The Witness

The Witness is an open exploration game with beautiful visuals and fun puzzles and varied landscapes that you just itch to explore. The only issue I find with the gameplay is that it doesn’t explain the rules and requirements for certain gimmicks. Though most are obvious and easy to learn on your own there are a couple gimmicks in the game that do not make logical sense and will frustrate a player uninitiated with the puzzle rules. The other problem I had was the dropped FPS in numerous spots of the game (examples of specific areas include the bamboo jungle, the color swamp, and the Monastery). I have a Mac with a 3.1 Ghz Intel i7 Core Processor and 16 GB of RAM, but as powerful as this desktop computer is I still experience framerate drops in this game. Even when I set the graphics to the lowest possible quality all across the board there are still frequent lag spikes that will freeze the game for a second of two, though still vastly less often then when I set the graphics to HD, it is still a present issue no matter how you set the options. I suggest for the developer to look into this some more and if this can be remedied then work on pushing an update of the game in the future. Overall though The Witness is a great experience, looking past the afformentioned issues. Even if you get stuck on some of the puzzles the vast environment will compell you to explore as much as you can.

This is a beautiful, complex and compelling game. I have found few that could hold my interst like this one. I intend to play it several times. Pro: --complex and diverse puzzles --a wonderful and beautiful landscape to explore and enjoy, even between puzzles. --an at-your-own-pace game play with no direction that encourages exploration, contemplation and thought. --definitely play to get all of the ray guns firing even though you could win with 5. Con: -- on my system (MacBookPro with OS Mojave the cursor disappeared when I solved some of the puzzles. I could log out and it would come back, and I am an extremely patient man, so it didn't matter as much to me, but definitely a glitch. -- some of the puzzles had multiple possible solutions given the rules of the game, but only one worked. That could be frustrating. -- given the pathose of the landscape (and the statues) I expected a more redemptive ending. Instead the ending -- as beautiful as it was -- left me with the feeling that it was all meaningless. That was a disappointment. I gave it 4 stars for its creativity and the fact tha tI am attracted to play it over and over. Still, a little more tought would have made it a 5 star game.

I’ve only solved about 60 puzzles so far, but it has been running just fine. As others have mentioned, it is slow to load, but it runs beautifully at full-screen resolution on my MacBook Pro (2015) with max graphics settings. Update: Now I have finished over 400 puzzles and completed the game. This game is beautifully well done, and has an increible amount of content. I wasn’t able to solve every puzzle, but the ones I missed turned out not to be necessary for completing the game. Many of the puzzles are easy, once you get the hang of it, but some are very hard, even (purposely) exasperating. Don’t give up! The feeling of breaking into new areas after solving tough puzzles is very rewarding. I made the mistake of tackling the town area first, but those puzzles are based on puzzles eslwhere on the island, so I had to come back to some of them later, after I had been through the rest of the island and learned how to do those puzzles.

The Witness was fun on Playtation and I’m glad I can put it on my laptop for airplane entertainment for memories of the old Myst days. I’m not a fan of some puzzle logic on the island or the timed ones later in the game. Some are just too random or solutions a little too obscure, trying random paths occaisionally will gret you more success than following any method you believe the puzzle points you to. A few puzzles are just a relief when you get through rather than make you feel smart and don’t look too deep. The Witness is basically just a very complicated version of a Denny’s kid’s placemat maze but there’s plent of time to be sunk here. For $40, I believe you will get your money’s worth.

Horrible experience trying this again. Made great progress. Today, I find the game has been reset (not my graphics settings, but the saved game is gone; put me at the very beginning). Definitely submitting for a refund. This is so not worth it if you cannot reliable save your progress! Original review below for context along with updates: "While touted to be open, I found the game way too linear stll.". While certainly true that some puzzles are more advanced, you can still hop around the world and often make progress in more than one area. It's nice that when you're completely stuck, you can leave the area and come back later. "Also lacks polish on macOS (some of the UI is cut off in the preferences). Graphics can stutter a bit, even on an iMac Pro." The UI of the preferences has since been fixed. I have a newer iMac Pro (maxed out CPU and GPU) and the game is pretty fluid now. Not noticing the glitches. So this was also fixed, or perhaps you just need a higher-end GPU. Holding back from a five star since it would be nice for the application to not always show the options screen upon startup. And would be nice to have multiple save slots (if already there, it's not obvious how to do that).

It’s just too much of the same puzzle—or slight variations of the same puzzle—over and over. Maybe it builds up to something more, but I stopped playing midway, bored by the repetition. None of the screenshots show that in each of those scenes you find numerous puzzles, similar to the game’s icon, that must be solved. The environment has nothing to do with the actual gameplay, other than giving you something to walk through on your way to the next set of puzzles. And I get that maybe I didn’t play it long enough … that some payout may have awaited me if I’d only been patient enough. But I lost interest. The developers didn’t create enough interest or diversity to make slogging through the same puzzle worth the effort.

