The Witness

 Xbox One
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Metro GameCentral
    Sep 21, 2016
    70
    A colossal achievement in puzzle gaming, with a very cleverly conceived setting and story, but the lack of variety and reward becomes stifling.

Awards & Rankings

16
#16 Best Xbox One Game of 2016
62
#62 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2016
57
#57 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2016

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 81 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 81
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 81
  3. Negative: 15 out of 81
  1. NabaDwA
    Sep 25, 2016
    10
    As many have said before, this game is absolutely brilliant. In essence it's a smartphone game about drawing a line from a starting point toAs many have said before, this game is absolutely brilliant. In essence it's a smartphone game about drawing a line from a starting point to the finish. But put that in a huge open world with beautiful colours and landscapes, intelligent puzzle design and challenging you every step of the way. Some puzzles can be frustrating if you don't understand them but when you do, that sense of satisfaction keeps you playing on and on. Slightly pricey at first glance, but when you realize how much work and thought has gone into the game you will be astonished, it's definitely worth it.… Full Review »
  2. nickminus
    Dec 19, 2016
    10
    The Witness is not for everyone. It is a game that presumes you are a thorough, intelligent detective who wants to be challenged. If youThe Witness is not for everyone. It is a game that presumes you are a thorough, intelligent detective who wants to be challenged. If you don't like being stumped or getting stuck, then you'll quickly become frustrated. But if you are willing to think hard for several minutes, scratch your head, give up, move on, and then suddenly awaken to the epiphany that cracks a tough challenge, this game is for you.

    The puzzles in The Witness are delightful, and the game has this remarkable way of teaching you piece by piece how to solve challenges without stating any instructions. The challenges are also built into the environment in ways that are extremely clever. (Anyone who thinks this is a mobile game has not played it seriously.) And there's also an air of mystique that comes through, as if the mission of the game has a much deeper spiritual and philosophical meaning.

    I enjoy RPGs, shooters, and adventure games mainly. The Witness is unlike anything I've played before. And it is easily now among my all time favorite games. It made me feel like I did twenty 25 years ago playing The Legend of Zelda, uncovering a secret passage. It is a marvel of brilliant game design. It is full of experiences that touch profundity. It is a truly original work forged with passion and brains that deserves and repays the player's sustained efforts. Try as hard as you can to not look up cheats and spoilers. Sometimes the answers will come easily. Other times they will baffle you. Don't give up. Keep searching. The clues are there, waiting for you to find them, waiting for you to awaken to the mysterious logic and language built into the world of the game.    … Full Review »
  3. maybethatday
    Sep 25, 2016
    10
    It's unfortunate that many people might skip on this game because they think it is a mobile app in a pretty but unnecessary world. And fromIt's unfortunate that many people might skip on this game because they think it is a mobile app in a pretty but unnecessary world. And from the trailer, it's understandable people may think that.

    Though this is not true and anybody who says so did not play for more than an hour. This game needs its 3d environment or else many of its puzzles would either be unsolvable or simply not exist. So why don't the trailers try to explain this? Because unlike say Portal, many of the puzzles are easily spoiled and showing them gives away big answers that could be used to solve other puzzles.

    In The Witness, you are dropped in a open world surrounded by hundreds of puzzles with no instruction on how to solve any of them. This game doesn't want to make you feel smart because it believes that you are smart. The game gets hard, very hard, but solving everything is satisfying and I never felt cheated. As the game is all about rules, rules which aren't ever broken or changed. If you think the game is wrong, you didn't understand the rules that were given.

    Also, know that this game is puzzle after puzzle after puzzle. With very little story, The Witness is only for those who really like puzzles. Each of these puzzles managing to bring in an interesting new concept while building from others. Not a single puzzle out of the 600+ felt repetitive to me. It may sound like it may get old fast, but it doesn't. When I was 40 hours in, 50 hours in, 60 hours in, I was still discovering things that change the way I played and how I looked at its future puzzles. There is so much cool hidden stuff that continued to surprise me, because everything in the game has reasons behind why it exists and why it is where it is.    … Full Review »
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