
    PRESENTATION = 8 There's no story or plot, which is fine, since they would only intrude on the gameplay (other reviewers have said there is a plot and I don't know what they're talking about, unless they mean it's the story of a guy solving puzzles). Graphics are gorgeous, with overlapping low-textured shapes that makes everything look painted. No physics    OVERALL = 2
    A puzzle game

    PRESENTATION = 8
    There's no story or plot, which is fine, since they would only intrude on the gameplay (other reviewers have said there is a plot and I don't know what they're talking about, unless they mean it's the story of a guy solving puzzles). Graphics are gorgeous, with overlapping low-textured shapes that makes everything look painted. No physics to speak of, no music.

    GAMEPLAY/MECHANICS = 8
    All puzzles are solved by drawing a line from a starting circle to its corresponding finish line. You can press a button to start drawing anywhere in the game world, which is necessary because many of the hidden puzzles aren't on the obvious puzzle panels. The trick to each puzzle is that your line must obey certain rules, like separating certain shapes on the panel, etc. Typically the challenge is figuring out what the rules are. Often the hint that drives the solution is found in the game world, or you need to be standing at a certain angle to align shapes properly, which is why you can walk around the world (and why only showing you puzzle panels wouldn't have worked).

    DESIGN = 6
    The game is open-world, which is a massive mistake. Often times you will encounter puzzles in the wrong order. In the right order, you get smaller puzzle panels that make it easy to guess what the rule is for a certain type of puzzle, and then the panels gradually get more complex. In the wrong order, you get puzzle panels that combine several rule types you have not encountered yet (especially the central town area, which you get to early on), or puzzle panels so large it becomes impossible to guess what the rule is by trial and error.
    Worse, it is not obvious when a puzzle panel is enforced-ly inaccessible to you. Most puzzle panels have a glowing cable that lights up to let you know that the next panel in sequence is available, but many don't. Sometimes there's a white barrier hinting that you cannot complete the panel, but sometimes there are absolutely no visual clues. So I've spent several hours, combined, trying over and over to complete puzzles before giving up, not knowing if my failure was because I couldn't figure out the rule or if the panel itself was incomplete until another nearby panel was solved. That's a significant design flaw, and better worldbuilding might have cut out 5 out of the 15 hours it took me to beat it.
    That said, I appreciated its singular vision. The Witness never takes detours into minigames with other half-baked mechanics. It is a rarity, a genuine puzzle game that has you use your brain rather than complete fetch quests, and I enjoyed it.    … Expand
  10. 40robh
    Jun 28, 2016
    0
    I had an issue installing The Witness which resulted in every file on my desktop being irretrievably deleted - yep, every pic, video, document. Absolute disaster. The distributor of the game, Steam, were utterly disinterested and even their parent company, Valve, made no effort whatever to try to help resolve the issue and basically told me to stop bothering them. You don't often comeI had an issue installing The Witness which resulted in every file on my desktop being irretrievably deleted - yep, every pic, video, document. Absolute disaster. The distributor of the game, Steam, were utterly disinterested and even their parent company, Valve, made no effort whatever to try to help resolve the issue and basically told me to stop bothering them. You don't often come across customer service this bad these days.
    I'm a reasonably tech-savvy person and if it happened to me, it could happen to anyone.
    My advice - don't touch it with a bargepole.    … Expand
  11. 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
  12. Whatevers
    Mar 1, 2020
    4
    .So disappointing. Beautiful world, interesting concept, but the game completely falls short. I LOVE puzzle games. Talos Principle is one of my favorites. But this game gets them all wrong. The beauty of the world only emphasizes how much of the game you spend staring at the same screens. Most of the game is separated into sections by puzzle type so you spend hours solving the same type of.So disappointing. Beautiful world, interesting concept, but the game completely falls short. I LOVE puzzle games. Talos Principle is one of my favorites. But this game gets them all wrong. The beauty of the world only emphasizes how much of the game you spend staring at the same screens. Most of the game is separated into sections by puzzle type so you spend hours solving the same type of puzzle over and over until your sick of it and then rarely see it again until the end. The learning curve for each puzzle type can be great; when you can find the "begginers" level puzzles that you are clearly supposed to do first but the game doesn't guide you to. Instead of that triumphant feeling you are supposed to get after a puzzle, most of the time you just feel frustrated like "FINALLY can I move on now?" Many of the puzzles are ridiculously difficult and you must solve them all with no hint system. Some of the puzzles have vague answers that, even when you find them, don't fit perfectly, so they just leave you frustratedly guessing what it's telling you. It's. only 20 hours but I found myself wishing it was shorter. Not to mention there is zero story. When you complete the final puzzle the game just ends. No way to spoil it since there's not story to begin with. About a third of the puzzles really are good, wellplaced, and fun to play, and when the game shines, it REALLY shines. But that's doesn't happen nearly enough. I feel less frustration when playing Dark Souls.,… Expand
  13. 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
  14. Kithrin
    Mar 18, 2019
    2
    it's pretty, and that's all the positive i have to say. i ended up hating the game. the puzzles got boring, and frustrating. the fact that you have to figure out the rules yourself, made it frustrating, as you have no idea whether you figured it out right... or got lucky. i am wondering why it's so expensive (got it free from PS+) but it's retailed at 40, almost an unheard of priceit's pretty, and that's all the positive i have to say. i ended up hating the game. the puzzles got boring, and frustrating. the fact that you have to figure out the rules yourself, made it frustrating, as you have no idea whether you figured it out right... or got lucky. i am wondering why it's so expensive (got it free from PS+) but it's retailed at 40, almost an unheard of price from an indie company.

    i'm giving up on it.

