The Witness (from the maker of Braid)

[TheDirtyHobo]

I hate pre-rec. Rich just thinks that because his friends are good movie critics, he must be a good game critic no matter what inane shit he spouts. His guest appearances are the worst part of RLM. I mad.

[Lyall]

I watched what I think was an Easter Egg ending on Youtube.

Spoiler: show

You can access it within three minutes of beginning the game.

Spoiler: show

You walk through a cave with bizarre imagery that is "profound" while the narrator recites fuck-awful "deep" dialogue, and then it fades to black. The game was all a dream and the ending cutscene was some guy walking around his apartment, all shot with live footage from first person perspective after waking up.

It strikes me as a "game as art" sort of game, which rebounds off of my inner proto-hipster. Not making a statement for the sake of making a statement that you're not making a statement is the game equivalent of a blank canvas hanging on a wall. I get it, but I'm not getting it. Seems/feels pretentious.

...I'll buy it when it's on sale.

[Odesseiron]

I hate pre-rec. Rich just thinks that because his friends are good movie critics, he must be a good game critic no matter what inane shit he spouts. His guest appearances are the worst part of RLM. I mad.

While this has nothing to do with the game directly, I can't fucking stand Rich Evans. He is completely obnoxious, and his laugh just grates at my nerves to the point where if he's on any HITB episode, I just turn it off. Mike & Jay are obnoxious, but in a funny sort of I observational picking the movie apart sort of way. Rich just moans like a fanboy. I really wish they'd stop putting him in their videos.

[Quicklet]

I watched what I think was an Easter Egg ending on Youtube.

Spoiler: show

You can access it within three minutes of beginning the game.

Spoiler: show

You walk through a cave with bizarre imagery that is "profound" while the narrator recites fuck-awful "deep" dialogue, and then it fades to black. The game was all a dream and the ending cutscene was some guy walking around his apartment, all shot with live footage from first person perspective after waking up.

It strikes me as a "game as art" sort of game, which rebounds off of my inner proto-hipster. Not making a statement for the sake of making a statement that you're not making a statement is the game equivalent of a blank canvas hanging on a wall. I get it, but I'm not getting it. Seems/feels pretentious.

...I'll buy it when it's on sale.

To be honest, that kind of stuff is not that prevalent in the game. I mean it's there and if that kind of stuff deeply bothers you then you might not be able to get past the stuff that does get presented to you in the game from time to time, but the overwhelming majority of gameplay is not like that at all.

Spoiler: show

I think you are reading too much into this "ending" (which I wouldn't really call this anyway). 95% of the game is nothing like this, and the 5% that is can be ignored pretty easily if you wish to do so. There's really no plot/narrative to the game except that which you create yourself while playing it.

The game is incredibly good (and fun) as a puzzle/exploration game and is absolutely worth it if you like those gameplay elements.

[Daydreamer]

There's a huge reddit thread where people are trying to find the "true ending." It makes sense that it exists as there's a cave system that you can glimpse with puzzles locking the doors. Sometimes you can actually see the puzzle but can't access it. So far no one has figured out how to get in. Also no one has a clue where the last door is yet with the last hexagon cipher.

[TheDirtyHobo]

I'm sure finding all the elemental puzzles has something to do with it.

9 lasers done, went to finally end, the entrance puzzle was goddamn nasty, and the amount of eye strain the first two rooms are causing is enough to just call it for the night.

[Kaisha]

I'm at six lasers currently. Swampy tree-tops area is kicking my ass where the puzzle platforms like to go easy-easy-easy-easy-easy-stumpedfor2hours, repeat.

Still pacing myself, game gets mentally fatiguing for me. Although I wouldn't mind knowing if

Spoiler: show

Some areas with tutorial puzzles are blocked off until later? I'm stuck with a couple puzzles that would lead to a laser, but they employ rules I haven't learned yet, although I feel like I've been around all the areas in the island already as far as the boat routes and on foot go, besides a couple unpowered doors/gates.

[Daydreamer]

I'm at six lasers currently. Swampy tree-tops area is kicking my ass where the puzzle platforms like to go easy-easy-easy-easy-easy-stumpedfor2hours, repeat.

Still pacing myself, game gets mentally fatiguing for me. Although I wouldn't mind knowing if

Spoiler: show

Some areas with tutorial puzzles are blocked off until later? I'm stuck with a couple puzzles that would lead to a laser, but they employ rules I haven't learned yet, although I feel like I've been around all the areas in the island already as far as the boat routes and on foot go, besides a couple unpowered doors/gates.

Spoiler: show

No, all tutorials are open from the beginning. You just have to find them. For a minor hint that's not spoilery - once you find the boat it gives map of the island with symbols next to various locations. These symbols relate to where on the island you learn the various mechanics. If you need help on a specific mechanic let me know and I'll tell you where to head

[Lyall]

To be honest, that kind of stuff is not that prevalent in the game. I mean it's there and if that kind of stuff deeply bothers you then you might not be able to get past the stuff that does get presented to you in the game from time to time, but the overwhelming majority of gameplay is not like that at all.

Spoiler: show

I think you are reading too much into this "ending" (which I wouldn't really call this anyway). 95% of the game is nothing like this, and the 5% that is can be ignored pretty easily if you wish to do so. There's really no plot/narrative to the game except that which you create yourself while playing it.

The game is incredibly good (and fun) as a puzzle/exploration game and is absolutely worth it if you like those gameplay elements.

