The Witness by Jonathan Blow

[melmer]

Man I'm addicted to this game (215 +29)

I see sperm EVERYWHERE

[BadHat]

Some more spoilery discussion: Yellow Brick Panels

This is the first hard wall in the game for me. They seem to be an essential element that's repeated often and I have the basic idea of how to interpret them, but I seem to be missing something. I couldn't get past the second/third set of panels in the red lagoon place. I must be missing some trick that lets you satisfy the requirement more efficiently. It's particularly annoying since you have to ride this slow moving bridge to get there and back.

Spoilered in case people don't want to read vague specifics, but this isn't a solution.

I'm stumped on these too, and worse I can't figure out how to get back across on the bridge? I'm kind of just stuck on the other side with those two sets of block puzzles. I solved the first of the set of two on the door up the stairs, but the second one has me completely stumped. I don't quite grasp the logic of how the shapes can be "arranged" when you outline them. If I outline only the two corner pieces on the left, it seems like I can "flip" their orientation and they won't blink when I attempt to solve the puzzle, indicating that's a valid choice. But then arranging them in other ways, like trying to rotate or stack them in odd ways, just straight up won't work. What's more, returning to the first puzzle there and trying the same thing makes those pieces blink, so being able to flip them (if it's even valid and not just a bug) seems completely incidental? I still don't know what the fuck to do with two or more shapes intersect. Those tutorial puzzles did not prepare me for this shit at allllll.

[dium]

I got this game despite a really hefty and embarrassing post-holidays backlog... buuut it seems pretty fantastic so far so I have no regrets.

 

I'm only 2 hours in so I definitely don't feel "stuck" yet (exploring is, in and of itself, a satisfying diversion) but I do spend most of my time wandering around trying puzzles and giving up because I can't figure out what certain reoccurring elements mean. I have a sneaking suspicion that I've missed some teaching puzzles positioned somewhere closer to the start, but maybe that's just me being used to more tutorialization than this game actually provides. And if I actually did miss something, I'll end up finding it eventually as I wander back around.

 

It's the tetromino symbols (every modern puzzle video game has gotta have tetrominos I guess). No idea what they mean. Excited to feel both smart AND dumb when I figure it out.

[Dewar]

So many good games coming out. Glowing discussion on the Bombcast has elevated this up to my must-buy list along with XCOM2, so I'll have a lot to play over the next few weeks.

[ratamero]

I got this game despite a really hefty and embarrassing post-holidays backlog... buuut it seems pretty fantastic so far so I have no regrets.

 

I'm only 2 hours in so I definitely don't feel "stuck" yet (exploring is, in and of itself, a satisfying diversion) but I do spend most of my time wandering around trying puzzles and giving up because I can't figure out what certain reoccurring elements mean. I have a sneaking suspicion that I've missed some teaching puzzles positioned somewhere closer to the start, but maybe that's just me being used to more tutorialization than this game actually provides. And if I actually did miss something, I'll end up finding it eventually as I wander back around.

 

It's the tetromino symbols (every modern puzzle video game has gotta have tetrominos I guess). No idea what they mean. Excited to feel both smart AND dumb when I figure it out.

 

Almost 6h in and I haven't managed to figure that one out yet. 

 

Also, any idea what the +X number on the savefiles mean? Is it spoilery?

[juv3nal]

Almost 6h in and I haven't managed to figure that one out yet. 

 

Also, any idea what the +X number on the savefiles mean? Is it spoilery?

 

I don't actually know, but I'm a guess those are extra optional secret ones?

[xchen]

Got really motionsick playing tonight

[Latrine]

Spoilered in case people don't want to read vague specifics, but this isn't a solution.

I'm stumped on these too, and worse I can't figure out how to get back across on the bridge? I'm kind of just stuck on the other side with those two sets of block puzzles. I solved the first of the set of two on the door up the stairs, but the second one has me completely stumped. I don't quite grasp the logic of how the shapes can be "arranged" when you outline them. If I outline only the two corner pieces on the left, it seems like I can "flip" their orientation and they won't blink when I attempt to solve the puzzle, indicating that's a valid choice. But then arranging them in other ways, like trying to rotate or stack them in odd ways, just straight up won't work. What's more, returning to the first puzzle there and trying the same thing makes those pieces blink, so being able to flip them (if it's even valid and not just a bug) seems completely incidental? I still don't know what the fuck to do with two or more shapes intersect. Those tutorial puzzles did not prepare me for this shit at allllll.

 

Yeah, I got stuck in exactly the same place there. You can get back across the bridge, you just have to frob it the right way. 

 

The +X in the puzzle count are a specific type of puzzle. Here's a hint if you want to know where to get started on these:

 

Go to the top of the mountain. There's a panel that is a clue about one of these.