    BTW, why in the HELL is it scored so high?    … Expand
  15. 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.
  16. C571987b
    Mar 29, 2021
    0
    Όλο βλακειες βάζει η sony δωρεάν..Οκ,το πιάσαμε,το φθηνό κρέας το τρώει ο σκύλος
  17. Alan89
    Apr 5, 2021
    1
    I am a hardcore gamer, raised in the 80s. You can tell, I have seen some s***.
    But man! This game is the most boring game I ever played! My score for this game is 1 instead of 0 just because of this cool introduction tunnel. You want some indie emotional s***? Get Limbo, Inside or AAA Death Stranding
  18. Godlovesme5
    Apr 28, 2021
    1
    I enjoyed the puzzles and the world. But if you are a story lover this game is pointless! I was disappointed about the ending, I wanted the stone people to come to life and there to be a super cool story. But no you do puzzles and they give you nothing. If I wanted to just solve puzzles I can easily find an app to do so. So disappointed. I feel like I wasted my life playing this game. AlsoI enjoyed the puzzles and the world. But if you are a story lover this game is pointless! I was disappointed about the ending, I wanted the stone people to come to life and there to be a super cool story. But no you do puzzles and they give you nothing. If I wanted to just solve puzzles I can easily find an app to do so. So disappointed. I feel like I wasted my life playing this game. Also if you had a concussion, post concussion syndrome, sensitive to lights or easily get dizzy this is not the game for you. It hurts the brain. If you want to improve this game have a story, don’t use bright lights and spin stuff around.… Expand
  19. datoneguy246
    May 15, 2021
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a very inventive and interesting puzzle game. The game prides itself in being able to innovate on the same basic mechanic in so many interesting ways. Sadly, there are some puzzles that are just too obtuse and awkward to solve. To give you an example, there's a series of puzzles where you have to stand at just the right specific spot so that the glare of the sun shines on the puzzle, showing the solution. This isn't a puzzle. It doesn't require critical thinking, just aimless experimentation. The Witness has way too many puzzles like this that bring it down.

    Of course, there are so many other incredibly designed puzzles and environments that make up for those mistakes. It isn't a game for everyone, but I enjoyed it.    … Expand
  20. 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
  21. Bellicose
    May 31, 2021
    10
    If you like puzzle games, this is a masterpiece.

    It may not be fun to watch (for example, like Portal sometimes is), but for the person engaged with it...wow. So much of the fun takes place inside the person playing it. Which -- I mean, I get that sounds obvious, but... I would get up Sunday mornings, make myself some tea, and stare at a grid for an hour, and I LOVED it. For my    If you like puzzle games, this is a masterpiece.

    It may not be fun to watch (for example, like Portal sometimes is), but for the person engaged with it...wow. So much of the fun takes place inside the person playing it. Which -- I mean, I get that sounds obvious, but...

    I would get up Sunday mornings, make myself some tea, and stare at a grid for an hour, and I LOVED it.

    For my money, best puzzle game ever made. I wish I could erase my memory and play it again.    … Expand
  22. mrnice
    Apr 29, 2019
    10
    The Witness goes for a completely different type of game, almost invents a genre: discovering game mechanics. The inclusion of a great hidden challenge level at the end of the game lifts this game from 'great' to 'classic' status. It's a remarkably pretty game as well, playing it feels almost like going on vacation.
  23. DrownedDrone
    Jun 8, 2019
    8
    This is a very nice open-world puzzle game, and probably the toughest one I've manage to stick with till completion, which is, I guess, the best thing you can say about a puzzle-game.

    The game has no text, and no instructions, you have this simple mechanic to interact with the world, which is filled with many puzzles you can try solving at any time. The actual rules of the puzzles are    This is a very nice open-world puzzle game, and probably the toughest one I've manage to stick with till completion, which is, I guess, the best thing you can say about a puzzle-game.

    The game has no text, and no instructions, you have this simple mechanic to interact with the world, which is filled with many puzzles you can try solving at any time. The actual rules of the puzzles are never explained, making some puzzles impossible to solve at start. That's a very neat trick that give the game a "open world" feeling, as you explore the map not only to checklist more puzzles, but also in hope to be rewarded with simple puzzle that will give you tips about how the rules of the puzzles work. Kinda like RPG but instead of monsters to get puzzles and instead of XP you get puzzles and instead of items you also get puzzles.

    The game is lacking any story, which make the game name a bit misleading as I was expecting some crime to be the witness of. I guess it is a different kind of witness. There are some audio logs, most of which contain the same spiritual nonesense you usually hear from people drunk or high on drugs. You can't turn it off once it plays so watch out. None of those I found contain puzzle tips so don't risk playing them just because you are desperate.

    This game will test you your brain, and will require many abilities, like:
    Cold analytical logic, short/long term memory, understanding of complex rules, environment awareness, and not getting strokes of epilepsy (in the end game).    … Expand
  24. Kansler
    Jul 25, 2017
    9
    Jonathan Blow has produced another fascinating game that is ALMOST a masterpiece of game design. However, I think it is just a little bit too frustrating to deserve that coveted title in game history. However, make no mistake, it will be remembered for years to come for all that it does well - since it has gone from "Zero to One" (to quote Peter Thiel's book) - created a market for itselfJonathan Blow has produced another fascinating game that is ALMOST a masterpiece of game design. However, I think it is just a little bit too frustrating to deserve that coveted title in game history. However, make no mistake, it will be remembered for years to come for all that it does well - since it has gone from "Zero to One" (to quote Peter Thiel's book) - created a market for itself - just like only a visionary product can, by simply side-stepping all competition through radical innovation.

    But first, let's look at the only other points of comparison that I can think of. 1) Braid. Blow's previous game shares many design similarities, but it is a fundamentally different sort of game. 2) The Myst series. The only other puzzle game series that relies on player exploration, patience and mystery. 3) The Talos Principle. The "other" contemporary philosophical puzzle game. To sum it all up, I would say that The Talos Principle is more fun to play, but less mind-blowing overall. In general, I adore both The Witness and the Talos Principle, and I would recommend players to play through them both.

