Twelve kinds of taste
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Rate five things you know, from any shelf. Your archetype shows up in about a minute, and gets sharper with every log.
Rate five things you know, from any shelf. Your archetype shows up in about a minute, and gets sharper with every log.
Puzzle, Adventure, Indie, Science fiction
OpenCritic86IGDB88
The Witness is a single-player game in an open world with dozens of locations to explore and over 500 puzzles. This game respects you as an intelligent player and it treats your time as precious.
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Contemplative, demanding, cryptic and cool.
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A few lines from each review; the whole review is on the critic's site. Not part of Taste Buds's numbers.
Game RantBrad JonesFeb 20165/5 starsFollowing on from the massive success of Braid, The Witness is an engrossing and hugely satisfying experience that should solidify Jonathan Blow as one of the very best active game designers.
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IGNChloi RadJan 201610/10The Witness has a power and pull that carried me throughout the more than 40 hours it took to complete it for the first time, and that, even now, beckons me back to confront the mysteries I left unsolved. Its graceful combination of tangible goals, obscurity, and freedom creates ample opportunity for small victories and grand revelations alike. For the most part, its themes weave themselves beautifully throughout the gorgeous world and wide variety of puzzles, but even when it breaks subtlety in favor of a more heavy-handed approach to exposition, it never detracts from the truly fulfilling moments The Witness offers in terms of solving its physical puzzles and unlocking its deepest mysteries.
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Giant BombBrad ShoemakerJan 20165/5 starsThe intricate puzzles and tantalizing secrets of this starkly gorgeous, mystical island are enough to lose yourself in for dozens of hours.
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G4@SyfygamesJason FaulknerFeb 20164/10I really wish that I could have enjoyed The Witness in the way so many others seem to. I tried, really I did. I attempted to see what was so "mindtwisting," "transcendental," or how it provokes "natural epiphanies." I just couldn't though. All I saw were endless line puzzles which felt like endless padding, like the creation of the island itself was as far as the developer got in planning and then realized they had to have some sort of driving mechanism to justify it. The depressing thing about it all is that it's such a waste. The island is a lovely place, and its oversaturated colors give just the right touch to a world that is vaguely fantastical. If Blow had put some variety into the puzzles, preferably using the excellent environment to its fullest, and actually telling a story instead of the lazy minimalistic mess that we got, this title could have been a Myst for a new generation. Instead, it's a dull, frustrating, pointless hike through a lovely, colorful, dead place. If you're looking for the same effect on the cheap, I recommend a box of crayons, a puzzle book, and a nice coloring sheet. You can use the money you have left over to get a game worth your time.
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USgamerBob MackeyJan 20162/5 starsIt's easy to fall in love with The Witness, and even easier to have your heart broken by the callous indifference of Jonathan Blow's beautiful island. A healthy challenge is good for any game, but the puzzles on display here offer few inroads to understanding for those who can't think exactly like their creator.
Read the reviewSnippets via OpenCritic, where 80% of critics recommend it.
IGDB rating 8.5/10 from 536 ratings.
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Answer first; then see how everyone, and your circle, split.
“Is it too cool to love?”
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“Is The Witness a masterpiece, not merely a very good game?”
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“Does the ending land?”
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