The Witness

Game looks good, I was really hoping for 20 too

well, i beat it but cheated once in the mountain at the ground floor. bleh, i was fixated and couldn't think of anything else. it goes to show you how one thinks. that said, don't cheat. you're cheating yourself out of yourself and out of the ingenuity of the succession of logic of the puzzles. and, it's then too easily to say in retrospect that you would have solved it eventually. it may not be the case.

the problem i have is my expectation that i be rewarded for each puzzle. i associate this as a game, and i associate games as, on the whole, fun. there is a school-like drudgery when you can't solve something and are up against a wall when i came across the puzzle i couldn't beat. in this regard, it is more like science than a game.

it is deeply rewarding but not in a narrative vicarious actiony way.

my main complaint is that there are some puzzles which take away the play-ability for potential for nongamers, to which i think would resonate well with if not for otherwise. my mom wouldn't be able to play braid, portal or talos. the nongamer friendly panels are:

Just beat it. A lot of great puzzles that can be mostly lumped into 2 categories: 1) multiple rule following 2) visual (and sometimes audio) cues from the surrounding environment. A few of them are really obscure and annoying.

But the ending is.... bleh. I can't believe he actually went there, its much too over-indulgent even for Blow.

Luxer_sl said:

Just beat it. A lot of great puzzles that can be mostly lumped into 2 categories: 1) multiple rule following 2) visual (and sometimes audio) cues from the surrounding environment. A few of them are really obscure and annoying.

But the ending is.... bleh. I can't believe he actually went there, its much too over-indulgent even for Blow.

Click to expand...

I love watching people on Twitch reach the music challenge for the first time, and watch their reactions as they learn its various twists on the rules. The levels of cursing increase exponentially the further they get. Plus the music is perfectly paired with the level of panic near the end.

Tantrik_sl said:

Spoiler

which one?

Click to expand...

Intrinsic_sl said:

Small question since I've tried to avoid any spoilers and it is hard to find an answer, but...

Is the whole game these line puzzles? Or is there actually a good variety in the vein of Myst and what-not?

Click to expand...

I'm going to steal an analogy that I've seen in several reviews/video commentaries on the game. Describing The Witness as just about line puzzles would be like describing Mario as a game just about jumping. It's a concept that the game establishes in its most basic form, and then explores it in ways you just have to experience to understand.

Other reviews have likened it to a secret Metroidvania type game where you power up your brain as you wonder the island, and slowly unlock the ability to decipher puzzle panels in one area after you have gone to a different area and learned its secrets.

So yes, the line puzzles are the core mechanic of the game, just like jumping is the core mechanic of Mario, but the way the players experiences the island through and around these puzzles is what makes The Witness a special game.

Luxer_sl said:

Spoiler

The 100% ending where you see real video from Blow's house

Click to expand...

Yeah, I definitely agree that it is over-indulgent. I just didn't mind it. I think we've had a distinct lack of pretentiousness in good games for awhile, so a big dose didn't bother me.

So I guess if I've always held the opinion that Myst popularized a sub-genre of adventures that doesn't have a single entry worth playing, and I think that Blow's pretentious asshattery is second only to Phil Fish, there's probably not much point to checking out this game?

Tantrik_sl said:

I'm going to steal an analogy that I've seen in several reviews/video commentaries on the game. Describing The Witness as just about line puzzles would be like describing Mario as a game just about jumping. It's a concept that the game establishes in its most basic form, and then explores it in ways you just have to experience to understand.

Other reviews have likened it to a secret Metroidvania type game where you power up your brain as you wonder the island, and slowly unlock the ability to decipher puzzle panels in one area after you have gone to a different area and learned its secrets.

So yes, the line puzzles are the core mechanic of the game, just like jumping is the core mechanic of Mario, but the way the players experiences the island through and around these puzzles is what makes The Witness a special game.

Click to expand...

but jumpman is about jumping..