    So what does it do well? First, it avoids clichés and creates new ways to think about games - and reality itself. It challenges the player to rethink his own attitude towards challenges and puzzle solving. Those patient and curious players who don't throw the controller down at the first inconvenience, will find something special here. The game will start to invade their sleep. Their whole perceptual apparatus will be taken to places where no other game can take them.

    Secondly, the puzzles themselves are masterfully done and the player is given all the evidence to solve them. It's a fair game. From the simply line puzzles of the beginning to the brain-melting finale, there are a lot of puzzles to solve. Their simplicity might turn some people off, but it also means that the player is forced to really integrate the mechanics into his gut reactions and innermost being. There is sufficient variety and progression in complexity to keep things interesting all the way to the end.

    Thirdly, the game is absolutely beautiful from beginning to end. I played it on PS4 Pro, and the 1440p HDR output made the world come to life. The world is teeming with detail, style and colour, with innumerable little hidden secrets, nooks and crannies that make the world breathe, even without any fauna to populate it. The game world is a single, interconnected tapestry - a home away from home.

    But yes, then there are downsides. Unfortunately, the game is brutally hard and unforgiving by design. The game demands a lot from the player and gives very little positive feedback. It rewards you very slowly, sometimes not at all. This is meant to teach the player a lesson. But it can be a harsh lesson. And not everything can be excused on the basis of a spiritual exercise in patience.

    The Witness has all the aspects of a cult game. This game is definitely not for everybody. It has already found a niche fan base that really loves it, because they have fallen in love with its harsh, brutal, unforgiving challenges that are embedded in its (paradoxically) soothing, meditative world.

    For those lucky and crazy ones who persevere through its strict discipline (and/or design shortcomings), real beauties await. Two cliches can sum it all up: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and the destination is in the journey.    … Expand
  25. 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
  26. 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
  27. brockcheese
    Oct 12, 2017
    9
    This was an incredible game and defeating the special challenge at the end was completely worth it. Great for any puzzle lovers and really made me think outside of the game.
  28. CurlyJefferson
    Jul 14, 2017
    10
    An intricate puzzle game filled to the brim with challenges both obvious and, at first, nearly inscrutable. The Witness certainly feels like the result of over seven years of hard work; never have I played a game with a world crafted with such painstaking attention to every detail of its world. The puzzles are hard, and become even harder, but with increased difficulty comes increasedAn intricate puzzle game filled to the brim with challenges both obvious and, at first, nearly inscrutable. The Witness certainly feels like the result of over seven years of hard work; never have I played a game with a world crafted with such painstaking attention to every detail of its world. The puzzles are hard, and become even harder, but with increased difficulty comes increased satisfaction after the player solves a particularly challenging series. This game has such a classical approach to design that feels older than it is, and if there were a "video game museum" I imagine that The Witness would sit comfortably at the end of the hall, establishing itself as a hallmark in game design. It is a game not solely, but primarily centered on revelation and discovery. The Witness was my favorite game of 2016.… Expand
  29. HaloFever
    Jan 3, 2017
    10
    Brilliant. Wonderful. Best puzzle game I have ever played.

    The puzzles are the heart of this game and they are put together nicely. Each new puzzle type has a few tutorial puzzles. No in game hints. No verbal or written instructions. The developer has to teach you how to do the puzzles through the puzzles themselves, and they did wonderful work. Everytime I find a seemingly impossible    Brilliant. Wonderful. Best puzzle game I have ever played.

    The puzzles are the heart of this game and they are put together nicely. Each new puzzle type has a few tutorial puzzles. No in game hints. No verbal or written instructions. The developer has to teach you how to do the puzzles through the puzzles themselves, and they did wonderful work. Everytime I find a seemingly impossible puzzle, I then find a new tutorial section and have another epiphany. Even better, nothing requires existing knowledge. My kids were figuring out puzzles with me, and indeed much better at finding environmental clues that my boring old brain would ignore. The beauty of this game is that the tasks build up your competency, so that by the end you feel like a genius and not a frustrated idiot. Best of all, the setting is sublime. Every section of the game is a gorgeous piece of art. Explorers rejoice!

    The funny thing, I'm not much of a puzzle gamer. I even skipped Myst. I am very glad I didn't skip The Witness.    … Expand
  30. adamlandos93
    Aug 6, 2021
    10
    A game that teaches you how to intuit, be creative and develop critical thinking. It's also a game that teaches you that it's okay to not know something. I find these teachings to be invaluable.

    The Witness contains some very basic mechanics, but the way you use those mechanics can get imaginative, tricky and downright complex in all the best ways. Almost all of the puzzles are quite    A game that teaches you how to intuit, be creative and develop critical thinking. It's also a game that teaches you that it's okay to not know something. I find these teachings to be invaluable.

    The Witness contains some very basic mechanics, but the way you use those mechanics can get imaginative, tricky and downright complex in all the best ways. Almost all of the puzzles are quite intelligent too. The underlying narrative, although not the main focus, is pretty intriguing with some extremely interesting philosophical points that make you want to explore more of the mysterious and undeniably beautiful and varied island.

    The exploration aspect of the island is of equally high quality. You constantly find puzzles that you simply can't figure out how to solve or ones that contain unrecognizable symbols. The game teaches you that it's OK to walk away and try it later, once you have more clues as to what the symbols mean. But the most important thing that's happening here is that through different puzzles, you can build intuition that will help with different kinds of puzzles.

    Hence, figuring out what to do with some difficult or alien puzzles also has to do with building up your intuition. This aspect of problem solving is usually reserved for high-level non-gaming stuff, such as college-level courses and it's a delight to find that the gradual building of problem-solving intuition is a major factor in a game. Most games are all about building short-term intuition (which is not as related to critical thinking as long-term intuition) and/or smarts.

