PPP2 Review: The Witness

The next game that I wanted to look at was The Witness. This is the upcoming 3D puzzle game from Number None, Inc which is designed by Jonathon Blow, the same man who created Braid, the very popular indie game. The Witness is an experience in the first-person view and the player controls the unnamed character as he works out why he is on this beautiful island. The island is going to be divided into 10 sections arranged around a mountain, which is meant to represent the ultimate goal. The puzzles throughout the game all have similar themes and the earlier puzzles help to gain knowledge about how to defeat the later ones.

As many people already know Jonathon Blow wasn't too happy with how Braid was seen in the public eyes. Although it was a great game and it received such positive feedback, Blow was annoyed that players failed to see the true meaning and underlying hint of the story, they just saw it as a puzzle game with time travel. Remarks about this project that have come from him already are 'the point is the magic that happens in the player's mind when he understands the subtle things that the mazes are saying - because the mazes aren't just puzzles, they are lines of communication that aggregate, become more complex and eventually say surprising things'. Hopefully this will be received better by the audience.

Although I probably will not be purchasing this game myself as I am not into puzzle games that much, I can't help but look at the beauty of it. The whole design of the island is incredible and it looks gorgeous. There are such beautiful little levels of detail and the layout has been taken carefully into consideration. Throughout the island we see a lot of greenery in the form of beautiful trees and there are also patches of orchards which are just mesmerising. It shows just how good the PS4 is going to be and I really can't wait to see all of the images, as it isn't out yet. What I particularly like about it is the art style, it is a great mix of realism and cartoon which I really like and could try to apply or take influence from it for my own work. There is also a great use of bright and bold colours and I really like the accented music that features as you get close to audio huts throughout the island. This is definitely a creative and beautiful environment.