• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

The Witness - Reviews Thread

C

Catvoca

Banned
creatinegene said:
I'm not in love with puzzles games, but I'm super impressed Jonathan Blow made this all on his own. Braid was one of my favorite games last generation, and I'm happy to see this review well and I'lll definitely pick this up on sale.
Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean by on his own, he made it with a small team. He did finance it all himself though, if that's what you meant.
 
W

Waxwing

Member
PolishQ said:
'Twas me.

I suggested "Myst me?" not just as a simple reference to Myst (which gives a very basic idea of what to expect from The Witness), but to allude to the fact that we haven't had a game like this in quite some time. It's the game arriving and saying "Missed me?"

I feel silly for defending something as arbitrary as an OT subtitle, but I feel strongly about this game.
Click to expand...

I also took it as referencing the fact that we've not seen a game from Blow in a decade. So yeah, we myst him. I much prefer this thread title.

Also, folks who didn't grow up with Myst really can't reclaim the magic, but wow, there was nothing like it then.
 
A

ANDS

King of Gaslighting
Really not sure why people are getting up in arms at the PSU review. I was expecting rambling nonsense.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
creatinegene said:
I'm not in love with puzzles games, but I'm super impressed Jonathan Blow made this all on his own. Braid was one of my favorite games last generation, and I'm happy to see this review well and I'lll definitely pick this up on sale.
Click to expand...
He didn't. The game was made with a team of between 8 and 11 people
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
creatinegene said:
I'm not in love with puzzles games, but I'm super impressed Jonathan Blow made this all on his own. Braid was one of my favorite games last generation, and I'm happy to see this review well and I'lll definitely pick this up on sale.
Click to expand...

Designed and financed entirely by Blow, built with a team of ~10 others (art, engine, modeling, audio, etc.).
 
A

Already Torn

Banned
I'm definitely gonna have to pick this up in a few months if it isn't PS+ by then! I'm afraid of spoilers of I read reviews, it seems like that kind of game.
 
P

PolishQ

Member
creatinegene said:
I'm not in love with puzzles games, but I'm super impressed Jonathan Blow made this all on his own. Braid was one of my favorite games last generation, and I'm happy to see this review well and I'lll definitely pick this up on sale.
Click to expand...

He didn't make it all on his own. He started a company to make the game and the team has something like 10 people on it.
 
DeepEnigma

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Afro said:
THINK OF THE CHILDRENNN!
Click to expand...

Yeah, lets give them vyvance and adderall (basically blow in a pill, more so adderall for the body effects) instead for the ADHDDDDHHDDADHD we all suffer from, look squirrel!

Yay children!!!

Venom Fox said:
It's only a harmless joke though, it has a double meaning. I fail to see how people could be offended by that in 2016. Evilore may not like it though, that I will say.
Click to expand...

I insert exhibit A) tumblr ;)
 
T

toythatkills

Member
ohNOitsRO said:
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
Click to expand...

driveclub:

Every time I finished a race there were just more races to do?! I wasn't even good enough to come in first place, you're better off watching a race on TV or something and pretending you came in first place.

3/10

- Timothy Nunes
 
R

Robert at Zeboyd Games

Banned
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...

Goodness knows I've been annoyed at incidents like some of the annoying reviews of Wild Arms XF where the complaints basically boiled down to needing to use strategy in a Strategy/RPG, but I can see his viewpoint here. The Portal games may be puzzle games, but solving puzzles isn't the only thing you do in them. They also have action sequences, story-heavy segments, and cinematic set pieces to vary things up and to act as rewards for making progress. Also, lots of jokes. If The Witness is just puzzle after puzzle after puzzle, all with a serious tone, it's going to eventually be rather tiring for anyone who doesn't really love its brand of puzzles.
 
Daffy Duck

Daffy Duck

Member
What's the PS4 control scheme?

Will it work well on a Vita? I'm tempted to buy it as a remote play game when I can't get on the TV.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
This podcast was posted in the other Witness thread, it's from 2011 and Blow is talking about the game and his thought process behind it and such

As if I couldn't get more intrigued. His design philosophy makes this game so so exciting

Now, remember this is from 2011, when he was thinking the game would be releasing in a year, so those spoiler-tagged bits might not be in the game now, but they give some nice examples of the ideas behind the puzzles
"I had this idea, and it was a grand idea, it was very complicated, and it had to be 3D.... And not only was it going to be hard to program, but just design-wise, it's very ambitious"
Click to expand...
"So you go to a location like a
desert ruin
, and you wander into this area. You get in through the front door by solving some puzzles, and you get into a basement, then you get into the sub-basement, and then you get deeper and deeper. Eventually you get to the end, where you can trigger something significant. And as you work your way through that area, there will be some audio logs, some...obvious in place and some that you may have to look harder for."
Click to expand...
"When you look at the puzzles in The Witness, they are, in many ways, sort of the answers to 'What If' questions, but also like 'Look what happens when':

-
look what happens when perspective is used in a certain way because that's just what happens in 3D space
-
look what happens when light travels in a straight line and then reflects off surfaces and creates glare
-
look what happens if you have this mathematical abstraction where there are these very simple symbols that behave in a certain way and you combine them in the same domain and they interact with each other

So this goes to the title of the game. There's something about your role as the player, as being an observer of these things."
Click to expand...
"The thing I want to preserve [from adventure games] is something I feel is being lost a lot in modern games, and that is having puzzles that are actually puzzles. What I mean by that is that a legitimate puzzle is something that you might never figure out unless you do a good job. Because if you're guaranteed to figure it out, then it's...more like an exercise, I guess.