This is a hard one for me. Im all about puzzle-adventure games. This one is very intriguing, I mean, come one, look at it. To make a short story long.. Wonderful game if you are looking for a laid back, relaxing, zen experience. Like, if you want a serious (& worth it) upgrade from a zen garden. The redundancy of the puzzles makes the excitement of actually solving them dwindle. The graphics...AMAZING. Exploring the world and actually zoning out into it makes it all worth it. I appreciate all the details in this work of art. The thought and imagination behind the design/visiuals of this game are awesome; combine with the simplicity of the puzzles, I think it is a well rounded experience. Maybe on The Witness II, add a little more variation to the puzzles. :) Appreciate it!

I’m having the same problem as wstrohm, in that the game is entirely monochromatic in red. I haven’t gone far enough to encounter his other issues. I have a GTX 980 Ti graphics card. I’m wondering if it’s somehow related. I’ve also found that it displays nothing at all at any resolution other than “display size”. I’ve heard it suggested that I’m seeing red because the game is being driven in 3D Vision mode even though there is no such set up on my machine. I’d love a resolution to the issue but I haven’t found one yet. I’m also rather unhappy that the support link above doesn’t actually take you to a place you can seek support. Best I can tell, there is no way to contact the develpoment team to report this or any other issue.

The Witness is amazing and and lush. I puzzles creeped in complexity at a nice slow pace and it was just fun to run around and explore — catch all the vistas and sights! The sounds design in this game is amazing too. I highly recommend wearing good headphones as you walk around — especially as you clamber around the shipwreck! Also ride the boat under the shipwreck and hear the echos off the hull! Totally worth the $40! I’ve finished the game but there is still extra puzzles strewn about that I haven’t gotten to and am having fun completing.

Beautiful graphics don't make a great game. All the puzzles are the same mazes with slight differences. Difficulty is acheived by making the mazes bigger and throwing in some rules to adjust how you follow the maze. After about 60 of these mazes, your not looking forward to moving around the scenery to solve more mazes. The two stars are for the graphics only. If you want thought provoking, fun puzzles buy “The Room” series or drag up an old Myst game. Worst of all this game cost 43 bucks. The Room series is a third that for 3 games! There appears to be no story (there may be some lame reason for playing this game but you’ll probably not have a clue until your finished). Very dissapointed

The game has wonderful landscapes, but for little effect. All the puzzles are variations on a theme which become boring and tiresome quickly. In addition, there is little within these vast landscapes to interact with. This feels like a standard puzzle game the developers attempted to elevate to something much more, but in the end, it’s basically just a puzzle game without much of a story or a purpose behind all the visual eye candy. Without that sense of greater purpose, the rationale for persisting through the endless, repetitive puzzle variations wains. The game is okay, but I was hoping for a modern Myst and left a little wanting.

I wanted to fall in love with this game. I did. But the puzzles which one solves to advance through the game play are simply TOO similar in nature and there are SO MANY of themto grind through. The atmospherics and the graphics of this game are lovely. Love the "feel". But the actual game play is akin to having one of those giant paperback books filled with the same kind of puzzles to solve. Simply 100's of variations on a theme. It feels like the developesr were trying to emulate Myst, but forgot that having varied, intuitive and delightful challanges to solve are what made that game great.

Very nice game design. Yes the puzzles are the same type pretty much through the whole game but the are very challenging and rewarding when you finally figure out the “rule” for that particular puzzle. Just the landscape alone and area to explore is amazing and very immersive. This is not one of those games you get through in one or two days that’s for sure. Nice to see such a wonderful and challanging game. I’ll be look for more from this company.

The ONLY reason that I didn’t rate it 5-stars is due to a lack of hints. The scenes are amazing and yes, the puzzles are similar in its look, but they get increasingly difficult (I even think that some puzzles are just not meant to be solved). For those fearing being able to enjoy the scenes with limited computer graphics, not true. I have a 3.1 GHz, core i5 with 8 memory and I enjoy the game’s visual displays beautifully.

You are likely to enjoy The Witness if you are one of those people that experience - as physicist Richard Feynman put it - 'the pleasure of finding things out'. Many games drive you forward by exploiting your base instincts - whether it's the need to survive, your desire to outcompete your peers, or by exploiting your desire for wealth, capital and territory. The Witness is all about your thirst for knowledge and understanding.

had to delete and reinstall and now it works fine. beautiful game and so far, interesting to play.

