Before buying I've read a couple of reviews here, and what I've read seemed right up my alley: peaceful game that lets you explore a quiet scenery with line puzzles scattered around. However, despite liking both walking simulators AND puzzles, the game just... was not enjoyable for me. It felt boring, repetitive, and the graphics were more confusing than pretty or helpful. Too bad, I was really looking forward to have fun with this one.
stunningly beautiful graphics. smooth play without glitches. but .... no story, no reason ... then the puzzles are all of the same style which makes you not look forward to the next one because you already know what is coming. once you figure out their logic it becomes easy to solve them. a variety of puzzles with different kind of challenges will greatly help here.
if the same effort and imagination used to create graphics was applied to create the story i would give this game 5 stars. in spite of the monotonous puzzles. this way it feels boring and empty. it feels at times like the game is not finished because you keep asking yourself why all that ? why all those puzzles and so many .... what really happened there ? i guess we will never know.
The puzzles aren't that great, but there are some really good ones. Overall they are easy. People that don't really like puzzles that much will still enjoy this game because the puzzles shouldn't frustrate you, and there is a generous learning curve for every single mechanic.
But if you do not like exploration, and I mean DEEP exploration, then do not play this game. I love Myst, but this game goes too far in terms of the amount of aimless exploring you need to do at a certain point in the game. I will be honest - I have not beaten this game fully, but that is because I don't want to spend my entire day walking around the island looking for... well I won't tell you because it would spoil the "fun" for those that find it fun. I'd rather go solve puzzles in some other game, because that's what I enjoy - puzzle solving.
If you like to go on long nature walks and just marvel at how beautiful nature is, and you have a good enough computer to make this game look pretty, then get this game 100%. If you just like solving challenging puzzles - are a fan of the Myst franchise, then stay away... stay far away.
From one perspective, everyone who says, that there is nothing except puzzles and a couple of good views, is right. And there is pretty much zero motivation to explore the Island except your own curiosity. There are tiny pieces of story and a lot of hints you can easily miss, which still don't give you a solid storyline. But, man, just look at it! Google -> the witness screenshots -> pictures. This game looks really amazing. Everything is in place and everything looks handcrafted and breathtaking. Yes, almost all puzzles have the same goal, but I'd never say that they are silly or repetive. A lot of them are pretty hardcore, so get something to draw and brace yourself for brain training.
And of course, like it said almost everywhere, prepare for the fact you won't get any clues or tutorials. If you don't want to use walkthrough, prepare to spending a lot of time just staring at one puzzle only to give up and go elsewhere, until you accidentally find an area which kinda explains you how to solve this kind of puzzle.
However, when you finally figure out how to pass this one damn door, it's just pure happiness.
If you don't like puzzles, if you require a good storyline, you probably shouldn't buy this game just to write a negative review. This isn't a product which may entertain everyone, but if you really into hardcore puzzlers, this is absolutely must buy for you.
Someone said that this game is just a smartphone unlocking simulator. It's rough, but honest comparison. Howerver, it's still so beatifull and so hardcore, and so well made, that it's totally worth its price.
This puzzles in this game are solid. The Island is beautiful. Little details scattered around make it phenomenal. It is such a shame to see all that thrown away when they refuse to reward you for you effort. The ending is lack luster and there is almost no incentive to completing anything optional unless you're an achievement hunter. I wasted my time, please don't waste yours.