    It also teaches different ways thinking, since a good amount of the puzzles require out-of-the-box and abstract thinking. Sometimes it's not about piecing clues together to reach a unique logical conclusion (although this is a part of it too); it's also about developing different ways of thinking so that you can use educated guesses and then test those against newer and more difficult puzzles and then refining the initial guess. It almost sounds like the scientific process behind research!

    It's an intelligent but difficult game. Stick with it and you'll be rewarded. And even if you don't complete it (it's huge), you'll still have experienced one of the most original and creative pieces of art that gaming has to offer. Truly eccentric.    … Expand
  31. ShaMana
    Mar 22, 2020
    9
    I was incredibly surprised by the discrepancy between user and critic score. I got the game for the critic score if I have to be honest. At the beginning the game felt stale and odd. Starts extremely slow but expands very well. It's beautiful and very clever. As for the low user score there is only one reason that can be described with two words: Pen and Paper
  32. inopinatus
    Dec 2, 2021
    9
    If you like a peerless challenge, The Witness will knock your puzzle socks off, offering a steady progression from the immediately obvious, through moments of frustration & revelation, all the way to the mind-bending and apparently impossible final test, making the a-ha moments all the more satisfying. All presented in a compact but pretty world with a unique art style and a diffuseIf you like a peerless challenge, The Witness will knock your puzzle socks off, offering a steady progression from the immediately obvious, through moments of frustration & revelation, all the way to the mind-bending and apparently impossible final test, making the a-ha moments all the more satisfying. All presented in a compact but pretty world with a unique art style and a diffuse narrative that's revealed gradually, obliquely, and impressionistically as you climb up the difficulty ladder.

    Even reliving my playthrough to write this review, five years later, is a moment of very happy memories.    … Expand
  33. Giggity
    Apr 1, 2019
    9
    Discovering how to solve the puzzles by myself gave me an incredible sense of accomplishment. First time I discovered one of the secrets I was entranced by the sheer idea of what it meant to the game, it's like the game doubled its size instantaneously.

    I recommend for everyone who enjoys puzzles and thinking outside the box. I'm not giving it a 10 because I think that 100%ing could    Discovering how to solve the puzzles by myself gave me an incredible sense of accomplishment. First time I discovered one of the secrets I was entranced by the sheer idea of what it meant to the game, it's like the game doubled its size instantaneously.

    I recommend for everyone who enjoys puzzles and thinking outside the box.

    I'm not giving it a 10 because I think that 100%ing could have been more rewarding, or at all
    (maybe it is and no one found out yet)    … Expand
  34. vashkor
    Apr 1, 2020
    9
    The game is something else. i cannot recommend it for everyone, but it's the most mind blowing piece of "design" that i have ever encountered. And it can leave you in awe yet confused.

    Solving the puzzle panels is a part of it. Hard they often be, i actually solved them just fine. You can beat em all, get a plat, call it a day. But there's so much more in the island that really had me    The game is something else. i cannot recommend it for everyone, but it's the most mind blowing piece of "design" that i have ever encountered. And it can leave you in awe yet confused.

    Solving the puzzle panels is a part of it. Hard they often be, i actually solved them just fine. You can beat em all, get a plat, call it a day. But there's so much more in the island that really had me thinking "holy **** Literally everything, large and small, is part of a hidden puzzle, or an Easter egg, or a meaningful view if seen from the right perspective.

    The abstraction is odd but i was pretty wowed in the sense of 3d design - it really is a masterpiece of an art. But it also left me guessing why so much hidden content that needed the entire fan community to piece together.

    It may not be your cup of tea, but i am really glad i played it. i am all in for this kind of ambitious passion projects that pushes the boundaries of what a video game can be.    … Expand
  35. Bumblebugbee
    Jul 29, 2016
    10
    The Witness has been on my radar ever since the announcement of the PlayStation 4. Right away the bold and colorful world grabbed my attention. The crazy thing, this entire world is based purely around solving puzzles. It was quite a bold idea, especially making such a extreme departure from the Jonathan's Blow last game Braid. The development cycle was long but well worth theThe Witness has been on my radar ever since the announcement of the PlayStation 4. Right away the bold and colorful world grabbed my attention. The crazy thing, this entire world is based purely around solving puzzles. It was quite a bold idea, especially making such a extreme departure from the Jonathan's Blow last game Braid. The development cycle was long but well worth the wonderfully polished game that was the result. Built upon a beautiful island, The Witness is a very challenging and rewarding puzzle game that will simulate your brain for hours on end.

    The concept seems simple enough. Scattered around this island is hundreds of panels. All these panels having a starting point and an ending point. Its your job to draw a line to connect the two ends. The challenge is each section of puzzles will throw different obstacles at you. Just to give couple examples; this could include separating blocks of different colors, matching up sets of circles, to making specific shapes as you draw your line. When you enter a new area you'll usually find a sets of five side by side panels that function as tutorials. This game will never tell you what to do, it instead relies one you to be smart enough to progress.

    This game is deceptively straight forward. There is so much more to this game then just walking from one panel to the next. There are a series of well hidden bonus puzzles tied to the mysterious black monoliths scattered around the island. One of my favorite things I found was the movie theater. The theater itself isn't too difficult to open but you'll need to have truly mastered the various puzzle elements to find the movies. A boat is available to take you around the island and may help you notice things you may not have seen before.

    The amazing artwork combined with the island setting really sets the mood for this game. You really start to feel like your on a luxurious island retreat. Pillows and couches can be found lying about inferring that the challenge of these puzzles my make one self tired over time. Various ledges and buildings will give you breath taking views of the island. It amazing to see this huge island you've spent hours exploring and conquering seem so shrunken from up high. Those who crave exploration will want to explore every nook and cranny of this world for its abound with secrets.