I like it. Not too difficult. I have enjoyed similar mystery games but they were too short and sometimes seem like it is dumb luck getting the solution; this title plays like it is just your good sense figuring it out.

This game was easily my favorite game of 2016. The attention to detail and placement of everything is impeccable. The process of teaching you puzzles couldn’t be better. Best of all, there is no hand-holding. You must figure everything out on your own.

If you loved Myst, this game is for you. The puzzles are superbly designed, some easy, some more tricky, but all brilliant. My only complaint is that the story line is weak and the ending sequence is rather lame. Be sure to check out the caves!

I love Myst-like puzzle games. Some great examples are Obduction and the Room games. I really wanted to like The Witness, but instead of challenging puzzles mixed with an excellent story and atmosphere, it's just "Run through the beautiful trees to do the same puzzle you just did again and again." The game is beautiful, but the puzzles don't fit in the game like they do in Myst and similar games.

I almost never play games. But I decided to give this one a try and I couldn't take my eyes of it untill I finished. An extremely well designed game.

Really good game, but... Running on a Macbook pro 10,1. Worked fine for a couple of weeks and then just won’t start. This splash screen come up, appearts to start loading, and this just flashes. Game never loads completely. Tried reinstalling. No good. Oh also. There is no support page. Now way to report problems or get help.

A simple type of puzzles made so sophisticated. And clever. It connects in so many ways with Myst, yet it stands on its own way - LOVE it! Thank you for releasing it for macOS!

For me, this is in the top 5 games of all time!

No “METAL”, so no “The Witness”. I had the right OS version, enough processor speed & RAM, but my Mac Mini is not on the list that “Metal” can be installed on it, and without “Metal”, “The Witness” won’t play. Darn. I really wanted to play it. oh well, ya live, ya purchase, and ya learn. 40 bucks, gone.

Hey Guys, thought my computer supported metal, turns out it didn’t. Downloaded the Nvidia link you suggested, made no difference. What do you suggest I do?

Fantastic game a few years ago, tried to play again and found it freezes on open under macOS Sonoma. Hope the developer updates!

This is one of my favorite games ever but the mac version does well at all. The iOS version runs better on my iphone6+ the lighting flashes consistently and shadows freak out. Realy too bad. Im going to try for a refund on this buy.

Attempted numerous to load and open but it wont work. I have the right system update and enough memory This app just doesn’t work.

As of the Jan 17, the game is effectively broken. The about 20% of the geometry on screen is pulsing in brightness - very distracting. Unless this gets fixed, the money spent on the game was a complete waste.

I’m going to try not to seem overly melodramatic in my enthusiasm. Just hear me out. (Forgive my haphazard ramblings—I get excited). Do you live for “aha!” moments? Do you love thinking about complex, existential questions? Do you pride yourself in your tenacity to work at a challenge until it’s complete? Then, boy, is this the game for you. The Witness is, simply put, a pure work of art. The graphics are breathtaking, and the gameplay is smooth, (the only bugs I encountered was when I ran too fast and too far, I couldn’t access certain areas; logging out and back in fixed this easily). Of the many things this game teaches you, I think it all boils down to perspective. Sometimes the key to life is looking at things from a certain angle: you can only see beauty and order through the right glass. It’s the same thing with the design of this game. And the puzzles—it’s hard to fully capture in words. Maybe it seems silly: that all these lines and dots and shapes could teach you something important about yourself. But that’s what this game does. It shows you how incredibly capable your own mind is—convinces you of your own adequacy in reasoning and understanding. When you look back on the puzzles you’ve solved, the ideas you’ve taught yourself through trial and error (and just a dash of luck), you realize this ability to obtain solutions through logic and intuition doesn’t just apply to funny line games, but to your life. You see the brilliance in your soul. Perhaps this all sounds like gibberish to you. Heck, maybe I’m just crazy and sleep-deprived, and this *is* gibberish. But don’t let me tell you—go experience it for yourself. Because that’s how we learn, isn’t it? By experiencing. I think this game teaches you that too. Now, you likely have some reservations, (as I did before purchasing). Forty bucks is a lot for a game, so I’m going to give you some brief assurance/friendly advice. First, before you do buy it, know your own interests. For example, I am a very, *very* introspective person—juggling metaphors and abstract ideas is appealing to me. Also, though I’m a tad ADHD, I’m quite stubborn when it comes to a problem I can’t solve: even it means switching rapidly back and forth between puzzles, I work at something until it’s done. If you’re not a philosophical person, or you don’t enjoy enduring the excruciating agony of learning for the sake of (*triumphant music*) the learning itself and (*more triumphant music*) satisfactory solutions, then you may not like this game as much as I did. Second, when you are playing, be patient with yourself. I’m no genius, and as a busy high school senior cramming in extra video games on the weekends, this took me exactly two months to complete, (and I still have several side puzzles left to go). This will take time, and you need to allow yourself to go slow, explore, think. It’s how this game is designed to be played. Third and finally, some tips I wished someone had told me, (don’t worry, no spoilers or anything). (1) If you’re stuck on a puzzle, leave it. Go to another part of the island and explore/try something different: you may stumble on an easier version of the puzzle you were trying to do originally. (2) No idea is too outlandish. Even if you think something won’t work, try it anyway. (3) As a challenge to yourself—this is what I did, and I think it really helped me get the most of this game—don’t use any walkthroughs, cameras, or scratch paper. Recognize your own limitations, and push them. You’ll be all the happier for it. To conclude my extraordinarily long review, I’ve heard some people call The Witness pretentious and overly intellectual. Personally, I firmly believe that couldn’t be further from the truth. At its core, it doesn’t put intellectualism on a pedestal and make it shiny, polished, and unreachable. Rather, it sees the searingly human capacity to learn and makes it real, poignant, and attainable. Forty bucks is quite little to pay for a lesson so priceless.

