Recent reviews by SapientSloth

I've played this game in 2016 for about an hour and thought something like: "This is a very nice looking, but pretty boring puzzle game." and haven't touched it for about ten years. But I've noticed that The Witness regularly came up in conversations about the best puzzle games of all time, which I found odd but also intriguing.

Now, ten years later, I've returned with a different approach to video games, an open mind, curiosity and perhaps most importantly – patience.

The gameplay could barely be more simple. You draw lines from point A to point B. But of course there is more to it. Different areas teach you different rules through increasingly complex puzzles. Later on multiple rules show up together. Some of these are quite the brain scrambler.

What really drew me in were not the puzzles but the art direction. Every area looks very distinct and the entire island holds so many things to discover. Most only visible from a certain angle and some hiding in plain sight. I had a wonderful time slowly wandering around and letting my eyes find all kinds of details. There is beauty everywhere. You just have to look for it. I don't want to downplay the very creative ways the 'drawing a line' gameplay is implemented. Some of them just made me smile in awe.

There is no dialog, no hint or help system, no communicated goals and no time pressure. You get to explore fully on your own. I can see how this might bother some. For me this felt serene. There is no goal, so I can't fail.

I was able to get to an ending after about 25 hours playing deribately slow, but I knew there was more to discover. Some loose ends remained so I pressed on and boy oh boy, I was not disappointed. I found more puzzles and a certain challenge that really pushed my patience, but I was able to conquer it and was greatly rewarded.

Some of the additional puzzles are bold choices and one in particular demands a lot from the player. I was baffled when I realised but couldn't help to respect that choice. It was very apt for my experience so far. I learned some very cool fun facts about the real world along the way.

I don't know if The Witness was trying to teach me something beyond the skills needed for solving its puzzles, but regardless I have learned lessons I will take with me. It sounds tacky but I believe playing it this way and taking everything in slowly induced something in me. It's not that I suddenly found enlightenment but I am really glad I played this game and I think that's a great note to end on.

Would I recommend The Witness? Yes, however I feel this games desired audience is a little narrower than other greatly recommended puzzle games. I now understand why it gets mentioned all the time. I would mention it too.

Hard but fair with nice atmosphere and some cool design choices. Taking notes is highly advised. Absolute no brainer for the low price of free.

Spoilerfree Review:

This game was able to catch wihin the very first minute of playing. The presentation and vibes are immaculate. It oozes style at every corner and I was intrigued by the mystery you are thrown into. I am glad to not have watched any of the trailers before, so every new layer was not met with anticipation.

This game get's weird, uneasy and has light horror elements. The game does a good job explaining what you can expect of the unfolding events, as long as you choose to listen/read.

The quality of life and accessabilty are quite high. Playing with a controller: For movement you can use the D-Pad or either stick. Any action in the game requires a single button press and you can hit any.
Your character keeps perfect mental copies of each and every paper, sign, map etc. you find throughout the game. In addition to that you keep a mental checklist of things to do, which are automatically crossed out once you've done them. Keeping pen and paper close at hand is still advised. If you feel stuck you can call someone for help and they'll may give you a somewhat vague hint, so no direct solution is spoiled. Completeness of collectables and other things can be viewed through an ingame device, which is nice.

I found the puzzles to be on the easy to intermediate level. You will often run into a puzzle which is only solvable with knowledge/things from somewhere else, so be prepared to run around a lot. It's basically a bunch of fetch quests wrapped in a light puzzle coat. I didn't mind that, but maybe you do. By solving extra puzzles you can unlock shortcuts to make traversal easier. You can save some miles by going the extra ones, I guess.

I won't touch on the story, other than it is, same as the presentation, deliberately confusing.
Many parts of the game wear their inspiration on their sleeve. I found them to be greatly executed. They make sense, serve a purpose and don't feel cheap in any way.

Anything bad? During the mid and late game, navigating through certain parts can become tedious. This is clearly by design but can still be a bit annoying. Also a lot of the puzzles only require putting one and one together. This is fine, but I would have preferred more challenging tasks.

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes confidently cemented its place in my Hall Of Fame of puzzle games. I am very glad it exists and to have played it. Maybe you should too. I strongly recommend it.

Pure elegance and efficiency. Two buttons, no language barrier, fun gimmick used to its full potential, bunch of secret extra collectibles with nods to other great games, never starts to drag.

Nama Takahashi did it again and created another charming and elegantly designed puzzle platformer. You will run into a lot of dead ends, but every time you will turn around hopefully having learned something new. A playthrough will take you about 2 hours.

Unless you find your way into the secret post game, which is about the same length as the original playthrough and really challenges your creativity and understanding of the game.

Simple and straightforward, fun mechanics, challenging but fair puzzles, doesn't overstay it's welcome. Took me about three hours to complete every puzzle while sometimes being distracted by stuff on the second monitor.

Still in Early Access but already tons of fun. Lots to see, lots to do and the music is just banger after banger. Looking forward to seeing the evolution of this gem.

Just a few years old and already feels like a classic in the best possible way. Game is a ton of fun, the community is fantastic and the devs care for the game and the fans, providing constant free updates. 10/10.