| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| PlayStation 4 | 9.70 |
| Overall | 9.70 |
|
By now you know I love puzzles, almost every review I make of games says something like “could use more puzzles”. Puzzles make you think, it makes you analyze the game you are playing in new ways. Most importantly it makes the environment meaningful it what would otherwise be just a series of floors and walls to move you forward. Now imagine a game that is nothing but those stimulating puzzles in a sizable open world ripe with secrets. That is The Witness, an ambitious puzzle game that uses a basic system of tracing a line through a maze to complete a huge variety of puzzles. The relationship between the puzzles and environment is better than any game I have ever played and makes The Witness an instant classic. As soon as the game begins you are dropped into this mysterious island with no real explanation or story. Your curiosity is what drives you forward; why am I here, why all these puzzles? My main motivation was simply” I can't wait to see what puzzle is next!” The way the witness introduces concepts to the player is genius. There are no prompts, no waypoints; the game simply puts an obstacle in front of you and allows you to figure out how to get past it. All puzzles are solved by using a panel that has some kind of lines on it with a circle beginning point and a curved endpoint. You trace from the beginning to the end but the requirements to solve the puzzle changes drastically depending on the puzzle. These always begin with a simple task that serves to teach you the rules of the current kind of puzzle. You finish one panel and the next activates, teaching you another layer to rules, and so on until you have the knowledge to solve the most complex of that kind of puzzle. Learning how to solve the puzzles are like gaining a new item in a Zelda game that allows you to access new areas, they are mental keys so to speak. Within minutes you will be let loose in this beautiful island filled with mystery. The world is not gigantic but it is incredibly dense, nearly every object and placement is placed with reason. I walked around green plains toward a cliff side reef where a boat house stood, inside strange colored vases were on display but didn't seem to serve any function at the moment. I find a warped panel which introduces a new rule set for those panels that eventually activate a boat that can be used to travel along the island. I sailed to a quarry filled with puzzles with symbols that are alien to me, I had yet to learn what those meant so I continued my journey to find where I should go next. I stumbled onto a desert with a large pyramid hooked up with loads of panels. A small metallic picture frame next to a flower sat on the path to the temple, the sunlight reflected off the metal revealing a pattern depending on where I stood. I reach the panels at the temple and I can't see the lines, but with some careful movement the sunlight reveals the pattern on the panel. The panels get more and more complex, certain panels don't allow for a reflection from anywhere I was standing on the ground so I had to find other paths to see it. And this is the genius of The Witness, it's not just line puzzles, or logic puzzles, perspective and movement in the 3D world plays a huge role. I just gave you a small taste of what exploring and solving puzzles is like. The reflections is but one unique way the puzzles are solved, discovering those on your own is part of the enjoyment. I will just say that the variety is incredible, just when you thought there couldn't be another kind of puzzle the game throws another genius way to solve them. If there is a negative it would be that some areas rely too much on simply panel puzzles, like the tetris puzzles, that don’t use the environment in any way, they are still head scratchers but not as interesting as the others. When you get a series of these in a row it can be a bit tiring. Other than that this game is fantastic, really only people not interested in puzzle games would find critique in it. Each area of the island is themed with a new kind of puzzle and solving that sections set activates a light that is shined at a mountain peak, that serves as your end goal. As you explore you may discover audio logs with someone narrating a quote from famous scientists and philosophers, just like everything else in The Witness these are hand picked quotes placed in deliberate places to fit a sort of theme on how to think, maybe to change your perspective. As time goes on a central theme begins to emerge, it covers science and religion, and the human quest for knowledge. Hidden rooms hold access puzzles that allow you to view videos, once again handpicked videos to stimulate your mind (or just confuse the hell out of you like the damn candle video). I love this kind of storytelling, it's not in your face, you discover it much in the same way you solve puzzles. What makes this game so special is that It's a game about science and the scientific method. The puzzles are solved by first learning the rules of what you are studying and applying the rules to new problems while changing a few variables. Each step adds a new element to the puzzle so you slowly reason your way through a series of these puzzles. These are not random trial and error puzzles, or the illogical puzzles that filled adventure games. They don’t follow any video game tropes of puzzle design The entire game is built upon the power of knowledge and observation. It's the ultimate stimulation of the mind. Games have the ability to make you an active participate, it is the core element of what makes a game a game. Not story, not visuals, not music; the gameplay is what makes a game, the interaction of the player to the game. Too few games use that interaction to stimulate the thirst for knowledge by allowing puzzle solving, to me that is always some of the most rewarding gaming experiences. This game does that in such a way that it uses this medium to create puzzles that cannot be done anywhere else. If the game was just a series of panel line puzzles you could find that in any puzzle book. Even if you create a puzzle theme park where you can walk around in a 3D space there is still an element of fantasy that can only be done in game form. The Witness is one of the best recent examples of the power of this medium when used the right way, with the focus on gameplay. It will take 20-30 hours to light up all the lights and climb the mountain to discover the secrets within. At some point whether on your own or through the the game showing you at a later part, you will discover the hidden twist that will make you look at everything differently. This alone will double your play time, this opens up so many more avenues of exploration, that magical feeling you get when you discover a secret. There is so much more to do even if you complete the “main quest” and the revelation of the story comes from the hidden areas. The Witness is nothing short of a masterpiece. It stimulates the mind in the way so few games do, it challenges you to view things in a new way not just physically but philosophically. It is filled to the brim with the most genius puzzles put into a game which are never unfair. You will need to document notes, take pictures, even give your brain a rest sometimes just to be able to solve some of these puzzles. I loved every second with this game and I still have more to do. Each area felt like a Zelda dungeons stripped of all enemies and filled with just puzzles, puzzles I wish Zelda would strive to include. This is the best puzzle game I have ever played in my life. |
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Posted by Dvader Fri, 11 Mar 2016 22:14:09
next
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Fri, 11 Mar 2016 22:44:52
Great review. I loved getting lost on the island. I'm a little bummed that once you finish and get the soft ending, it seems impossible to go back and finish the rest of the puzzles. I really considered platinum in the game, but doesn't look possible now.
Sat, 12 Mar 2016 00:41:45
What? It saves the game right before you see the ending. Just load it up.
Sat, 12 Mar 2016 00:46:17
Mine saved on the elevator with the door closed. I couldn't find a way off.
Sat, 12 Mar 2016 00:50:50
Look down, the line to open the door is on the bottom.
Sat, 12 Mar 2016 00:55:51
Also make sure to start a new game and pay attention in the first area. You will find a major secret in plain sight.
Sat, 12 Mar 2016 01:03:02
Thanks! I'm not sure how I missed that. Maybe I'll platinum this one day.
Sat, 12 Mar 2016 01:51:59
I just platinumed it today. The final trail is amazing.
Sat, 12 Mar 2016 15:38:45
Can I get a witness?
Sat, 12 Mar 2016 15:48:52
Aww, don't get that song in my head again.
Fri, 18 Mar 2016 08:39:12
Thanks to this review I have now decided to buy and play this game. What locked the deal was likening this to science and scientific method. Very few things in life do I enjoy more than problem solving using formal logic and deductive reasoning. Thank you Mr Vader.
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