Topic: The Witness

@Octane I used to make tunes on Reason and work mostly on the phone so maybe that helped with my listening skills.

No idea about the lake. I know when you look up you have a clear view of the lazers pointing at the mountain....

Unsure about monoliths. I did a puzzle in the initial area last night on a pillar, that was pretty cool. I'm mooching around on the game looking for odd puzzles here and there, will head back up the mountain later on and I'm not looking forward to it at all

@themcnoisy Well, I can tell you about the lake if you want me to spoil it, it's nothing important really.

I see, well, that means you have still a lot of stuff to discover. My advice would be to activate all the lasers first, finish up the town for the final laser and then head over to the mountain. As you would've probably guessed, that's the end game and since it's the most difficult part, it definitely helps if you feel at home with the panels. So completing the rest first is recommended.

@Octane I know what the lake is now.

I finished the game on my own minus the monastery and town, I've got some pretty amazing screenshots of the final colour switch puzzles, snapped at the perfect time to mull over in my screenshot gallery. It was a huge relief to beat the mountain and to blast away like willy wonker signing away his chocolate factory. It took 4/5 long and anxiety riddled sessions to crack the mountain alone.

I've since gone back to try for the missing trophies I decided off the bat tonight to use a guide and here's why. I couldn't pass the monastery as I'm an idiot. I didn't pass the easiest puzzle ever - the miniature tree in the middle of the monastery. Reason being I was looking for the most difficult answer and thought the orange colour splash on the wall to the left had something to do with it. Well no it didn't and it was 2 basic lines. Oh my god. The rest of that area was easy and obvious bar the last puzzle which mixed trail and avoiding elements. But as I said I'm officially an idiot. I watched a guide and my heart sank about 1 minute In.

The town on the other hand was difficult. Id passed one section clear before quitting the town - the parts I struggled with in the town was the puzzle which had 3 solutions, its obvious now I've read a guide on that particular bit, but as there's no other puzzle like that I didn't naturally take to it. The second was the bridge you extend, I still have no idea how the counter weight puzzle was solved so you get on the roof. So I'm really confused by that one and am glad I read the guide.

I'm now upto the challenge room. I'm so gutted you cant take a pic and pause the game SO UNFAIR! I've failed it a few times already but no doubt will get further ahead the next time I on.

@themcnoisy The greenhouse with all the different light colours has a puzzle with multiple solutions iirc, just like the bridges in the swamp. Town is definitely difficult, since it combines all the elements from previous areas, but beating it was an absolute blast because of that.

@themcnoisy It took me a long while to beat the challenge. The puzzles themselves are not that hard, it's more the time limit adding a new level of pressure that makes it difficult. Good luck, I know you can do it

Fair play using a guide. I must admit, I did look for hints for a couple of puzzles I couldn't wrap my head around!

@Quintumply the challenge room so far has been very doable - initially I didn't know where I was heading. But now I know the start direction of the first few puzzles. Come on!

@Quintumply bloody challenge room sucks. I almost always hit the maze with not much time left and get lost. Damn it!

The big problem I have is - the puzzles are easy but you dont have time. I've watched a walkthrough and the wait mode is used liberally which has since been patched so you cant. I dont need that much usage! on my run throughs the time evaporates on either the 2 line synchro dot hunt puzzles or the coloured 3 panels after the bridge. The most annoying thing is - these can be dead easy sometimes grrrr so annoying. I wouldn't mind a couple of pauses to be patched in that would help massively.

@themcnoisy It's definitely doable without the rest mode cheat, because I eventually did it myself! It can be frustrating because the puzzles change. You'll get it sooner or later and it feels awesome when you finally nail it

@Quintumply I can understand that, its so annoying - you make good headway then bang youve forgotten the path in the maze and cant find the last panel. I did the 2 panels earlier and ran the wrong way out of the maze in a panic!

Its really strange I had a dead easy run earlier, I mean super easy - the tetris puzzle was just 2 horizontal lines of 3, the mazes were basically 2 lines, the star and dots were super easy. Everything fell into place then I completely cocked up the maze and couldnt remember which way to go at all.

Its a strange addition having this as the big show stopper - I could live with 200 random puzzles in a row, but being timed in this way feels way out of step with the main game.

@themcnoisy Yeah the maze can be a nightmare.

A lot of people take issue with the challenge for the same reasons you describe, saying it's so different from the rest of the game. I personally really enjoyed it - I liked that it did something different with the puzzles and really tested your knowledge. I'll give you the maze, though. That caught me out many times before I finally conquered it.

