The Witness

This is one of the best puzzle games and the ultimate one stroke drawing game. Before this game, I can't even imagine there're so many elements can be added to one stroke drawing. Both the quality and quantity of puzzles in the game are amazing. The first run will take 20+ hours, which is huge for a puzzle game.

Although the game has a reasonable learning curve, it's common to enter areas with unknown mechanisms and this could be frustrating at times. In fact, there's no explanation on any game symbols or mechanisms. It will be very painful if you don't get it from the limited hints. There's a guide in the community provided basic explanation without spoiling which is indeed useful.

There're only two achievements in the game. One for completing the game and the other one is a time limited challenge. The time limited challenge is difficult but doable after a few practices, provided you minimize the use of guides throughout the game. Or else, good luck.

In Braid, the developer's previous game, there's an annoying time limited challenge achievements as well. I hated that achievement all the while. But now after this game, I think maybe I can understand where the developer comes from better. Probably one day I will go back and finish that game.

Overall, this is a must play game for any player love strategy or puzzles.

When The Witness first came out in 2016, I remember players being very torn as to whether this was an engaging puzzle game, or a pretentious display of pseudo-intellect.
Before I had even owned the game, I knew of its developer from a 2012 documentary, “Indie Game: The Movie”. In this movie, Jonathan Blow talks about his experience with developing his indie title, “Braid”. He talks about how he deeply believes games can help people connect, and it seemed that he wanted to connect with people through this title. The game released, and was extremely popular at that time. It was a difficult puzzle game that involved time-manipulation. The mechanic was seen as novel and quirky, but people didn’t connect to the game and it’s message the way Jonathan had hoped they would. The movie shows a clip of rapper “Soulja Boy” showing his friends the time mechanic and laughing at the novelty of it, before cutting back to the interview with Jon, who expresses that he felt that they’re not seeing the important part of the game. He maybe felt like something he put a bit of his soul into was overlooked, and discarded as just a funny little puzzle game. I found this part actually a little saddening, as it felt like you could see someone desperately trying to make human connections that don’t quite materialise.
When The Witness was announced and I heard it was Jonathan’s new game, I had an immediate hope in my heart that this time he would feel that people understood the game in the way he hoped that they would.
The game released, and it was a mixed bag. Some people loved it, and I heard others saying this was not a fun puzzle game, but rather just pretentious nonsense. I worried that it had happened again.
The thing is, I think Jonathon is just a very smart man. You can just see when he talks, that he is just a deeply intellectual person. He is existing on a level far above the average person. You know the type of person that can draw entire city skylines from memory or answer any math problem you throw at them 2 seconds after you say it? That kind of level. So of course he would find it hard to connect to average people. When he spoke of his puzzles in braid, he spoke of them like they were quick easy little puzzles he threw together to just take you along the story. I have played a lot of puzzle games, and dare say, i’m not entirely dumb, but I have never finished Braid. The mental gymnastics you had to do to think ahead with the time mechanics were just too hard for me. The story progressed as you got through the chapters so I just got stuck, unable to move forward and connect to his story despite wanting to.
On the other side of things, I heard a lot of people say that those who called this game pretentious are just too stupid for the game. This is a pretty harsh thing to say. After playing it for myself I don’t think it’s just a skill issue, it can be, but I think the divide is also about what interests and drives you as an individual.
To enjoy The Witness I think you need two key things. First, you need to really enjoy puzzles. To the point where solving a puzzle and immediately getting another puzzle is not exhausting to you. Then secondly, I think you need to innately be a deeply curious person.
I myself enjoy puzzles, but not that much, so I get fatigued, but am usually happy to come back to them. This was ideal for me giving the world is open. Sure, I can’t figure out that puzzle now but you bet i’m keeping a note and coming back. That part, I guess I half-qualify. I am a very curious person though, so if you dangle a secret door in front of me that I need to understand and complete a puzzle in order to get into that door, I will keep coming back and keep trying. That will drive me.
The things you find in this game, usually in the form of audio logs or secret videos, are again things that are intriguing to the innately curious. If you enjoy philosophy and the curious nature of philosophy, the questioning of everything, you’ll get a lot out of this game.
If you don’t, I can 100% see why you might see this game as pretentious nonsense.
The island in this game is littered with curiosities, and that is mainly what kept me going. There are secret doors that unlock codes for you to use somewhere… it was exciting to find and to figure out where that code was relevant… then it was fun to explore the things it unlocked. I wanted to unlock them all and find any and all secrets. You can find puzzles in the environment itself, explore every inch of the island and for me, complete as much as possible. This game was challenging, but usually I was impressed by the variety of puzzle types that derived from the same puzzle concept. Some you use shadow, others sound, or light. One area in particular really impressed me. You need to use the concept of mixing coloured light to help solve the puzzles, which is incredibly unique.
The game kept me engaged until I finished as much as I felt I could and decided to finish the game.
and that’s the thing as well, there are X amount of areas you can complete, but you don’t need to complete all of them to be able to finish the game. There is a very reachable minimum and after that, it’s down to you how much you want to complete before you head to endgame.
In general, the world is beautiful and this game has a very slow pace. You are invited to interpret things however you wish, and it feels as if this is almost a meditative experience, where you are taught to be aware of your surroundings, explore, think outside of the box and contemplate.
I played this game many years ago, and got fixated on completing as much as possible. At the end, I discovered the secret challenge room which can grant you the only other achievement in the game other than for completing the game. I made a fair few attempts at the challenge, although admittedly not whole-heartedly. It really is a challenge, and you have to use everything you learn throughout the game to conquer it. I still haven’t done it today but will definitely be going back to try again at some point in future.
Achievements: Included
Just 2, complete the game and complete the secret challenge.
For more reviews of this genre, check out my curator page The Best: First-Person Puzzle Games
For more reviews of games with psychological, philosophical or thought-provoking themes, check out my curator page Psychology, Philosophy & Thought, where we review games that explore the mind, get you thinking or make you question.