    I you like to challenge yourself and test your intellect you need to play this game! The puzzles are numerous and the different sections of the game are superbly designed. In each area they'll start you off with fairly straight forward puzzles and slowly add more complexity. By the time you get to the end of a section you'll be amazed at the crazy things you've able to accomplish. If the puzzles weren't rewarding enough every secret you find will bring a burst of joy and excitement. The incredibly high ceiling of challenge with no written or spoken tips means that this game isn't for everybody but those who can keep their cool will find a wonderful sense of accomplishment playing through this game.    … Expand
  36. gaming_mantra
    Jul 28, 2016
    10
    Normally I hate giving games a perfect review but I feel it is deserved in a few cases.This is a game about learning about the world of the game and is presented in a way where everything can be done at your own pace.
    I've found many people trying to play this game and getting frustrated in the difficulty of some of the puzzles (which can get very, very difficult for some of them). The    Normally I hate giving games a perfect review but I feel it is deserved in a few cases.This is a game about learning about the world of the game and is presented in a way where everything can be done at your own pace.
    I've found many people trying to play this game and getting frustrated in the difficulty of some of the puzzles (which can get very, very difficult for some of them). The key to this game is in its open world nature, after the first "tutorial area" almost everything in the game is open to the player which means if ever you hit a wall in an area you have multiple other options to explore. The best part about this is that solving puzzles in other areas, though completely different concepts, will typically aid in getting the mindset to solve the block.
    This concept is the heart of The Witness, everything is connected and because of it everything you do helps you figure out its world. For anyone who is curious about discovering the rules of the game world this game will reward them in spades. There are moments of pure discovery and one of them is personally my favourite discovery in any game.
    One last note of this game is its length which, for majority of players, will be a minimum of 20 to upwards of over 100 hours. During this you are consistently presented with completely new concepts, extremely varied environments and a fantastic almost all-ambient soundtrack. To have all of this in a puzzle game that is only about drawing lines is a feat I still cannot completely believe.
    In short: If you're curious about the world, love discovering things independently or are just a fan of puzzle games this is a must buy!
    PS. There is so much more to this game then just the puzzles, if anyone is interested check out my let's play that talks about the lore of the island, and the symbolism in the areas. I'd only recommend seeing it after fully completing the game! : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2U6_gulUGA&list=PLBOc-3LM5tSAHuC3Sm-F76Icnuo1hul87    … Expand
  37. Vicost
    Sep 28, 2016
    10
    Jonathan Blow is a genius. This game is perfect, i don't usually play puzzle games but this game is brilliant. I did the normal ending without any tutorials and i loved it. Another cool thing about it is that it looks very good, you can take a screen-shot of whatever you want and it will be an amazing wallpaper for your computer or your phone.
  38. Lewis-Angelo
    Dec 17, 2019
    8
    finalizado The Witness con 488+13 puzzles completados, hasta los créditos son coleccionables escondidos

    el diseño de niveles es una auténtica maravilla, todo pensado hasta el milímetro Los puzzles que me gustan caen solos, los de dar vueltas y ensayo error es mejor usar guía para no perder el tiempo Me pregunto si de los que lo analizaron alguno conseguiría pasárselo XD Los    finalizado The Witness con 488+13 puzzles completados, hasta los créditos son coleccionables escondidos

    el diseño de niveles es una auténtica maravilla, todo pensado hasta el milímetro

    Los puzzles que me gustan caen solos, los de dar vueltas y ensayo error es mejor usar guía para no perder el tiempo
    Me pregunto si de los que lo analizaron alguno conseguiría pasárselo XD

    Los puzzles que te hacen sentir como lo estúpido que eres son los mejores    … Expand
  39. 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
  40. 9to10Gaming
    Mar 10, 2019
    10
    Easily the best puzzle game I’ve ever played. It needs some getting used to but it’s an masterpiece nobody should miss
  41. Angel_Sigh
    Sep 29, 2017
    10
    If ever there was a game that is not for everyone, this is it, I can tell you that straight away. This is not twitch gaming, this is not twitch puzzling either, like Tetris. It is utterly unique, but its appeal will be pretty niche. The best way to determine whether you'll enjoy this game is to ask yourself if you've ever enjoyed a cryptic crossword puzzle- now I know most people will sayIf ever there was a game that is not for everyone, this is it, I can tell you that straight away. This is not twitch gaming, this is not twitch puzzling either, like Tetris. It is utterly unique, but its appeal will be pretty niche. The best way to determine whether you'll enjoy this game is to ask yourself if you've ever enjoyed a cryptic crossword puzzle- now I know most people will say 'no' to that, but a follow up question is this: assuming you spent time to learn the rules behind cryptic crosswords, so that it was just about the puzzle rather than knowing the different linguistic tricks the crossword setters use, can you _then_ imagine yourself enjoying cryptic crosswords? Because The Witness is analogous(in a nevertheless very inexact way) to a vastly more expansive version of a cryptic crossword, only without all the background knowledge that's required of you, and shorn of the need to use words.
    Basically, if you can think outside the box, if you can think laterally, then you'll be able to do at least a quarter to a third of the puzzles in this game without too much difficulty. The rest of the game is made up of more difficult puzzles, which are solvable given time, and a smaller subset of puzzles that are extremely tricky, obtuse, will take serious mental effort, but are perfectly logical nonetheless.