There just aren't many games made that are legitimate puzzle games anymore...and I feel like there's a vast richness that we sort of used to have, that is no longer being tapped. This idea that you run an Infocom adventure and if you looked at the manual, maybe you have a little bit of guidance on how to talk to it, but the majority of the gameplay experience was you're like Robinson Crusoe on this island and you have to make the best of it and figure it out. It's not going to tutorialize you all the way through."
Click to expand...
I can't wait to see what that grand ambitious idea was, that took 8 years to bring to fruition. It's pretty incredible when you look at concept art and pre-alpha footage from six years ago and you see the same puzzles and ideas in the current game. I think that's a testament to how strong Blow's vision for the game was
 
L

LordofPwn

Member
cpp_is_king said:
Physical releases show up digitally at 9:01 pst because it's always based on midnight eastern time. So I'd check at both midnight eastern and midnight of your local time zone
Click to expand...

depends. Witcher went up at midnight GMT, Destiny was midnight PST, Infamous was midnight PST and Watch Dogs was Midnight PST, Borderlands Collection was midnight EST. those were the only digital pre-orders i've done.
 
T

toythatkills

Member
Robert at Zeboyd Games said:
Goodness knows I've been annoyed at incidents like some of the annoying reviews of Wild Arms XF where the complaints basically boiled down to needing to use strategy in a Strategy/RPG, but I can see his viewpoint here. The Portal games may be puzzle games, but solving puzzles isn't the only thing you do in them. They also have action sequences, story-heavy segments, and cinematic set pieces to vary things up and to act as rewards for making progress. Also, lots of jokes. If The Witness is just puzzle after puzzle after puzzle, all with a serious tone, it's going to eventually be rather tiring for anyone who doesn't really love its brand of puzzles.
Click to expand...

Would you criticise Forza 6 for having nothing but races with cars in? Like, would you dock it marks for that in a review?

I would get tired of the game, but I wouldn't mark it down because of that, it would be insane.
 
O

orthodoxy1095

Banned
Robert at Zeboyd Games said:
Goodness knows I've been annoyed at incidents like some of the annoying reviews of Wild Arms XF where the complaints basically boiled down to needing to use strategy in a Strategy/RPG, but I can see his viewpoint here. The Portal games may be puzzle games, but solving puzzles isn't the only thing you do in them. They also have action sequences, story-heavy segments, and cinematic set pieces to vary things up and to act as rewards for making progress. Also, lots of jokes. If The Witness is just puzzle after puzzle after puzzle, all with a serious tone, it's going to eventually be rather tiring for anyone who doesn't really love its brand of puzzles.
Click to expand...
That would be the key difference between a puzzle platformer and a 3D puzzler.
 
T

Trojan

Member
Daffy Duck said:
What's the PS4 control scheme?

Will it work well on a Vita? I'm tempted to buy it as a remote play game when I can't get on the TV.
Click to expand...

I'm traveling this week for work and will be playing it on my Vita using remote play on Tuesday evening (Eastern time). If you are on the fence about buying it and want to know Impressions from Vita, shoot me a PM then. I have a feeling this will be a great game for remote play.
 
G

GDJustin

stuck my tongue deep inside Atlus' cookies
I don't agree with that 6.5 review (The Witness is my GOTY so far), but I understand where the critic is coming from. Again, I want to emphasize that this is my GOTY, but the "This is an awesome puzzle island!" thing might be exasperating to some.

I once solved a puzzle and opened a door. Inside was a dead end with another puzzle on the floor.

Another time I found a neat secret underground path. At the end was a puzzle door I couldn't figure out how to solve - just had to make a mental note to come back later.

Especially when you're on a deadline, it can suck to see something just over there and not be able to get to it until you solve 5+ puzzles you may or may not enjoy solving.
 
R

Robert at Zeboyd Games

Banned
toythatkills said:
Would you criticise Forza 6 for having nothing but races with cars in? Like, would you dock it marks for that in a review?

I would get tired of the game, but I wouldn't mark it down because of that, it would be insane.
Click to expand...

A more apt comparison would be a racing game with tons of tracks, but no unlockable cars, upgrades, or new modes. And you better believe that many reviews would criticize such a thing.

Modern games have been gamified to the point where everything has "RPG elements" these days. It's not enough to go online and play a multiplayer death match - now you gotta also be earning XP and money to gain new perks & weapons with each match. For better or worse, The Witness appears to not be participating in the idea of external reward. It looks like it has an intrinsic reward mentality - the act of solving puzzles is its own reward.
 