And there are more secrets to discover once you're done with the challenge (if you haven't thrown your PS4 out the window by then!)

@Kidfried Dangit. I didn’t see this thread until now. If you want to answer my query here, then maybe I won’t get in trouble for detailing the top 5 thread. 😉

@Kidfried Thanks! That’s extremely helpful. I have to be in the mood for intricate puzzles. I tend to do pretty well with them when I do, but usually when I’m gaming, I am looking to relax my mind and detach from stress and be entertained. I’ll look for a demo when I get home and see, but it sounds like a pass for now for me. I appreciate your honesty.
The perfect scenario would be if it became a PS+ offering. That would be sweet. But given a physical release coming, I seriously doubt that anytime soon.

@Th3solution I have to agree with Kidfried here. It's probably the best puzzle game I've ever played, and I would rank it in my top 5 PS4 games as well. It's a game I think everyone should play, if only to appreciate level design in that game, it's absolutely brilliant. There's a certain sense of exploration, and the rewards are often knowledge to solve other puzzles. The game has arguably more ''aha!'' moments than any other game I've played.

However, if you're not into puzzles games at all, it is difficult to recommend. Then again, it's a difficult game to explain or recommend in the first place. As much as I hate to say it, it's a game you need to play, preferably complete, to fully get why people are raving about it. If you were to play it for thirty minutes, I absolutely understand it if you wouldn't get what I'm talking about, and you're probably wondering why it wasn't a free level-based puzzle game on your phone.

Have you ever played Fez by the way?

@Octane Thanks for your perspective as well. Umm, no I haven’t played Fez. I do have it in my library due to it being a former PS plus game. In fact I think I went so far as to download it onto my hard drive but never played it. (I’d have to check when I get home from work). It just never caught my eye enough though to fire it up and try it. Is it similar?

@Th3solution In the sense that it's a game that requires pen and paper, and doesn't mind breaking the fourth wall. Both games are also incredibly easy and dull if you use a guide, because the satisfaction comes from finding the solutions to puzzles on your own.

But yeah, The Witness is a puzzle game, and you either like them or you don't, because the experience is so different from a traditional action game.

@Th3solution If you want a zen puzzle game I'll recommend Fez until I'm dead. It's got a great world, simple puzzles, stupid hard puzzles, beautiful music, great lore.

Plus it's out on iPhone now!

Edit: I see another recommendation for Fez above. Very good. If you have it why are you not playing it already. It's not just another generic indie game! It is, in my mind, one of the best games ever made

@kyleforrester87 Woah! High praise for Fez! Guess I need to put that one on the short list.

@Th3solution @Kidfried @Octane Sorry to wade in here but for my money on a standard ps4 its one of the best games out there. If you are drawn to puzzle books or games you will love this. The first 30 odd puzzles took me about half an hour. I thought this is great. But dead easy. The issue at that point was I was just following a wire across the first set of puzzles to complete the first section. I wasnt observant enough to notice other stuff going on. Then boom it had grabbed me when I started to.

I was messaging @quintumply and @simon_fitzgerald a few pictures a day. Sometimes crying for help. I remember being in the 'film' room before not knowing what it was and completely fluked an answer.

As the laws get more difficult you learn with it. Getting better and better. If you are logical minded person you will love it.

The only downside is one trophy at the end of the game. Ive hit the damn last post so many times and they are by far my weakest puzzles in the game. And Mr Blow patched it to make it even harder! What a cu#+.

10/10 for me. An absolute gem and only Portal, Fez and recently Statik are on par with it.

As for Fez, put that on right now @kyleforrester87 is spot on. Fez is a masterpiece of game design.

@themcnoisy Just when I have finally made up my mind to pass on the game, you come in here a mess everything up 😆. But seriously, I appreciate your input.
And here I’ve had the masterpiece Fez sitting on my hard drive collecting dust this whole time ... I guess my first order of business will be to try it, since I have already. Maybe this will spur an interest in puzzle games for me and then l’ll follow up with a shot at The Witness. 🤔

@Th3solution this isn't a Fez thread so I won't derail but if you do play it, it does reveal itself somewhat slowly. Initial thoughts are a cutesy platformer with a cool shifting mechanic but for me at least it became a lot more. The world tells a story, and you need to keep your eyes open! Then have fun reading the weird theories on Reddit! Anyway if you do crack it open let me know what you think. I've talked myself into playing it again now, it's been 4 years

(Gomez rocks!)