    I'd describe The Witness as the ultimate puzzle videogame. Its puzzles always come down to the same thing - you guide a cursor through a maze. No time limit(so far anyway - I haven't done every single puzzle in the game), no real fail state, you can reverse your path through the maze at any time. This sounds almost insultingly simple, and seems like a small palette with which to paint a whole game, but from this single seed an extraordinarily ambitious, breathtakingly inventive variety of puzzle-types bloom. There are puzzles based on symmetry, there are puzzles based on audio cues, there are puzzles based on casting shadows on the surrounding environment...I won't go on; discovering the relationship these simple grids have with the locale is much of the game's appeal, and there are sections which seem entirely obtuse until you notice some little ancillary environmental detail that explains your route through the maze. The island itself serves as a way to break down the barriers that arise when you're stuck on a particular puzzle - if you can't see your way past one of the tougher mazes then you can wander off to explore some less well-trodden part, with a shallower difficulty gradient.
    The island is thematically inconsistent, with different kinds of natural and architectural environments rubbing up against one another in a slightly unhinged fashion. Throughout, there are human friezes, actual(?) figures caught in various mildly intriguing situations: look down the sides of a mountain and a woman is looking up at you, cresting the final cliff-face with a child strapped to her back. Other scenes add up to the sense that some kind of apocalyptic denouement is taking over the island and its former inhabitants(if that's what they are). It has the presumably intentional feel of a Pompeii without the volcano, and the people are even cast in a similarly grey, ashen material. This meta-narrative is, as I say, only mildly intriguing. There is no sense that putting the work in would result in any kind of moment of epiphany, where the past events are suddenly made clear in satisfyingly cohesive fashion. It's just too chaotic and disordered for that. The placement of figures, and their freeze-framed actions, add up to an impressionistic whole - it's a feeling rather than a narrative throughline that you're left with. To be frank, I'm not even sure what that feeling is. The island certainly has some of the situational absurdity of 'Lost', but it's best to think of it as more of a gigantic art installation. If that has, as I suspect, made a few of you throw up in your mouths a bit, I must emphasise that the environment is an easy joy to explore, and it is often very, very beautiful. Every square foot of the island is made to suit the puzzles, rather than the puzzles made to suit the island. As long as you bear that in mind you won't go in expecting something that's not there.

