Austruck
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Always remember you're unique ... just like everyone else.
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Post by Austruck on Feb 23, 2016 17:37:28 GMT -5
I rarely buy games at full price when they are this expensive ($39.99), but a few friends have raved about the Steam game The Witness since it came out earlier this month. Some said it reminded them of a colorful Myst. So I took the plunge and bought it. It has NOT disappointed so far. It's a HUGE puzzle game but that's not doing it justice. It's clever. It's deceptively difficult without being frustrating. There are hundreds of puzzles/mazes, and areas on the large island to search. Tons of "aha!" moments. I'm nowhere near done but have been delighting in every little puzzle solved and in every hidden element discovered. I don't blame anyone who wants to wait for a sale on this one, but know that even at full price it is well worth the time. And yes, it's the first game experience that's reminded me enough of Myst (in terms of feel and excitement) in many years. I don't want spoilers. I don't want walkthroughs. I want to experience this game fully -- and that's saying something because I've played a lot of adventure games (point-and-click and otherwise) but hadn't really ever found anything that caught me in the same way Myst games did. A few came close (Syberia comes to mind first, though there were others), but now that I own more than 100 adventure games, I am thrilled to see an insightful, fun game like The Witness. The ONLY negative I have so far is that some of the audio and video clips you encounter along the way are pretentious propaganda -- and some are FAR too long and really take you OUT of the game because you have to stop what you're doing to listen to 10+ minutes of audio or video. Not cool. But not enough to spoil the game. And, it's sure pretty!
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Post by distantsmoke on Aug 19, 2016 16:57:58 GMT -5
I am almost finished with The Witness. Mostly I have enjoyed it, but I have gotten frustrated at times. You are led to figure out the rules of each area's puzzles but being given a very easy puzzle at first. Solving this makes the next puzzle available which is slightly harder. There were some rules that never seemed logical to me and I was forced to search the Internet for solutions or rip my hair out.
It is for the most part an open world, though solving puzzles increase the number of places you can go to. So far that is the only "reward" for solving the puzzles. The "world" is beautiful and I think the game is well worth the $39.99 price tag. If you are thinking of playing it on a PC via steam, then invest in a controller that works with your computer. I tried playing with my mouse and it was very difficult. There are well hidden very small mo3 players hidden, or dropped, around the place. So far all that I have found are simply quotes from famous scientists.
I have yet to discover anything that tells me why this world was built or why anything that is in it, is in it.
But solving the puzzles and opening new areas to explore has been challenging and fun.
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Austruck
Assistant
Always remember you're unique ... just like everyone else.
Posts: 56
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Post by Austruck on Aug 19, 2016 17:08:08 GMT -5
Now that it's six months after I originally posted, I have a slightly amended perspective. I agree that I too haven't found out a "why" for any of what's happening. I think there is a general concept behind the puzzles and why this island exists, but it's certainly "story-lite" compared to Myst stories and other games I'm used to.
I'm not done with it, either. I hit some of those frustrating puzzles you mentioned -- that were either too opaque to figure out, even after having 300+ puzzles under my belt, or too frustrating to do. I put it aside a while ago for other games (and other non-game activities) and I haven't gotten back to it in a while. I do want to finish it, but without a compelling storyline, there isn't a sense of urgency to finish it. Because finishing it means checking off a list of how many puzzles I've solved and doesn't necessarily mean I've solved some big mystery or figured out some looming story/plot I'm dying to know about.
It's still a hugely ambitious game, and as I do the puzzles I can continue to appreciate the intricacy and painstaking work it must have taken to interweave this many puzzles in a single game with a finite area to cover.
But right now, I'm looking forward to Cyan Worlds' Obduction, set to release this coming Tuesday., Aug. 24.
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Post by Beckett on Aug 19, 2016 17:55:51 GMT -5
This dropped off my radar completely - I will have to go look for it. Then again, I have a big pile of games that I have yet to play, and who has the time these days anyway... Still, it looks great, and the occasional brain teaser every now and then cannot possibly be bad for me...
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Austruck
Assistant
Always remember you're unique ... just like everyone else.
Posts: 56
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Post by Austruck on Aug 19, 2016 18:12:20 GMT -5
Oh, it's definitely a brain teaser. And my misgivings are minor. I've got 52 hours into it so far and still have several hundred puzzles left (according to sources on total number of puzzles).
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Post by distantsmoke on Aug 20, 2016 14:28:27 GMT -5
This dropped off my radar completely - I will have to go look for it. Then again, I have a big pile of games that I have yet to play, and who has the time these days anyway... Still, it looks great, and the occasional brain teaser every now and then cannot possibly be bad for me... I so know what you mean. For well over a decade I would buy games only to find I didn't have the time for them anymore. I would tell myself, "I'll store it and I can play all I want when I'm retired." Well, now I'm retired and there are so many new games to play, with better everything. But I still have all the old games and the systems to play them on. I'm going to have to live for a very long time.
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Post by dmikester on Sept 21, 2016 13:58:22 GMT -5
I mostly loved The Witness but couldn't stand a number of the puzzles; I found several areas more tedious than interesting. Also, it's certainly not for anyone expecting a coherent plot, despite it sort of seeming to be set up that way after a while of playing it. I do think it's an important experience for anyone interested in puzzle design though, as it's extraordinary how varied and inventive the puzzles are given the limitation of the type of puzzle involved (being vague here in case someone wants to start it with no knowledge of how it works). Not cheap, but consider that you're supporting a truly independent studio by purchasing it. The creator of The Witness, Jonathan Blow, also created Braid, which is one of the great platform puzzle games.
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Austruck
Assistant
Always remember you're unique ... just like everyone else.
Posts: 56
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Post by Austruck on Sept 21, 2016 14:03:22 GMT -5
Nicely put, dmikester! Pretty much my own feelings about this game, now that I'm about 350+ puzzles into it.
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