Why is The Witness so Critically Acclaimed? Game Review

Here I answer why The Witness is so Critically Acclaimed? Game Review

On the surface The Witness is made up of several sets of
increasingly complex maze like puzzles completed using the mouse cursor. Each
set is usually joined up by circuits, and each completed puzzle completes more
of the circuit. Once the circuit is complete it usually opens a door to more
puzzles or sets off a laser beam marking that area as complete.

So we have maze puzzles and circuits that join the mazes.
They work like this. Gameplay wise these are the only mechanics in the game,
yet the Witness takes these two simple aspects and explores them as far as they
can possibly go, and within a few minutes they get so difficult you’ll be
wondering if the puzzle is actually possible without a special item or
something.

Almost every puzzle in the game is a lesson on how to
complete a different more complex puzzle.

You see there are two ways to teach a player how to play a
game, one is to tell them what to do in each possible scenario using text boxes
or tutorials, the other is to present them with problems that they solve on
their own, starting with the most simple as possible which then gets more
complex, so they learn as they play. The second is better because the lessons
can be built into the game world itself and doesn’t break up the flow of the
game. All achievements are entirely down to the player’s own decisions, resulting
in a much more satisfying and enjoyable experience.

Game designers usually put written tutorials in games
because they have less faith in their players working things out for
themselves, or because they lack the skill to implement level design that is
both a lesson and gameplay.  I assure you
that The Witness has faith in us, and plenty of skill.

The Witness uses this mechanic so effectively  and so often the player never needs to be told
anything outright, so can solve extremely difficult puzzles without any
specific tutorial whatsoever. In this game knowledge is like a power-up that
lets you see new content and areas.

You can compare this game design to the Newer Castlevania or
the Metroid games, where certain areas are blocked off and you need to level up
or find a specific item to continue. In The Witness game you need to explore
the games open world to find new lessons to help you surpass the harder
puzzles, it is a fresh take on level design that is being lost to RPGs where
experience is not what you know as a player but instead how strong your
character is.

It goes to show that you don’t need to invent particularly complex
gameplay mechanics to create a unique and engaging experience, here The Witness
just trusts us.

The Witness steadily combines a number of simple principles  throughout the game to make puzzles
increasingly complex, it is never about just getting from the start of the maze
to the end. In the first hour the game seamlessly introduces parameters like
covering diamonds on your route, using different colours of lines, using two
lines at once, disappearing lines, using mirrors and countless other mechanics
which appear relentlessly one after another the sheer level of imagination and
ingenuity on play is ceaseless.

The most impressive are the puzzles that use the environment
around you. For example an early Puzzle sees a series of branches that can be
solved using the adjacent trees which have the same design as the maze. Here
you take the route in the maze that would theoretically lead to the apple on
the tree.

This teaches you that puzzles with no obvious solution in
the maze itself can be solved using the environment. Later on you find a
similar puzzle with no obvious solution, you now from before to look around for
the answer to this kind of puzzle, however after looking around there is
nothing around here that is the same shape or size as the maze. This maze does however
have light shining on it, which stands out as it is the only puzzle to do that.
You then have to use this and the fact that the answer is most likely in the
environment to work out that the route can be seen when you are positioned so
that the sun is fully reflecting off the panel.

This kind of organic problem solving is all possible because
of the way the game structures its lessons, as well as the open ended nature of
the world.

After solving the first puzzle there are numerous paths the
player can go down, this works in spades for the puzzle solving nature of the
game. It is entirely possible to find puzzles that are too difficult until you
learn some lessons elsewhere, you can then explore to find the lesson you need.
If the game had been linear this would have taken a lot of the fun out of the
solving puzzles, you would have always already seen the lesson you needed for
any puzzle. The open ended nature puts doubt in the players mind as to whether
they actually have enough information to solve the puzzle, making them really
think back to everything they’ve done so far, but also driving them to explore
more.

Much of the games charm comes from the world around you
which is nothing short of stunning, almost everything uses soft light and
colours that make the world all the more appealing. More impressive is the
conjoined nature of the world, that is to say everything you can see, you can
also explore. If you see a castle or area that is particularly interesting and
you want to go there you can, but you usually have to solve puzzles to open up
that area. So other than the fun of actually solving the puzzles, you get the
extra incentive of being able to see additional stunning landscapes.

The puzzle screens themselves are the only technology you
really see on the island, the rest of the visuals are all natural geography
with plants and trees. As a result it comes across like the island is a puzzle
itself trying to hide something, and the key to island is these computer
screens. This makes the exploration into the islands depths all the more
interesting to the player.

The sound design is implemented purely to immerse the player
on the island with no music, with little music it plays, there is no sound of
wildlife anywhere in this lush wilderness painting a very uncanny feeling, adding
to the theory that the island is hiding something. The game is eerily quiet
with the only sound being the humming of the machines around you. It feels
similar to the testing facility like portal. It all adds up to make the player
feel very confused about the location they are in.

The sound design also adds tension when completing puzzles,
as any mistakes the player makes results in a bassy, piercing sound which is
unlike any other sound in the game. This memorable sound gets planted in your
mind and you anticipate it each time you are about to complete a puzzle, acting
as an incentive in itself to avoid making a mistake.

The Witness is an exercise in doing a few things very well,
the simple mechanics the game has allows the developer to focus on implementing
as many new puzzle solving scenarios as possible to keep the game fresh. I like
this style of game design and I believe it will continue to be more prominent
as smaller developers start to focus on simple but more polished experiences.