See Tomas even Vader, and his Antichamber heathen ways knows the glory that is a John Blow puzzle game. Play Braid you asshole.
Don't play Braid, just get The Witness.
But can I get a witness?
Foolz said:But can I get a witness?
The real question is: why are you in Germany?
[Game was available for purchase at 5AM EST, so I assume it may have been a midnight release.]
Well, I understand the hype immediately. It’s a beautiful and intriguing game from the get-go. It gives no tutorial, gives no explanation of gameplay. It just sets you down in this world and it’s your task to explore and learn. I don’t like Jonathan Blow. I find him pretentious beyond belief, but even I have to admit the guy has talent. The way the game is set up, if you follow along the path **I think** he has set out for you, the puzzles you encounter gradually build on one another. You’ll start with a point and you have to draw a line to the goal. Then you’ll find you have to navigate a maze while drawing a line to the goal. Then you have to navigate a maze while drawing a line making sure you pass over certain spots in the maze before getting to the goal. Then you have to navigate a maze while drawing a line making sure you pass over certain spots while separating black and white markers before getting to the goal. It starts out simple and then gets increasingly more demanding, as any well-made game should.
I MUST emphasize, if you don’t like puzzles and you don’t like being given no blatant clues on how to solve them, this probably isn’t your kind of game. Although I understand the concept so far, there have been a few puzzles already where they look like they are solved “correctly” to me, but there’s something not right. The game doesn’t point out what it is though. Your progress is immediately halted at that point.
I have observed **I think** there are puzzles that teach you the concepts and these will flash red in certain areas to show you what you have done wrong and there are progression puzzles (to open doors or gates, or power up other things) that DO NOT show you what you have done wrong. The game is an open world; it’s possible to come across puzzles you haven’t been shown how to solve yet, so you have to be observant of that as well.
I’m not going to spoil anything, as discovery is what this game is all about –BUT– the only hint I will give is: It seems when the game is trying to teach you a concept, you’ll come across multiple panels, in a row, in an area, that get progressively harder as you go from one to the next. You learn from these. If you see a puzzle by a door, or gate, or you see one puzzle connected to another by way of a cable or something… THOSE are the progression puzzles.
I’ve only solved 22 so far; these are the VERY early introductory ones, so these are VERY early impressions. The game may get radically different around the next corner for all I know. It’s just the kind of game, you go in curious, explore and learn as you do. Even saving and quitting the game isn’t explained. As it turns out, every puzzle you solve, saves the game, so feel free to dive in, solve a few and “close application” once you’re done!
I enjoy this game immensely so far; hope these impressions illustrate whether or not you all will as well!
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It probably goes without saying, but if you’re a fan of The Talos Principle, this game is RIGHT up your alley!
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Here’s a tiny snippet of game-play. Yes, this is me playing. A bit of this isn’t going to make sense because you don’t see the puzzles before these. I wouldn’t worry too much about spoilers, as these are very early puzzles and you have no idea of my though processes in solving these. Some are obvious, some not at all, but I wanted to give a tiny sampling of what the puzzles are like! Enjoy! If you have questions…
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Ugh. Watching myself on some of those puzzles! I feel part genius and part moron! The game makes you overthink sometimes and you find you trip over yourself on some of the easiest solutions! LOL!
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There’s one puzzle I still can’t seem to get. I encountered it very early in but have yet to solve it. It is the one I mentioned in my original post where it looks correct, but it’s wrong each time. I don’t know what I am doing wrong with this one. I am about 70 puzzles in, despite that, but I’m not quite sure where to go next. The only advice I’m gonna give at this point: Don’t always focus on the puzzle right in front of you. Step back, see the bigger picture and inspiration may be right in front of you. Excellent game!!
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Rag posted this video:
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The one they show first off and they say: “No! No! That’s too hard! You are NOT doing that one yet!” is the exact one I am referring to in my last post! 
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I’m 88 puzzles in now. Where I was stuck before, I found a HUGE area and have progressed a TON. The area I am in now I have named the “Temple of the Sun.”
I WON’T give anything away, but… WOW! There’s some REALLY clever game design in here!!
I’m starting to be able to think like Blow now and I’ve started to pick up on the cues I need to solve things!!
If anyone gets to this area and needs help, just mention it to me by my nickname and I’ll gladly give you some hints!
This may be a downloadable game, but it’s content, cleverness and production values SURPASS a lot of AAA retail games out there!