    In the end the most difficult part of this review is trying to describe what sets this apart from other puzzle games - I freely admit I'm not a puzzle game fan. I never liked Myst, or Monkey Island, etc. But something about the sheer inventiveness of this game's approach, the startling elegance of the solutions, the easy pace with which you can approach it all, drew me in. I bought this on deal, a year after its release, without expectations, and it has startled, fascinated and delighted me at almost every step. Anyone who hasn't come away from this review certain that it isn't for them should take a punt and try it.    … Expand
  42. destinyfan1
    Apr 22, 2018
    8
    A great looking puzzel game ,that is pretty difficult ,and really took me some while to get past areas,and sometimes that does become annoying,with the ending being really hard
    The island you are on is really varieted ,and when you are stuck on a puzzel, take a time and enjoy the view!
    Overall i enjoyed it ,but sometimes the game was just a struggle and were a relief when i finished    A great looking puzzel game ,that is pretty difficult ,and really took me some while to get past areas,and sometimes that does become annoying,with the ending being really hard
    The island you are on is really varieted ,and when you are stuck on a puzzel, take a time and enjoy the view!
    Overall i enjoyed it ,but sometimes the game was just a struggle and were a relief when i finished them,little bit overrated sometimes ,but also underrated    … Expand
  43. 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
  44. BarkingDoggy
    May 1, 2017
    10
    I loved the Witness. I activated all 11 lasers and did "the extra challenge" that I won't spoil. The multiple layers to this outstanding puzzle game really gives it the depth it needs. Not only are you thinking logically on how to tackle the masterfully designed puzzles and recalling the many mechanics you use to solve the puzzles, you are also thinking philosophically on the audio tapesI loved the Witness. I activated all 11 lasers and did "the extra challenge" that I won't spoil. The multiple layers to this outstanding puzzle game really gives it the depth it needs. Not only are you thinking logically on how to tackle the masterfully designed puzzles and recalling the many mechanics you use to solve the puzzles, you are also thinking philosophically on the audio tapes and short films the game gives you to chew on. The island is also beautiful, holding many cleverly hidden secrets and complementing the puzzle plates fairly well. There are many biomes to explore and solve puzzles in, and this game definitely has tons of content if you wish to 100% it. An amazing challenge that will truly test the extent of your mind.… Expand
  45. Viperstrike1193
    Apr 27, 2021
    9
    This game is beautiful and a must play if you enjoy puzzles and brain teasers. It does get very hard and some of the puzzle types are hard to understand with just in world clues. I had to start cheating eventually but I did finish the cheat proof “challenge” at the end. The philosophical stuff was a bit beyond me but this is a lovely way to kill 30 minutes to an hour if that’s all you haveThis game is beautiful and a must play if you enjoy puzzles and brain teasers. It does get very hard and some of the puzzle types are hard to understand with just in world clues. I had to start cheating eventually but I did finish the cheat proof “challenge” at the end. The philosophical stuff was a bit beyond me but this is a lovely way to kill 30 minutes to an hour if that’s all you have or just want a break from a more intense game.… Expand
  46. TantFuriosa
    Jan 5, 2018
    10
    What if you create a game that is all about Easter eggs? This is not, I repeat: this is NOT a game that could be a mobile game. There are hidden depths here that you probably won't find before you've invested some time. I get super sad reading reviews - be they good or bad - by people who never discovered what The Witness really offers. I've read reviews by professional reviewers who hadWhat if you create a game that is all about Easter eggs? This is not, I repeat: this is NOT a game that could be a mobile game. There are hidden depths here that you probably won't find before you've invested some time. I get super sad reading reviews - be they good or bad - by people who never discovered what The Witness really offers. I've read reviews by professional reviewers who had to run through the game and missed these hidden gems that are the things that make people so wild for this game. The Witness is the smartest game I've ever played, and the reason has little to do with puzzles.… Expand
  47. 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
  48. igan_deco
    Jul 24, 2020
    10
    The Witness is a hard game. Or maybe I'm dumber than I give myself credit for, which is probably truer. Jonathan Blow's creation is a game that will teach you a new code, a language of sorts, and will trust you with the burden of solving an enigma across a desert island. It never holds your hand, but instead expects you to learn its mechanics through cleverly designed puzzles, or 'panels'.The Witness is a hard game. Or maybe I'm dumber than I give myself credit for, which is probably truer. Jonathan Blow's creation is a game that will teach you a new code, a language of sorts, and will trust you with the burden of solving an enigma across a desert island. It never holds your hand, but instead expects you to learn its mechanics through cleverly designed puzzles, or 'panels'. These panels, which are scattered across the land, almost always bring something new to the table, and each time you think you've cracked the code, they'l stump you, so there's always an incentive to keep going. The island is littered with secrets and references and little details. I lost count of how many 'wow!' moments I had during my gameplay. The Witness is not just a game, it's a masterclass in game and environment design and an experience like any other in gaming platforms.… Expand
  49. SaturnReviews
    Mar 11, 2019
    8
    The game is well-made and offers many types of puzzles, making it one of the top games of its genre. There are hundreds of smart puzzles to complete and some of them are quite difficult, hence it takes much time to fully complete the game. Not to mention how relaxing the surroundings and colors are, which is ideal for such games. Generally, it’s a must-have game, especially for puzzleThe game is well-made and offers many types of puzzles, making it one of the top games of its genre. There are hundreds of smart puzzles to complete and some of them are quite difficult, hence it takes much time to fully complete the game. Not to mention how relaxing the surroundings and colors are, which is ideal for such games. Generally, it’s a must-have game, especially for puzzle lovers like me.… Expand
  50. thatdanner
    Apr 1, 2019
    8
    Not a huge fan of puzzle games, but I was immediately addicted to this one because of how interesting and captivating it was. Every section of puzzles was different and unique. It's very easy to get all the achievements if you try really hard. The worlds and art style are stunning despite being an indie game. The ending levels are more confusing than unique, so that makes it lose someNot a huge fan of puzzle games, but I was immediately addicted to this one because of how interesting and captivating it was. Every section of puzzles was different and unique. It's very easy to get all the achievements if you try really hard. The worlds and art style are stunning despite being an indie game. The ending levels are more confusing than unique, so that makes it lose some points for me. It becomes no longer fun but just frustrating with dumb mechanics by the last couple levels. But for the most part, it's a great game and definitely comes with a steep learning curve.… Expand
  51. 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)
  52. 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.
  53. 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.
  54. ClinOton
    Jan 6, 2021
    10
    Masterpiece! # 1 The Witness, # 2 The Talos Principle/Road to Gehenna, # 3 Portal 2. Creme de la Creme! I can respect the scores of those whom this game is not intended for. I believe personally this is close to the perfect game and yet I am not sure I can recommend this game to most people. Most of the people I know I believe they would hate this game or become quickly bored withMasterpiece! # 1 The Witness, # 2 The Talos Principle/Road to Gehenna, # 3 Portal 2. Creme de la Creme! I can respect the scores of those whom this game is not intended for. I believe personally this is close to the perfect game and yet I am not sure I can recommend this game to most people. Most of the people I know I believe they would hate this game or become quickly bored with everything this game is. If you are of the demographic the Witness is intended for I can’t recommend it more enthusiastically. Not sure how to identify that demographic? Portal 2 is a much easier recommendation when it comes to the masses. If you haven’t played the Witness and the game looks like something you might like stop reading reviews and play it...too much information going in will spoil some of the fun. Best puzzle game ever and yet not sure I can recommend it? Weird.… Expand
  55. 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.
  56. 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
  57. 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
  58. cduke0504
    Apr 19, 2020
    10
    Trust me when I say that you don't have to be smart to enjoy this game. This is because while the puzzles ARE pretty difficult, there are rarely any stakes to failing the puzzles. In some cases, failing a puzzles means that you are moved to the previous puzzles in that set, but this is pretty rare. Not only that, but the design of the world here is truly something to behold. TheTrust me when I say that you don't have to be smart to enjoy this game. This is because while the puzzles ARE pretty difficult, there are rarely any stakes to failing the puzzles. In some cases, failing a puzzles means that you are moved to the previous puzzles in that set, but this is pretty rare. Not only that, but the design of the world here is truly something to behold. The atmosphere, lack of direction, and lack of NPCs makes the journey of this game truly a personal one. The pace at which you play this game is entirely up to you. The game is hard, yes, but it's also patient. If you can't finish the puzzle in the tree house, you could give it a break and walk to the town or the keep and chip away at the puzzles there. There were times where I would be content to just walk around the world without any intention of making progress. I was in a pretty bad place when I was playing this game (I only got it because it was one of the free games of the month), but when my world was full of confusion and panic, this game gave me a quiet reflection that I really needed. It's not for everyone, but it's still worth giving a shot.… Expand
  59. 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
  60. yanikz
    Jun 28, 2020
    10
    The Witness takes an exceptional approach to game design by completely throwing the player in cold water. Learning all the mechanics on your own is incredibly rewarding and every discovery feels meaningful in the greater context.

    I highly recommend to finish the game without any guides. If you get stuck, take your time. Every corner of the island can lead to a new epiphany. The    The Witness takes an exceptional approach to game design by completely throwing the player in cold water. Learning all the mechanics on your own is incredibly rewarding and every discovery feels meaningful in the greater context.

    I highly recommend to finish the game without any guides. If you get stuck, take your time. Every corner of the island can lead to a new epiphany. The impending sense of accomplishment only grows with the number of failed attempts.

    Subtle sounds, vivid colors, smart map design and great puzzle variety are only a few things that richen this experience even more.

    10/10    … Expand
  61. 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.
  62. 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.
  63. yertre
    Feb 15, 2021
    8
    This is NOT a game for everyone. The solutions for some of puzzles can feel insane to do without looking them up, but almost every puzzle has meticulous detail, subtle hints, and cleverly hidden environmental details. Almost every puzzle feels satisfying to solve, and many left me feeling "how did they program that?"

    That being said, I do feel that making all the puzzles grid based    This is NOT a game for everyone. The solutions for some of puzzles can feel insane to do without looking them up, but almost every puzzle has meticulous detail, subtle hints, and cleverly hidden environmental details. Almost every puzzle feels satisfying to solve, and many left me feeling "how did they program that?"

