The Witness

4 September 2016

👍 Recommended (46.4 hrs on record)

This is one of the greatest games I have ever played. It's a game you can truly get lost in, with a definitive meditational quality to it. Some of the puzzles are really hard, and you will get stuck. Luckily the game is extremely nonlinear: you can always move on to another puzzle and come back later with a fresh mind.

This game teaches you how to solve puzzles without using spoken language, opting for symbols instead. Your inner grammarian will connect the dots little by little and by the end you can solve any puzzle using just logic and the new language you have acquired.

The island this game takes place in is extremely beautiful and rewards exploration. The island is divided into smaller themed areas with great variety between them.

Most of the negative reviews seem to stem from either misplaced expectations coming from Braid or the lack of story through dialogue. It is a solitary experience, which works very well in a puzzle game like this. The statues around the island tell their own kind of story, but if you just breeze past them you might miss it completely.

Essential purchase for any puzzle game fans.

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