R

Ryo Hazuki

Member
gdt said:
Why is this unlocking 1pm eastern on Steam? WTF.

Why so late.
Click to expand...

Earlier today he mentioned looking in to getting it released earlier but then had this to say:

GfrZc2m.png

MI9lFmM.png
 
S

STEaMkb

Member
Robert at Zeboyd Games said:
If The Witness is just puzzle after puzzle after puzzle, all with a serious tone, it's going to eventually be rather tiring for anyone who doesn't really love its brand of puzzles.
Click to expand...

toythatkills said:
Would you criticise Forza 6 for having nothing but races with cars in? Like, would you dock it marks for that in a review?
Click to expand...

I've never been a fan of Lamborghini. Or the color yellow.

Forza Horizon 2: 6.5/10
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Robert at Zeboyd Games said:
A more apt comparison would be a racing game with tons of tracks, but no unlockable cars, upgrades, or new modes. And you better believe that many reviews would criticize such a thing.

Modern games have been gamified to the point where everything has "RPG elements" these days. It's not enough to go online and play a multiplayer death match - now you gotta also be earning XP and money to gain new perks & weapons with each match. For better or worse, The Witness appears to not be participating in the idea of external reward. It looks like it has an intrinsic reward mentality - the act of solving puzzles is its own reward.
Click to expand...
But there's nothing more satisfying than that moment in a puzzler when it all clicks in your head. That's reward enough

IMO of course
 
T

toythatkills

Member
Robert at Zeboyd Games said:
A more apt comparison would be a racing game with tons of tracks, but no unlockable cars, upgrades, or new modes. And you better believe that many reviews would criticize such a thing.
Click to expand...

No it wouldn't, you're trying to confuse a perfectly sound analogy because you know you can't disagree with it.

It is a silly criticism of a puzzle game that the reviewer "had to keep solving puzzles."
 
J

JP

Member
Really, really pleased with these review scores. Really happy for Jonathan Blow after everything he's put into this and the issues he apparently had with Microsoft during the Braid shenanigans.

Really looking forward to playing this. Not played it yet and I'm already looking forward to Jonathan Blow's next project. :)
 
Daffy Duck

Daffy Duck

Member
Trojan said:
I'm traveling this week for work and will be playing it on my Vita using remote play on Tuesday evening (Eastern time). If you are on the fence about buying it and want to know Impressions from Vita, shoot me a PM then. I have a feeling this will be a great game for remote play.
Click to expand...

Nice, I will do.
 
C

Chi3fster

Banned
More_Badass said:
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...
Then give it a 9 or 9.5 with some Editor's Choice Award.

10/10 means perfect no matter the context. I could give Xenoblade X a 10/10 because I've put 200 hours into it - compared to something like The Last of Us which was just as enjoyable but didn't even put in 50 hours, but this would be wrong because both games have their problems.

It needs zero noticeable issues for a 10/10, so there's no such thing as a 10/10 game. These reviews aren't unanimous, so I'm sure The Witness is great - but not flawless.
 
X

Xater

Member
Chi3fster said:
Then give it a 9 or 9.5 with some Editor's Choice Award.

10/10 means perfect no matter the context. I could give Xenoblade X a 10/10 because I've put 200 hours into it - compared to something like The Last of Us which was just as enjoyable but didn't even put in 50 hours, but this would be wrong because both games have their problems.

It needs zero noticeable issues for a 10/10, so there's no such thing as a 10/10 game. These reviews aren't unanimous, so I'm The Witness is great - just not flawless.
Click to expand...

Is this seriously the hill you want to die on in 2016?
 
L

lt519

Member
Might have to pick this up when I get home, massive amounts of traveling ahead for me so not ideal to sink my teeth into a game like this. Might bring the PS4 with me again..

FunkyDealer said:
I'm definitely picking this up later this year. Too much on my plate at the moment though.
Click to expand...

I feel like this is one of those games best enjoyed while the community is large. Like Fez. There's something to be said about discovering things along with others and collectively working to solve larger mysteries. That's why I'm so tempted to rush and buy it when I get home in two weeks.
 
R

Remembrance

Member
Robert at Zeboyd Games said:
A more apt comparison would be a racing game with tons of tracks, but no unlockable cars, upgrades, or new modes. And you better believe that many reviews would criticize such a thing.
Click to expand...

Really, the comparison would be a racing game with tons of tracks, but you have to win races to unlock more tracks. And if you can't learn how to take corners/drift/use manual transmission correctly, you get stuck.

I've played those kinds of racing games - it does not seem to be a valid criticism that there should be something else for you to do if you can't learn how to drive well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Jusant - Don't Nod's new game is out today. Early reviews very positive.
2
89
6K
FunkMiller replied
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Review Thread
Review 2 3 4 5 6
252
17K
Heimdall_Xtreme replied
Animal Well | Review Thread
Analysis Review
4
873
Fbh replied
Destiny 2: The Final Shape | Review Thread
Analysis Review 2
58
2K
Warnen replied
Persona 5 Tactica | Review Thread
Analysis Review 2
60
5K
cireza replied
Top Bottom