Post by KostaAndreadis @ 02:19pm 27/01/16 | 15 Comments
It's been a long time coming but Jonathan Blow's The Witness is finally out for PC and PlayStation 4. What exactly is The Witness? Well it's a puzzle and exploration game where the tagline pretty much says it all. "You wake up, alone, on a strange island full of puzzles that will challenge and surprise you." Early reviews on the game have all been positive, with many publications highlighting the huge world to explore and satisfaction that comes from unlocking its numerous mysteries.
IGN, Polygon, Eurogamer, and PC Gamer, all praise the experience. In a sense it sort of feels like we're back in 1993 and everyone is raving about Myst. But then again that went on to become one of the highest selling games of all time. In today's climate, a title focusing on puzzles and exploration is almost immediately labeled a niche or indie experience. By no means is The Witness a small game, a huge part of the delay in it being released this year instead of, say, 2014, was due to the title expanding in scope. So much so that the final game is said to offer up dozens of hours of gameplay, somewhere in the region of 100. Plus, over 600 puzzles. Which is definitely impressive, even if a chunk of that time will be spent staring at strange objects trying to figure out their meaning and purpose.
The Witness also looks amazing. Check out this recent long screenshot trailer.
So, will you be getting The Witness? It's currently available on Steam ($39.99 USD) and PS4 ($55.95 AUD).
Just started playing this and its alright . but the spacial puzzles in this game are hard to get your head around sometimes which i guess is the point... but man its frustrating when you have an idea of what to do but just cant wrap your head around it. "maze" spoiler Spoiler: Theres a puzzle that involves 4 mazes, and while its annoying enough wrapping your head around it, you solve them all then walk a bit further and realise theres a different correct way to solve them for a different puzzle.. argh then some walking back and forth to get your head around what needs to be done, then some more back and forth, frustrating Oh and a puzzle game where taking notes/screenshots is a bit different these days. - same maze as before Spoiler: 4 puzzles solutions combine into the final puzzle, no way can you remember the paths when you get there
No. I'm over puzzles in games. Every man and their dog wants to put a bloody puzzle in their games. I pretty much consider it the lowest common denominator these days. Add a time consuming puzzle to a game and then to call it fun/entertaining to mask the pointlessness of the rest of the game (lack of story/fun).
As I understand it theres gameplay, just no combat or puzzles, etc. More exploration/adventure type gameplay and a lot of the story is told through the conversation you have with one of the other ranger via your walkie talkie and theres a lot of conversation-based gameplay in that, like the conversations in Telltale's Walking Dead games (I think Firewatch is actually made by a couple of the lead people from that Telltale Walking Dead game actually).
don't get your knickers all twisted pettle, by all means keep being intellectual and solving dem puzzles.
Firewatch is brief, don't expect 20 odd hours of game. The gameplay is pretty bare aside from chopping s*** down and doing some rock climbing. It's pretty interesting though, the story is paced well and keeps you interested.
Posted 04:18pm 27/1/16
Sounds interesting... plus cell shaded graphics!
Posted 04:56pm 27/1/16
don't know about aud$57 though
Posted 08:03pm 27/1/16
Posted 11:41pm 28/1/16
Posted 02:49am 29/1/16
Posted 09:59pm 10/2/16
"maze" spoiler
Spoiler:
Theres a puzzle that involves 4 mazes, and while its annoying enough wrapping your head around it, you solve them all then walk a bit further and realise theres a different correct way to solve them for a different puzzle.. argh then some walking back and forth to get your head around what needs to be done, then some more back and forth, frustrating
Oh and a puzzle game where taking notes/screenshots is a bit different these days. - same maze as before
Spoiler:
4 puzzles solutions combine into the final puzzle, no way can you remember the paths when you get there
Posted 11:00pm 10/2/16
Posted 11:04pm 10/2/16
Posted 12:10pm 11/2/16
Posted 01:17pm 11/2/16
Posted 01:20pm 11/2/16
Posted 07:33pm 11/2/16
Posted 02:26am 12/2/16
Is it like Dear Esther or Gone Home though.. no actual gameplay?
Posted 11:54am 12/2/16
Posted 07:24pm 12/2/16
don't get your knickers all twisted pettle, by all means keep being intellectual and solving dem puzzles.
Firewatch is brief, don't expect 20 odd hours of game. The gameplay is pretty bare aside from chopping s*** down and doing some rock climbing. It's pretty interesting though, the story is paced well and keeps you interested.