The Witness

In 2008, game developer Jonathan Blow released Braid, which proved to be a major success for him. His follow-up game, The Witness, actually piqued my interest on the premise of it being a puzzle-based game taking place on an island in homage to Myst. When the game finally came out in 2016, I was one of many who was turned off by the initial $40 price tag, though I still kept track of the game on digital platforms to see when it would reach a good discount. I ultimately ended up finally playing the game when it became available for free for PlayStation Plus members in March 2019. While I did feel the 3-year wait was worth it, I overall have mixed feelings about my experience.

The game begins in an underground tunnel where you solve some simple puzzles to open two doors and reach a patio. Here, you learn the basic gameplay involves drawing lines on a panel to solve puzzles and advance through the island. When you get outside this starting area, you are able to freely traverse the island with the ultimate goal of reaching the mountain top in the distance. To do this, you must solve puzzles all around the island of varying complexity and rule sets in order to activate a minimum of 7 out of 11 lasers in order to access the secrets of the mountain.

A view of the island seen from above.

As someone who enjoys a good puzzle game, I will say that the puzzles were very cleverly designed and pushed my critical thinking skills to their limits, though I will admit I resorted to a walkthrough to solve some of the more patience-intensive puzzles. That said, there are plenty of things to explore in the island, including a number of hidden areas and puzzles that may keep you guessing and provide a lot of replay value to those willing to put in the time. One thing that deserves mention though is that some puzzles involve colors and one area (that I did not explore, though I read about it) has puzzles relying purely on the use of sound, which may prove difficult to solve for those who are color blind or deaf/hard-of-hearing; fortunately, not every laser requires this, though not even that may stop you from needing to consult a strategy guide at certain points. Another part of the gameplay is that you cannot jump or fall off of anything, which is overall more of a blessing in this game than a hindrance.

Another plus I can give The Witness is the graphics, which have aged pretty well over the last few years. Each area of the island has a distinct, yet somewhat ominous, feel to it despite being part of the same island, which I appreciate as it provides a lot of visual variety to what is already beautiful scenery. The general lack of music throughout the game also adds to the ominous feeling of the island, especially with some obelisks found across the environment giving off an unsettling droning noise. There are also some hidden audio logs that provide philosophical quotes tying into the game’s central themes, as well as some I managed to pass over in the endgame that reveal the true nature of the island, each of them delivered by some fairly major talent, among them Ashley Johnson of The Last of Us and Teen Titans fame, as well as Phil LaMarr of Samurai Jack fame.

The island has an ominous feel underneath its lush exterior.

The Witness is a solid experience with some increasingly mind-boggling puzzles and lush scenery that puzzle game aficionados may enjoy, especially fans of games such as Myst. Fans of Braid may get some enjoyment out of this as well, though I’m not sure the experience is worth the initial $40 price tag. As this game is free for PlayStation Plus users (as of this writing), I would suggest checking this game out now or when it’s reasonably discounted on digital storefronts.