The Witness

This game is 100% just line puzzels after line puzzels with the majority not showing you how exactly they must be solved leaving the player frustrated over not mind reading a puzzle. Its a pompous game with random historical quotes softley spoken throughout the game and made by a developer who thinks hes a god (from what Ive seen). The only positive is the beauty of the island, its incredible. 1/5 with the puzzles 4/5 without the puzzles

I wonder whether taking your time to look at a problem in different ways is not the norm for a lot of people but this game encourages you to take a step away from just guessing or breaking a puzzle and to analyse the mechanics. There can be a few puzzles which are annoyingly arduous to think through but I found this refreshing as it doesn't lead you by the hand. Pen and paper was a must! All but the most basic of puzzles I have encountered have had a defining eureka moment where the nature of the simplest first puzzles ring true to the very last. I think it encourages us to re-think how we think, trust that our first instincts may be off the mark and to persevere through multiple lines of thought so that it eventually rewards us with the answer. The Witness has been the first game in a while to make me think outside the box and to really test my deductive skills over the range of puzzles it showcases. There is so much more to this game than originally meets the eye and the latter stages will bring all you have learned to new depths and difficulties. For me, what you get from this game is determined by what you put in.

Now with his second game Jonathan Blow has made it evident that he is an excellent puzzle game maker / developer. The Witness is a great first person puzzle game with little exploration and a lot less story. Pros: + The game has tons of optional content so it can be finished by practically any adult but still offers a lot of challenge to those who are willing and able. + The average quality of the puzzles is great. + There is a surprising amount of variety in the puzzles regardless of the simple basic concept (drawing lines on a grid). + The game doesn't use tips, manuals, guides or anything else in teaching the mechanics to the player. It uses the player's own deduction. Cons: - Some of the puzzles are more about eliminating impossible approaches than figuring out the possible ones. - Due to the game challenging the player in so many ways, some people will have limitations that can make some of the puzzles feel impossible, unfair or illogical. - At least I wasn't able to find a proper story or similar experience in the game.

Upfront ...this is a masterpiece at all levels but there are two major issues. In some puzzles you almost have to enter the mind of its creator to figure it out and if you stop playing for some time when you come back you'll have to adapt all over again to the ways of the witness puzzle solving. It's a sure buy but be ready for a looooooooongplay of mindblowing graphics, soundtrack, philosophy and headscratching till you figure it all out. And hey! no help from google raises the bar for sure. -10/10-

Many of the puzzles are fun while many other are obtuse. Good for a short distraction. Unless you are a big puzzler, you will get frustrated.