The Witness

 Xbox One
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

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  1. MrTusks
    Feb 28, 2019
    2
    Don't believe the comparisons: it's not at all like Myst. There is no story and no atmosphere, and the setting is completely incidental to the rest of the game. The entire thing is solving puzzles like the ones you might find in a cheap newsprint book from the dollar store. In fact, the only similarity to Myst is how some of the puzzles can be so absurdly obtuse that you don't understandDon't believe the comparisons: it's not at all like Myst. There is no story and no atmosphere, and the setting is completely incidental to the rest of the game. The entire thing is solving puzzles like the ones you might find in a cheap newsprint book from the dollar store. In fact, the only similarity to Myst is how some of the puzzles can be so absurdly obtuse that you don't understand the solutions even after you cheat and look them up.

    And you might enjoy that! But I didn't. At some point you, like me, may hit a wall. If you do, don't feel bad about giving up.

    Edit: I'm reading reviews from other places and I was pleasantly surprised to see other people using the word "obtuse," so I feel like writing a little more about that. It's very easy to dismiss a game as "too hard," and also to dismiss a critic as "too stupid." And I admit, I lost patience for the demands of this game. But how patient do I have to be with a game that does such a poor job of telling me its own rules? And when you think you learn the rules, the next puzzle will seem to violate them. And then rules will stack upon rules, overlap each other, cancel each other out. The puzzles go beyond all reasonable permutations of their various rules in a joyless trudge. The only thing you have to look forward to is another puzzle, and the only thing you feel after completing one is relief. When does a game stop being challenging and start being sadistic? Or worse, boring? Maybe if Jonathan Blow published a companion treatise outlining his thought processes while building the puzzles we'd have a chance. It feels as though, overall, the game and its creators want you to be impressed with how smart they are, and how smart you must be if you can match wits with them.

    And that leads me to the next word I saw in a lot of reviews, one I initially left out of mine: pretension. One thing the game "rewards" you with--indeed, they're the only things you actually "find"--are audio recordings and videos of scientific and philosophical musings. They do not advance gameplay, such as it is. They do not flesh out a world or a story, because there are no bones to put them on. No, they are simply there to lend a false air of intellectualism to a bunch of f***ing line puzzles.

    The game wants desperately to be smarter and deeper than it is.    … Expand
  2. AlbertPonty
    Apr 1, 2018
    3
    I got a headache playing this :v let´s wait come AC Syndicate on Live Gold, ´cause I don´t play this anymore
  3. thedaarkbatty
    Sep 21, 2016
    0
    Most boring game I have ever played. I plaed it for 15 minutes and got bored almost right away. There is littetally nothing remotely good about this garbage.
  4. Broyax
    Apr 2, 2018
    0
    Alors, l'étron indé du jour est un "jeu" (?) qui consiste à résoudre des **** labyrinthes en traçant des traits pour débloquer des interrupteurs qui actionnent l'ouverture de portes et comme il existe de nombreux interrupteurs pour chacune des putains de portes (et de grilles), on comprend aisément que le développeur se targue de proposer rien moins que 500 labyrinthes dans son étron deAlors, l'étron indé du jour est un "jeu" (?) qui consiste à résoudre des **** labyrinthes en traçant des traits pour débloquer des interrupteurs qui actionnent l'ouverture de portes et comme il existe de nombreux interrupteurs pour chacune des putains de portes (et de grilles), on comprend aisément que le développeur se targue de proposer rien moins que 500 labyrinthes dans son étron de pseudo-jeu à la mords-moi-le-noeud !

    Au fur et à mesure que l'on ouvre les portes, on se balade en vue subjective dans ce "monde" en 4 couleurs criardes et de mauvais goût pour tomber sur d'autres interrupteurs qui ouvrent d'autres putains de portes... Les sons sont aussi minimalistes que l'absence de musique, de voix ou de but ou d'intérêt tout court... ça sert à quoi au juste ? on ne sait pas... ou plutôt si, on en a une très vague idée. Oui, ça sert à que dalle. Ou à perdre son temps et son argent dans ce truc qui est vendu au prix public conseillé de 40 boules !

    Ce n'est même pas un "concept" de jeu vidéo, ni une ébauche, c'est du remplissage de branleurs et du foutage de gueule pur et simple. Mais plus c'est gros et plus ça passe auprès d'une frange très limitée de bobos la bouche en coeur et l'air béat : "c'est de lard", c'est de la couleur sans la couleur, c'est un "génie" ! on se croirait dans le sketch des Inconnus...    … Expand

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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. ICXM
    Oct 14, 2016
    90
    Just a phenomenal title which stands up well on Xbox One. Despite its 30 FPS presentation which results in feeling like trudging through molasses, the game still features intelligent puzzles and rewards the player when they finally figure it out.
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  2. Gaming Age
    Oct 6, 2016
    100
    The Witness has an abundance of content, and even after 25+ hours I feel I have barely scratched the surface of the secrets the island holds for me.
    Read full review
  3. MondoXbox
    Oct 5, 2016
    80
    An unique experience with mountains of puzzles to solve, a great look and an intangible mystery to discover, but lacking on the storytelling side and with a sometimes unbalanced difficulty progression.
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