Upon opening this game, it prompeted for keystrokes from other applications. This is a huge security risk.

I had high hopes for this game. I like games like Myst. However, this became tedious rather quickly. After some initial exploring, there are various areas of an island where there are sets of puzzles that must be solved. The problem is that as you progress through the game, the way the puzzles are solved becomes much more tedious and you have to battle with technology a bit. For instance, there are puzzles which require your positioing things just right with your virtual body and the viewing angle, which would be ok, but then if you get it wrong, you have to go back and do the previous one to reenable the current one. At a certain point I thought I'd find a walkthrough, and it was tedious even with the walkthrough. So even though the premise might be clever with a certain set of puzzles, doing the same thing over and over is where the tedium sets in. I played this with an AMD Radeon Pro 5500M Pro w/ 8GB, so the motion was very smooth at the highest settings. One thing, though, it's one of those games where if you get motion sick, it might bother you. After an hour I started to get a headache and a nauseated feeling...so it's one where you'd have to take breaks and step away, or have a time limit each day if you're like me. I say it was a waste of money for me because I don't feel like I want to finish the game. Even when it gets boring, using a walkthrough doesn't alleviate the boredom because of the mechanics of having to finish the puzzles. I think I would have liked it more if it had been more about problem solving and thinking, rather than having to do things mechnically over and over again.

The Witness runs well on my Early 2008 Mac Pro + nvidia GeForce GTX 680 at 2560x1600 resolution. This is under El Capitan. The island is so huge that when you get stuck on a puzzle, there are plenty of others you can find and solve. The island is stunning and you can walk to most places solving only a few puzzles. Solve more and more places open up. When you find the dock you can summon the boat. The boat will take you on a tour around the island. You can stop at any of the places where another dock is present. The tour itself is worth the price of the game. There are subtle in-game hints but no instructions or cheats for solving the line puzzles. You can find some of those at YouTube where folks have left their evaluations. The Witness lets you play on any of your Macintoshes under your Apple ID. Play on one Macintosh, quit the game, login to another macintosh and continue where you left off. Sweet!

The puzzles were not engaging at all for an adult; may be a good game for a younger child

The right-side said it needed OS X 10.11.6 or later, 64-bit processor, so, good, I ordered it. Oops, one needs to dig deeper to discover it also requires Metal. :-(

I’m playing on a MacBook Pro A1398 i7 Late 2013 16GB of RAM and using a NVIDIA GeoForce 650 Graphics Card and it did well on Medium graphics, with just a few slow downs. High graphics was even better detail although with a few delays as well. If you leave your computer, the fans tend to turn on, signaling the computer is a bit getting overworked. I did well to try all the various games and pass on the tougher ones. I finished 146 of them in about 20 hours (out of around 600 games/mazes according to IGN) before giving up. These maze games are pretty ingenious. There’s all kinds of stuff hidden in plain sight if you are persceptive. Me, not so much! The environment is amazing, and reminds me of great adventure games on video game platforms. I just checked the IGN walkthrough and there is so much left to do! Wow!

I want to play this game so badly and paid $40 for it and it won’t play on my computer. I DID check the list and my computer was on that list- I’m not totally computer savvy (obviously) but for an average joe, I check the list and it looks good. The list showed El Captain 10.11.6 is supported and my computer has that. I think there should be some other way to see if you game will play without paying 40 dollars for it. I have never heard of apple metal but figured my computer would have it if it is on the list. Is there a way i can possible get my money back or atleast a credit? I just threw 40 dollars into the wind. Very disappointed.