The Witness

6.5/10 [h1]TL;DR[/h1] Good diversity in puzzle types, of which some are phenomenal while others are just straight up annoying and not fun at all. Of the puzzles necessary to complete the game I'd say 30% are great, 35% are annoying as well as tedious and the rest is alright. Optional bonus area for the second achievement is great. Additional optional puzzles that are partly impressive were way too tedious for me. I prefer puzzles that stimulate my brain and don't waste my time. Unfortunately this game has quite some necessary puzzles that don't provide you with the entire information, but require you to traverse the area and search for clues or the very specific location. I can't recommend this game mostly because of the political stances of "Jonathan Blow", the Director and Producer of this game, that partially are displayed in this game. -------------------------------- [h1]Pros:[/h1] [h2]Overall look and feel[/h2] [list] [*] Very beautiful game. The colours harmonize very well together [*] If you get stuck in an area you can just leave and continue in another set of puzzles [/list] [h2]Gameplay[/h2] [list] [*] 30% great puzzles and 35% decent puzzles [*] A good amount of different puzzle types [*] Some of them are fantastic [*] Little tutorial sections help you figure out the rule set for each category in an enclosed environment [*] The expansion of rule sets and combination of puzzle categories is paced very good [*] A few puzzles require solutions that incrementally satisfy constraints of previous puzzles as well, that you have to memorize [*] The first 15h are fantastic [*] An entire optional hidden area that contains really great extra puzzles and a really good second achievement; Imo those shouldn't be in a hidden area [*] Other hidden puzzles that require exploration and good observations are completely optional. It is nice when you spot them, some of them are absolute bonkers and it's impressive how they got pulled off. However most of them were way too tedious for me to be worth the time investment to search for them or the correct solution. [*] With the exception of an optional area towards the end, there are no time constraints [/list] [h2]QoL[/h2] [list] [*] Map shows puzzle types. So you know where to go once you get stuck or haven't played in a bit to refresh your take on the rules. [*] Travel speed on the boat for "fast travel" can be adjusted [/list] -------------------------------- [h1]Cons:[/h1] [h2]Gameplay[/h2] [list] [*] 35% of the puzzles I did not enjoy at all (see below) [*] More freedom in the tutorial sections to fully experiment and understand the rule sets would be appreciated [*] You never know, whether you are missing knowledge, need to enter an area from a different entrance or need to look at something in [b]the[/b] correct angle/from [b]the[/b] correct location. I had multiple occasions in which I disregarded crucial areas as "not reachable yet" and hence blocked my progress elsewhere. [*] Specifically for me the last third of the game was filled with puzzles where I saw the solution, but had to find [b]the[/b] correct angle/location, which was tedious and not fun at all [*] Even more frustrating are certain [b]necessary[/b] puzzles for which you are [b]not even able[/b] to get missing clues if you are in the wrong spot. This leads to overcomplicating the puzzle type, getting hyped about the complexity just to get disappointed in the end by the solution "you were in the wrong location to find a necessary element". [*] Puzzle types that are not difficult whatsoever but are artificially made annoying by introducing visual noise for no benefit [*] Puzzles towards the end have moving parts or have you moving around the world caused motion sickness for me [/list] [h2]Story and world building[/h2] [list] [*] Audio and video snippets that contain mainly religious and philosophic content of historical figures. While some of these monologues stimulate the brain, a lot are utterly horse****, sexist, have massive flaws in their chain of thought, or are imprecise in their wording. Overall a huge disappointment and waste of resources. This is not very surprising, since Jonathan Blow, which has straight up disgusting political stances, was the Producer and Director of this game. [/list] [h2]Bugs + missing QoL[/h2] [list] [*] No borderless windowed mode [*] A screenshot feature with an attached notebook would have been nice to document locations you are stuck at [*] When you click on a puzzle to solve it your character repositions themselves, which is not always helpful. Especially in puzzles that require to include the constraints of previous puzzles [/list]

when 1st playing this i asked myself why it was necessary to put simple shape puzzles in a adventure-like game world. 1. after conditioning you to recognise those shapes in the enviroment it makes sense. 2. it is just so relaxing!

Some of the best art direction in a game. Also, this game is like an Andrei Tarkovsky film!

A cozy and unusual experience of solving a variety of puzzles.

Great game with unique mechnics. Not recommended for unpatient people

58 minutes of pure joy. Oh, and the puzzles were a pleasant surprise...

Не тратье время.