    That being said, I do feel that making all the puzzles grid based limits the game's potential a bit. The amount of reused/filler puzzles isn't insignificant either, which is disappointing for a 40$ game (more on that in a bit).

    The game has NO respect for the player's time. A simple raft takes 2 minutes to reach its destination.
    This is annoying to me because the game claims to respect player's intelligence and time in the description, when it does no such thing.

    I think The Witness is pretty good game, but costs 20$ too much. The game isn't too long, and it reuses so many puzzles that it simply does nothing to earn the 40$ price tag. If you've enjoyed games like Riven, Myst, Outer Wilds and the lot, I recommend waiting for a good deal, and grabbing it then.    … Expand
  64. bohuggabee
    Apr 5, 2021
    10
    i've played through the witness twice now. not knowing of the secret ending or hidden cave. people rarely put this much effort in to games anymore. you don't expect this many easter eggs.... sure, if you can't handle critical thinking, variable analysis, and creating algorithms, you might not be able to solve every puzzle, and may not even beat the game. especially for thei've played through the witness twice now. not knowing of the secret ending or hidden cave. people rarely put this much effort in to games anymore. you don't expect this many easter eggs.... sure, if you can't handle critical thinking, variable analysis, and creating algorithms, you might not be able to solve every puzzle, and may not even beat the game. especially for the colorblind.. but there are plenty of old games i never got to beat. not ashamed to admit, that i'd get tired of a puzzle after a while, forgetting a rule or feeling like i gave it my best, looking up a solution. sometimes concluding a puzzle as impossible because i forget a rule, though i ran every possibility and concluded the only solutions, only to find out, i forgot one silly rule... the second play through i only used a cheat on 4 puzzles, solving majority by myself, completing the game in around 20 hours. but you spend a lot of time getting lost and just exploring, enjoying, and being surprised. after 5 years, its still one of the best experiences i've had. pushing my brain to new levels of understanding, rethinking my own choices, and self doubt to find solutions to these puzzles i'd never think naturally like. its clearly well cared for by someone who really wanted to make a game that separates itself from the same old cut up and dlc sales tactic. majority of people probably can't get the most out of it... which is a dangerous idea, that you aren't catering to the majority of simple people out their. its genuinely a game for an intellect... plain and simple. however, the more you adapt, and push yourself, the more satisfying it is to solve things you never thought you could. separating you from the pack of quitters. its not a game for an epic ending. its a game to grow with. so when you quit, you know what sort you are. when you do get to finish it. you feel qualified to understand the others that did as well. a group of people who enjoy puzzles and analysis. algorithms, variables. if you can beat this game quickly, you most likely have an eidetic vision and memory of some kind. though, i've found myself having to write out a few solutions cause there were too many possibilities to all hold in my head. making it something you know you care about because you are willing to go that extra step. simply put. a great game, not for everyone. but don't be afraid to cheat so you can get to the next level and enjoy creative artistry used in it... you'll never have an excuse to truly get stuck.… Expand
  65. WashedPotatoes
    Jul 21, 2022
    10
    beautiful world design, phenomenal game design. finding areas you don't know how to solve, finding the tutorial areas, and going back to solve the original puzzle is extremely satisfying. getting every laser to unlock the mountain, and then finding THE CHALLENGE. a phenomenal puzzle game, offers a challenge but not insanely difficult (besides a few puzzles: **** the sound puzzle on thebeautiful world design, phenomenal game design. finding areas you don't know how to solve, finding the tutorial areas, and going back to solve the original puzzle is extremely satisfying. getting every laser to unlock the mountain, and then finding THE CHALLENGE. a phenomenal puzzle game, offers a challenge but not insanely difficult (besides a few puzzles: **** the sound puzzle on the shipwreck) and i don't think there is a better one in existence… Expand
  66. DannyCuomo
    Aug 2, 2021
    10
    It's just fantastic, it's how difficult a game should be, I had a great time with all these crazy puzzles, and even when I finished the game there were still too many secrets to discover, I fell in love with this game.
  67. Varza1
    Sep 17, 2021
    2
    A relatively simple line puzzle concept is overused under the guise of an open world game. Solving puzzles is not really rewarding, causing one to wonder at the end of the game what exactly one has "witnessed". Games should be fun and should not feel like a repetitive chore. The world created is beautiful and it is a shame that the level of interaction of the player with the world is so low.
  68. 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.
  69. Jose170913
    Feb 16, 2023
    2
    El no tiene sentido es aburrido y poco entretenido los puzzles repetitivo definitivamente la peor experiencia de juego no lo vuelvo a tocar ni loco nunca habia jugado slgo que me hiciera cabrear al final del juego recomendado 0% no tiene por donde cogerlo los puzzles estos
  70. 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
  71. noanony
    Apr 23, 2023
    10
    Jogo lindo, vai te quebrar muito a cabeça até que você entenda como funcionam os puzzles, mas viu, cada puzzle criativo...recomendo.
  72. 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
  73. ReviewsAreBS
    Feb 24, 2023
    9
    The puzzles are excellent and a little (but not unreasonably) tough. I strongly recommend against using a guide, atleast for the ‘main’ and ‘side’ content.

    There are some optional (and easily overlooked) bonus puzzles. These are obviously distinct from the main/side puzzles. You will get a few of them on your own or by accident, but 100% completion is very unlikely. Frankly there’s not    The puzzles are excellent and a little (but not unreasonably) tough. I strongly recommend against using a guide, atleast for the ‘main’ and ‘side’ content.

    There are some optional (and easily overlooked) bonus puzzles. These are obviously distinct from the main/side puzzles. You will get a few of them on your own or by accident, but 100% completion is very unlikely. Frankly there’s not much thinking involved in these bonus puzzles and there is no reward for completing them. So I recommend (for your own sanity) that you ignore them altogether.    … Expand
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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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