This really could be a GOTY contender!! I hope I can stick with it!!
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Reprinted from the RoF. Each section separated by a line was a different post throughout the day, just to show progression from the start of the day to the end.
Alright, I'm officially stuck at 88 puzzles. Reached the basement of the Temple of the Sun **I think** and the solutions I have been using to solve the puzzles suddenly aren't working. I quit last night JUST before the puzzle where I got stuck, thinking I was making incredible progress and just wanting to get some rest. Started back up this morning and couldn't solve a single one. Tried looking elsewhere in the world for something else to try, but was unsuccessful before taking a break so I wouldn't get frustrated.
Thanks for the impressions, Leo!
Yes Leo, thanks for posting these. Your impressions read similar to the Eurogamer review which is the only one I read so far. I think I will stay away from this game. I hated Braid with such a passion and I'm not even sure why. Don't want to give any more money to its creator.
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Listen to Wu-Tang and watch Kung-Fu
130 puzzles in now.
General hints: Not every puzzle is solved on a panel. Watch the ground, in corners and out of the way places for other objects you can interact with. Literally, SEARCH EVERY CORNER! If you see a symbol on a puzzle you don’t recognize, search the world for the tutorial panels. As I said earlier: If you see a bunch of panels, one right next to each other, that don’t have cables running in or out, chances are, they are there to teach you a new concept. They are often hidden behind doors with extremely simple solutions, like literally drawing a line from one point to another!
Thanks for copypasting, Leo.
SupremeAC said:The real question is: why are you in Germany?
The real question is why thevgpress has chosen Germany as my location, when I've been using primarily Czech and Dutch VPNs.
Foolz said:Thanks for copypasting, Leo.
SupremeAC said:The real question is: why are you in Germany?
The real question is why thevgpress has chosen Germany as my location, when I've been using primarily Czech and Dutch VPNs.
Ze Germans are up to their old tricks again!
Iga_Bobovic said:Foolz said:Thanks for copypasting, Leo.
SupremeAC said:The real question is: why are you in Germany?
The real question is why thevgpress has chosen Germany as my location, when I've been using primarily Czech and Dutch VPNs.
Ze Germans are up to their old tricks again!
I was going to guess it had something to do with a complex mentality-judging algorithm developed by Yoda that revealed ones true spirit through the flag icon. But alluding to nazi's is also good.
SupremeAC said:I was going to guess it had something to do with a complex mentality-judging algorithm developed by Yoda that revealed ones true spirit through the flag icon. But alluding to nazi's is also good.
That is, assuming that Iga's allusion contracts your own guess, of course...
Got all the way through what I will call the "Autum Arboretum" and got stuck on the last puzzle. Stupid gate!! 
Bad thing is: I’ve been getting stuck at the harder puzzles in certain areas, so I’ve been leaving to see what others I could do. These puzzles are probably best played in sequence so you see how each one builds on the last. There’s always the super easy ones, then more difficult, then the twist that throws out everything you thought you know, then the culmination. I’m worried if I leave in the middle of that progression, I’m not going to realize the “rules” the puzzles are governed by and get myself even more stuck.
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Just read about someone from Kotaku getting a Platinum Trophy for this game, but he brought up one point I keep on forgetting to make:
It is NOT a good idea to try and “guess” or randomly solve these puzzles. They are MEANT to teach you how to learn and think in the abstract. Solving a puzzle without knowing how or why is completely pointless and counterproductive here. I describe playing this game to people like “you are learning a new language.” That’s the closest equivalent experience I’ve had, believe it or not. Japanese, for example is easy, once you realize all of their words are composed of smaller contextual concept words. Learn those concept words and the larger words and sentences become easy, even if you’ve never encountered them before!
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I'm not copy/pasting everything from The RoF. I'm actively discussing the game with Rags and F1 there, as they are the only two other people I know who are playing --BUT-- this is the kind of game that you best go into completely cold, without any prior knowledge or hints. Once you play, you'll know why! It's definitely got a lot to do with that last paragraph I pasted just above this one!
Well, it's downloading now. Dying Light, Destiny and Grim Fandango be damned!
Whoa boy! Hope you know what's in store! Game can become an obsession!
If you want hints, ask, but try to attempt everything on your own; it's the best way to play.
I may get to try this out in about twenty minutes.
I forgot to do this on this site. WITNESS!!! GOTY 2016! Maybe, who knows. Reviews are nuts. Its out now. I will get it when my PC arrives, I want oculus support.