On the surface it's just a collection of line puzzles but very quickly into the game expands into so much more than that. Gorgeous visuals & art style, sound design, everything feels methodically crafted and placed and begs to be explored and uncovered. Some might feel it's pretentious but the game doesn't force anything unto the player, it's up to you to piece everything together and take out whatever makes sense for you from the whole experience.

The Witness's deeper message is to make you witness how dumb you actually are
the premise of the game's puzzles is simple. draw line from start to finish. simple enough.
then, the game adds a few small mechanics that transforms the difficulty from dollar store coloring book to interviewing for a coding job at Google. The Witness is the Dark Souls of maze puzzles.
The Witness is the first game i have ever played where i have sat in my desk, staring at the same exact puzzle for 2 1/2 hours in the middle of the night with no solution, asking myself "what do the symbols mean mason?" over and over again.
i covered my hands and felt tears rolling down my eyes as i question my existence, not because of the impossible task laid before me, but because of all the philosophical quotes questioning society and reality scattered throughout the island
as i wipe the tears away, i realize the puzzle has permanently burned into my frontal lobe and the only clear solution i can come up with is to get a lobotomy which triggers the third ending that even the walkthroughs online haven't found yet.
once you play the game and finish it, the world will never look as it were again. you will see the puzzles. you must solve

I finally beat this game after playing it on and off for the past ten years. The game exists in a state of duality, it's both the most peaceful and frustrating thing. It allows you to explore the world at your own pace and yet you feel compelled to keep working on a puzzle until you crack the code. Very enjoyable, and I'm glad I can close the experience as a chapter of my life.

The game is a fine puzzler with mostly functional progression, but held back by how much a tortured artist Jonathan Blow thinks he is.

The Witness is a masterpiece that transcended my expectations and fundamentally changed the way I perceive not only games but the world around me. At its core, this is more than just a puzzle game—it’s an experience that invites you to question how you see and understand reality. From the moment I set foot on its mysterious island, I knew I was in for something profound, but I never anticipated how deeply it would rewire my thought processes.
As you progress, The Witness steadily expands your mind. Each puzzle is a test of perception, and the beauty of the game lies in its quiet, yet full of beautiful sound design and ambience, elegant genius. The further you go, the more you realize that the only thing limiting your understanding is your own perspective. The game doesn’t hand anything to you; it gives you the tools to succeed in a non-verbal way, but you have to be willing to look closer, to notice the subtle, intricate patterns hidden in plain sight.
The feeling of solving each puzzle is euphoric, but it’s more than that—it’s a revelation. You begin to understand that you aren’t just solving puzzles; you’re learning to observe, to pay attention to details that seemed irrelevant before. The more open you are to seeing beyond the surface, the more the world of The Witness reveals itself to you. And it’s not just about the puzzles themselves—it’s about how the game makes you realize that in life, too, we often only see what we’re willing to see.
Every area of the island is coherently themed around a specific idea. Each zone feels distinct, with its own set of rules, visual cues, and atmosphere, subtly guiding you to grasp the concept it’s trying to teach. Each area "is about something". The architecture, the unique artistic visuals and colors, and even the extremely well crafted sound design work together to gently nudge you towards understanding without ever spelling it out.
These areas aren’t just backdrops—they’re designed to suggest their secrets. As you explore, the way each space is crafted practically whispers clues to you, encouraging you to observe, experiment, and learn. The game operates on the principle that true understanding requires effort and introspection. If you rush through, you’ll miss the subtleties and nuances that make the experience so rich.
It’s this meticulous attention to detail that makes every part of the island feel alive and meaningful, pulling you into the game’s world and making each revelation feel earned.
And it never feels repetitive. Every puzzle introduces a fresh, new idea, challenging you in unique ways, and the game constantly forces you to think like a scientist. You’re not just guessing—you’re experimenting, forming hypotheses, testing them, and learning from each failure. Just when you think you’ve figured things out, it introduces a twist, or a partial carefully placed obfuscation, forcing you to adapt your thinking and test your hypothesis.
Puzzles don’t exist in isolation. Everything is connected to everything else. They build on one another, coming together in spectacular and often unimaginable ways. The process is methodical yet incredibly creative, as you're driven to break down problems, refine your approach, and discover the deeper logic behind each challenge. It’s like performing scientific experiments on your own perception. The further you go, the more you realize how the game’s mechanics compose a brilliant system that rewards careful observation and persistent curiosity. Each solution opens up new layers of understanding in ways that are mind-blowing.
In essence, The Witness teaches that meaningful insight is born from patience and curiosity, making every moment spent in its world incredibly valuable.
Thank you, Jon. :)