Fair. I'm colored by JBlow's attitude on social media and stuff. If the puzzles are good, I'll end up picking this up and enjoying it, I just know that I've got (exaggerated) troubles with "THIS IS ART" presentations. The dialogue in that video I watched was middle school poetry class level, but if that's lacking the whole time? Yeah, sign me up.

[Quicklet]

Understandable. I'm put off by his whining about piracy of the game, but the game is still good enough for me to want to support it. If you want to make a comparison to Braid, this game is much more fun and has much more content. I also feel the same way about Phil Fish. Not a fan of the way the dude comports himself, but he made a really fun puzzle game and I would rather have more fun, unique puzzle games with pretentious asshole developers than fewer of them with really nice developers.

[Kaisha]

Spoiler: show

No, all tutorials are open from the beginning. You just have to find them. For a minor hint that's not spoilery - once you find the boat it gives map of the island with symbols next to various locations. These symbols relate to where on the island you learn the various mechanics. If you need help on a specific mechanic let me know and I'll tell you where to head

Ended up finding one spot I needed to get to learn about certain blocks.

Spoiler: show

It was one of those damn puzzles that has multiple answers that affect an elevator/platform I didn't realize from earlier on in the game that led me to getting where I needed.

Also kinda regretting this for PS4 given the amount of times I've now taken a screenshot, copied it on a USB, then taken to Photoshop on the PC. Lack of ingame note or overlay tools kinda sucks for me.

Spoiler: show

I can't work out the harder Tetris + rotated pieces puzzles like this in my head, so I bump it over and shuffle layers about.

Spoiler: show

[TheDirtyHobo]

502 puzzles finished, 11 lasers and challenge gauntlet done, 5/6 movies found, I think I'm about finished with the game for a while. Scouring for environmental puzzles to fuck with the obelisks just isn't fun to me, which is the vast majority of puzzles I have left unless I missed a whole area.

Spoiler: show

The ending is incredibly unsatisfying and pointless. I don't really know what I expected, though. Somewhere I hope Jonathan Blow is silently raging about how no one understands his art.

[Quicklet]

Spoiler: show

Once I stopped expecting any kind of story or narrative from the game, the ending didn't bother me too much. The only parts of the game which felt a little annoying were the sound puzzles and the mountain color seizure puzzles. I'm pretty close to where you are in terms of completion, 85-90% of puzzles done, but I almost never felt like the game was being unfair or purposefully obtuse.

The game was fun and a really enjoyable experience for me. It definitely surpassed expectations, but I can tell it's going to be polarizing where people either love it or think it's overrated/pretentious. I'll probably end up replaying it at some point just because there are so many little easter eggs you can find all over the place. It also sounds like it's selling well enough (despite Blow's annoying whining about piracy) that he'll be able to make another game like this at some point which is cool.

[Daydreamer]

Spoiler: show

I'll admit I totally cheated on the sound puzzles. I'm basically tone deaf and I knew what I had to do and was able to do the first few but as soon as other noises were added I couldn't tell the difference at all in anything and I really don't think I ever would.

Also omg the music box. I've been trying it for over an hour and still haven't even gotten to the final two puzzles of it. I think I just figured out a nice trick though that should help with that. Also does anyone know what panels above the music box represent?

[TheDirtyHobo]

Spoiler: show

I want expecting any narrative or anything from the ending, but that doesn't make a magical flying disintegrating elevator ride around the island accompanied by pretentious, nonsensical narration a good or satisfying ending.

Any puzzle that involves changing colors was pretty much horseshit. I'm a strong believer that anything required to solve a puzzle should be within the game itself, so ones that make you get a piece of paper or open up photoshop are really annoying. Other than that, there was only one puzzle that ever felt unfair; the mirrored pillar path dots on the challenge gauntlet. That was only because of the fact you can't see what's going on on the other side and were on a strict time limit, so it was mostly hoping you got the really easy pattern.

[Daydreamer]

Spoiler: show

I want expecting any narrative or anything from the ending, but that doesn't make a magical flying disintegrating elevator ride around the island accompanied by pretentious, nonsensical narration a good or satisfying ending.

Any puzzle that involves changing colors was pretty much horseshit. I'm a strong believer that anything required to solve a puzzle should be within the game itself, so ones that make you get a piece of paper or open up photoshop are really annoying. Other than that, there was only one puzzle that ever felt unfair; the mirrored pillar path dots on the challenge gauntlet. That was only because of the fact you can't see what's going on on the other side and were on a strict time limit, so it was mostly hoping you got the really easy pattern.

You're complaining because a puzzle game actually requires you to maybe take out a piece of paper????

Also you don't have to pull out any paper for the color changing ones if you think about it logically. Granted, it did take a while to figure it out just in my head but it is possible. The only time I ever had to 'write' anything down was the challenge dungeon by taking a pic of the 4'th puzzle for the maze solution.

Also the pillar puzzles at the end don't reset everything if you fail them unlike the rest of the challenge dungeon. You can pretty easily figure them out after a few quick trial and errors. Most patterns on those last 2 puzzles aren't really that bad compared to the rest of the challenge (screw that part with 2 impossible panels. Sometimes it was easy, but it usually caused my downfall).

[Aerin]

Bought this about a week ago and the fiance and I are loving it so far, it's a good game to play together.

Spoiler: show

We had over 380 puzzles done and thought we were getting towards the end with like 9 lasers going, then we found our first environment puzzle that activated an obelisk... mind blown. Awesome!