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The Witness - Reviews Thread

J

JawzPause

Member
Vote for Lines of Blow from me.

Much higher than expected reviews, I might actually have to pick this up sooner than I thought
 
Q

QaaQer

Member
Sylas said:
The vast majority of the fiction analysis I've done on an academic and professional level boils down to, "This is my opinion. I can back that opinion up, but it's still an opinion." Unless we're speaking about the construction of a literary work, it's grammatical structure, spelling et al.

I understand what you're looking for, and I agree that some large amount of good can come out of trying to speak about games in a more academic and thoughtful light, but it's still far from "objective." It's not cynical to say it's a subjective view, but rather being inclusive of viewpoints that can be rationed out. Again, consensus does not become objective fact--it's simply a consensus.
Click to expand...

In my experience, the vast majority of academic analysis of fiction boils down to deciphering codes using exclusionary language. The best students are the best exclusionary decoders; and the best encoders are the 'best' authors: Shakespeare, Joyce, Chaucer, etc. It is also done with low culture with things like The Simpsons, it's just that they are decoding things at a cultural level and you'll find it more in critical theory depts.

Academia, like so much of life, is a game.
 
J

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
Ryo Hazuki said:
Looks like it will be getting released at the same time across Humble and Steam:

pxYFBbu.png


Not sure about PS4 though.
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Well, it doesn't matter since even if keys do go up on Humble ahead of the game unlocking, people will still have to wait, unless by some divine intervention they're beta/dev keys a la Apotheon.

Edit: Oh, there's a DRM-free version. Never mind!
 
H

harrisk954

Member
toythatkills said:
This is beautiful:



Not only is it marked down because the puzzles were too hard for him personally to solve, but it was also marked down because he had to keep solving puzzles. In a fucking puzzle game!

What an idiot.
Click to expand...

GamesRadar's review is just as maddening:

As brilliant as it is infuriating, The Witness' ingenious puzzles all too easily have their shine worn away by length and a constantly extending complexity.
Click to expand...

Honestly, knocking what is admittedly a "brilliant" puzzle game for having puzzles that are too difficult for the reviewer is ludicrous. It would be like a movie critic penalizing a comedy for being too funny.
 
H

hawk2025

Member
Some comments:

- I hate the cocaine joke, and I hope it doesn't stick to the OT :( I agree with keeping it classy.

- phew, I wasn't the only one increasingly annoyed by the Opencritic pusher.
 
D

D4Danger

Unconfirmed Member
"Myst me?" is the best OT title

credit to whoever came up with it. I tried to find the post from the other day
 
R

Ryo Hazuki

Member
JaseC said:
Well, it doesn't matter since even if keys do go up on Humble ahead of the game unlocking, people will still have to wait, unless by some divine intervention they're beta/dev keys a la Apotheon.
Click to expand...

Well you can actually get the DRM Free version off Humble, so I think people were wondering whether that would be downloadable before-hand. In the past with other games it has been the case.
 
S

SmartWaffles

Member
harrisk954 said:
GamesRadar's review is just as maddening:



Honestly, knocking what is admittedly a "brilliant" puzzle game for having puzzles that are too difficult for the reviewer is ludicrous. It would be like a movie critic penalizing a comedy for being too funny.
Click to expand...

It is the utter disrespect for artistic creation in my books, I thought "journalists" would have a better sense in that "it isn't for me doesn't mean it is bad".
 
J

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
Ryo Hazuki said:
Well you can actually get the DRM Free version off Humble, so I think people were wondering whether that would be downloadable before-hand. In the past with other games it has been the case.
Click to expand...

Ah. I don't think there was a mention of a DRM-free version when the store page/widget went up.
 
I

injurai

Banned
PolishQ said:
Let's not belittle this game with a cocaine joke.
Click to expand...

On second thought, I don't think it's a great fit for the OT. It is a great pun though.

The Witness |OT| Lines in the myst.

edit: Though I like the idea of just writing "mist" instead since it's less on the nose.
 
J

jacobeid

Banned
Chi3fster said:
There's no such thing as a 10/10 game. -.-
Click to expand...

There's no such thing as a perfect game, that's why most sites use the word "masterpiece" to describe 10/10 games. They're not perfect but they can't imagine them being any better, or whatever minor imperfections the game has doesn't take away from the experience at all.

+1 vote for Myst Me? It's classy.
 
A

Afro

Member
'Lines of Blow' is my fave, but I'll stick with 'Myst Me?' Not trying to get my |OT| locked. Thread is bound to have 500k views at least. Not trying to influence anybody...lol.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Phil0sophy said:
Lots of tens, if that's the case then surely this game must be a masterpiece? I don't agree with giving perfect scores for games in general really, nothing in life is perfect. I hope this really is a good game and it's not just a bunch of critics blowing smoke up it's ass because they enjoyed braid.

Guess I will find out when I play it.
Click to expand...
Bears repeating
10/10 doesn't mean perfect. It simply means that a game is deserving of the highest honor that a site has to offer, be it's IGN's "Masterpiece" and so on
Click to expand...
 
X

xir

Likely to be eaten by a grue
No Man is a Island
Water Water Everywhere and not a drop to drink, because it's pee
 
T

Turin Turambar

Member
GDJustin said:
Here's a bunch of spoiler-free things to know about The Witness before jumping in, from me, a man that has solved 309 of its panels (and counting):
Click to expand...

Very interesting impressions and notes, thank you. But this part is worrying

If you come across a puzzle and don't understand its rules, move on.
The Witness is a non-linear game, so you can find (and I believe at one point you're deliberately placed in front of) puzzles that you haven't been taught the rules to yet. It'll have strange symbols and shapes on it that have no meaning to you. You will never, ever figure out these puzzles until you understand their rules.

Although they aren't technically locked, they should be treated as a locked door. And the key isn't a physical object - it's knowledge. Puzzles in different areas of the island will teach you each symbol's rules, putting the key in your head. And then you can open the door.
Click to expand...

Because it isn't the first time I found that structure in a game and it has a drawback, you as a player never know in what of the two situations you are. Sometimes the player can be stuck in a solvable puzzle and think "maybe I have to go forward in another direction and i will find a clue for it". And the opposite, being stuck in a unsolvable puzzle and not being sure if it's because you lack a "piece of knowledge" that you somehow missed previously or it's just because you are missing something obvious in front of you.
 
O

ohNOitsRO

Member
I find it hilarious that the PU 6.5 review has a part where it says the player will find it more rewarding to use a guide.. Lmao

If that doesn't show a game going over someone's head then idk what does
 
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