The Witness

My favorite game in a decade, but it's not for everyone. It's a no-tutorial kind of game. Each puzzle type is introduced gradually so you can get the hang of it before tackling the complex stuff, but you must thrive in self-teaching to get that far. The puzzles, though, are awesome. They're all based on a simple concept but that concept is twisted around and turned on its head in so many ways you won't believe it each time another variation comes up. Beware of reviews with < 10 hours. You can "beat the game" in probably five hours. The real magic, though, is in a secret that adds 40 hours of gameplay. The trouble is, you have to enjoy the puzzles enough to get to the point where you discover the extra gameplay. Not for everyone

There is a general dichotomy I have noticed when people talk about The Witness. There are people who adore the game, and there are people who hate it. There are people who view it as a pinnacle of the artform, and there are people who think it's pretentious garbage. Me? Personally? I find The Witness to be a brilliant game. But you might disagree. The majority of The Witness is solving puzzles. A vast majority. They are good puzzles. They are thoroughly engaging and clever puzzles. Some of the twists on mechanics are outstanding and mindbending. Almost all the puzzles are designed in a way that make solving them impossible unless you understand the mechanics. They're the investment of the game, and they're truly fantastic. An amount of the puzzles, unfortunately, are designed in such a way that kind of throw colorblind people (in certain, specific areas) and tone deaf (or deaf people at

This game is amazing, but not for everyone. As has been noted, it is a fiendishly difficult puzzler. It has garnered many negative reviews, mostly from people expecting it to be a puzzle-adventure game, which it is NOT. It has suffered in it's comparisons to Myst, but it really isn't like that at all. EVERY SINGLE PUZZLE consists of drawing line-path through a grid or symbol. Every one. Nothing else. Every interaction with the world is triggered by drawing a line-path through a grid or symbol. You cannot interact with the world in any other way. The environment itself often plays a key role in the puzzles, whether it be clues to the puzzle lurking in the environment, or driving the solution of the puzzle itself. Yet... and here is why the game is great and totally worth the $40 price of admission... something subtle starts to happen to you as you complete puzzle after puzzle. HOW you s

almost as good as The Looker

To start with, a word of caution - If you do not enjoy trying to understand puzzles, you will not enjoy this game. Note I say "understand" instead of "solve", because the distinction is important. Solving a puzzle is rewarding to anyone. It's easy enough to appreciate getting the solution after struggling with a puzzle for a while. Games like Portal make great use of this. Portal is about finding the solution that will let you move on. The Witness is different. The Witness is a game about understanding puzzles. Understanding a puzzle is about more than just finding a solution. It's about knowing how the puzzle works. It's about knowing what makes a solution a solution. You could be shown the answer to many of the puzzles in the game and be immediately and totally stuck on the next puzzle. Why? Because you didn't understand the puzzle. You don't understand why that solution is a