They’re all more or less presented on futuristic-looking panels that are unlocked by drawing the correct path for a maze. One even created a boat to make it easier to traverse the lands. Some serve as a beacon pointing the way to a mountain. When completed, neon tubes light up, essentially “turning on” the island, which then leads to the next puzzle. Each builds upon what the player has learned before, subtly adding new elements so that every individual test feels fresh. Others require the careful review of the nearby environment and can be solved by a shift in perspective or a reflection of the sun. Some puzzles are as simple as isolating different shapes or colors. That is, it’s taxing and difficult, but understanding it appears to unlock a whole new way of thinking. It’s a game built for patient contemplation, and playing it, especially when it’s at its most arduous, reminds me of learning Spanish in high school. I like knowing that “The Witness” remains unsolved, that its puzzles and questions are in need of a closer study. After all, I’m not so sure this is a game I want to be able to power through in a weekend. I’ve already read that there are people who have completed “The Witness.” I’m slightly jealous of their intellect. The trail to the top of the mountain? I’m sure I’m missing something among all those nooks and crannies amid the forest, perhaps another Albert Einstein audio recording. The town at the feet of a windmill? I can’t begin to tell you how to enter any of its buildings. ![]() I just haven’t fully come around to the game’s point of view yet. No, “The Witness” has made me feel as if there’s another way to see the world. Yet I don’t have the sense of failing or simply coming up with the wrong answer. I’m a dozen-plus hours into “The Witness,” and the bulk of its puzzles remain unsolved. It just wants you to think about shapes and figures and lines as if they’re ideas - a long-lost language, perhaps, just waiting for someone ardent enough to crack it. It is smarter than me.īut “The Witness” isn’t out to fool you. Chances are the game will be smarter than you. Try to uncover our secrets, it seems to be saying. How, for example, do you interpret the meaning of two yellow blocks on a grid? What about a frame with a red arrow? Or one with a tree blossoming in its center? It’s as if the island is alive and analyzing the personality of the player. ![]() ![]() At times, it creates the sensation of stepping into a wondrous psychological experiment. Blow was a star in 2012’s Sundance success story “Indie Game: The Movie,” and “Braid’s” success has made “The Witness,” available now for the PlayStation 4 and PCs, one of the first highly anticipated games of 2016.Įach correct solution offers but a small peek into a handcrafted tropical universe. “The Witness” was developed by a small team led by Jonathan Blow, an independent game designer best known for the vexing time-bending game “Braid,” one of the first breakout hits of the independent era.
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