Whenever I talk about The Witness, I do so hoping that my audience will get into the game. This immediately means I will only talk about the games qualities while trying not to give any examples, simply because I dont want to spoil any of the magnificent moments in this game. I will try to do the same here.



The Witness is a puzzle game based around a single core mechanic; the player is presented with grid panels on which they need to draw a line from the starting point of the grid to the end. This sounds amazingly simple and, in essence, it is. And it certainly starts out as such. However, as you soon will find out (and appreciate), and this goes for the entirety of the games 600+ puzzles, the puzzles grow evermore complex.



At the start you solve what one might call basic puzzles, each in succession slightly harder than the last. But then theres the added layer of extra elements being introduced into these puzzles. And in the presentation of these lie the games greatest strengths.



At times a new element is introduced by adding certain symbols to the grid. These will be new to the player, but through some astounding natural explanation and learning, the puzzles themselves will teach the player what the new symbol means and how puzzles of these kind need to be solved. When such a realization hits, the game gives the player a nice buzz. Hey look at me, I solved this, Im smart. And then the very next panel of the same kind comes along and its slightly harder or offers a certain variation, making the player think again. Only to come out victorious once again, with the same satisfying buzz.



An equally interesting type of puzzle solving is those, where the grid panel itself doesnt offer anything new, but the way to solve them is dictated by your surroundings. Its hard to talk about these without spoiling anything, so Ill just have to say for these puzzles it matters where you are, how (or from where) you are looking at them, or several other ways in which the environment matters in how to solve a panel. As with the earlier mentioned symbols, here too the player gets a well deserved feeling of accomplishment once a group of panels clicks because you just realized how to approach them.



If it had just been the former example (grid panels with different symbols on them), this could just as well have been one long sequence of panels. But instead, this puzzle game, despite being as simple in execution as it is, takes place on an island. A lush, beautifully realized and colorful island. The player starts in a tunnel, solving their first panel (without maybe even realizing this was puzzle #1) to come into an enclosed area where you learn the first few steps. But soon enough, you are let out and from that moment on are mostly free to wonder as you please.



While, especially early on, you may feel guided along a certain route naturally (and these are indeed the earlier starter puzzles) you will soon enough start to truly explore. The seamless island is divided in geographical regions, each with their own visual style; each region has its own set of puzzles based on a specific puzzle element. This also means that theres plenty of choice where to play next. If you are stuck on a certain puzzle type, simply move elsewhere and come back later with a fresh look. You need to solve parts of the island to open the final area, but in a wise move you dont need to solve all of them to see the ending proper, so if a certain puzzle type (or in fact, a particular puzzle) does not click with you, all hope is not lost.



The island is not only used to give environmental weight to some of the puzzle types, but is meant to be explored even outside the puzzles. There are a lot of nice references and easter eggs to be found, there are audio quotes and video logs and there might even be a whole nother layer of gameplay to be found and pursued.



To me personally, The Witness is the best game that was released in 2016. The combination of the sheer content, the presentation, the perfectly pitched teaching curve and the intense feeling of gratification make this stand shoulder to shoulder with other big games of the past year. When I first heard of the game, I hesitated on the price-tag, wondering how one dared charge $40 for a puzzle-game of all things. What a fool I was, this game is easily worth that, if not more. I cannot recommend it enough.