[juffowup]

My 6-year-old spent some time tagging along with the Talos Principle, and I told her about this game a few months ago.  I played for a few hours before she got home from school, at which point I made her a new save file and handed her the controller.  I think this is the first time she's controlled a first person game comfortably, and I keep being blown away at how fast she's picking up the stuff.  After the tutorial, at the two big 'lessons' you get right outside that area, she got through all those tricky ones basically right away.  

 

Proudest moment:  [spoiler for what the +n means I guess]

 On the path out of the tutorial area, at the overlook on the right where you can look across the bay and I guess you're supposed to marvel at how big the island is, she immediately grabbed a cursor and found her first hidden maze-thing in the landscape, on the bottom left of the dock.  She didn't complete it--you can't from there--but I'd played for two hours before she got home from school and I hadn't figured out that those existed at all!  Blown away by my kiddo.

 

[Moosferatu]

Can anyone tell me why this is not a valid solution for one of those damn early tetris ones?  I don't need the solution.  I just don't see what rule this is violating.

 

[melmer]

The two two squares have two spaces in between them if that makes sense. You very almost got it

just change the line for the first two squares

[osmosisch]

My 6-year-old spent some time tagging along with the Talos Principle, and I told her about this game a few months ago.  I played for a few hours before she got home from school, at which point I made her a new save file and handed her the controller.  I think this is the first time she's controlled a first person game comfortably, and I keep being blown away at how fast she's picking up the stuff.  After the tutorial, at the two big 'lessons' you get right outside that area, she got through all those tricky ones basically right away.

Yeah this is a very cool kids game. My 5-year-old is fighting the controls more than the puzzles haha. I think I'll try her on mouse+kb, she's mode comfortable with that.

[Dr Wookie]

After getting 115 puzzles solved with no pluses, I spoiled myself on what they meant. I had seen these around but hadn't got around to any of them; now I feel a bit silly for being so impatient!

[zerofiftyone]

I'm currently at 259 +10. A while ago I found something weird that I'll spoiler tag an explanation.

 

FMV from a 1970s (?) BBC documentary! I don't want to say where or how I found it, but it's definitely in there, and it seems like there might be more.

WTF is this game!

 

I found this within the two hours of my playthrough and it was really incredible. I had the same reaction of "whoa what even is this game?"

[ratamero]

hahah, just found that an hour ago or so. Definitely wasn't expecting to see it. And I'm finally starting to understand

 

the tetrominoes and the colour puzzles,

so progress is definitely being made.

[melmer]

The kinda tutorial for the + puzzles is...

top of the mountain

So I guess people that have done a ton of puzzles without realising what the + puzzles are haven't gone exploring very far

[dium]

I opened a spoiler and immediately closed it but already my game world has expanded in a way I wish would've happened more naturally. Ah well, such is life.

 

Anyway, 4 more hours in and I still don't understand Tetris. But I did come across a bunch of puzzles that I could solve, and some weirdness.

 

I found what I imagine is one of many video clips to play under the windmill... a long sequence from the end of Nostalghia. I dunno if there's some hidden clues in it or if it's just a reminder of the virtue of perseverance. And a cool little content reward.

 

I really dislike "pretentious", and I don't think this game is pretentious by my understanding of the word. But I think it's fair to say this game can feel... self important. Or snooty. I don't really mind, it's kind of a positive for me.

[prettyunsmart]

The kinda tutorial for the + puzzles is...

top of the mountain

So I guess people that have done a ton of puzzles without realising what the + puzzles are haven't gone exploring very far

 

I'm not far far in at all, but the tutorial is in a place that kind of feels like it would be an end of game thing. When I first had my attention drawn towards it, I wondered if I should go there immediately, or if I should wait until I had done more puzzles. I'm glad I did, because wandering and just seeing how much there is going on in the game was great, but I could also understand the opposite reaction.

[melmer]

266 +42 I think I may be reaching a potential end game.... Or maybe not.

In video game terms I've completed mission one

[juffowup]

Beat the game with seven lasers tonight... went back in and quickly found an amazing and strange secret that is basically the credit sequence I think...I can't tell if it was there the whole time or if it unlocked after beating the game.  Does anybody know what I'm talking about who hasn't seen an ending?

[namman siggins]

Stuck in the last hedge maze puzzle. 

[juffowup]

Stuck in the last hedge maze puzzle. 

The hedgemaze doesn't match the board... find the path that solves both.

[Jordan A]

This game has some of the most aggressively coloured lighting I've seen since like, Quake 2.

[prawks]

This game has some of the most aggressively coloured lighting I've seen since like, Quake 2.

 

The greenhouse (if you can call it that, not sure what the official PS4 achievement name is) is blindingly colorful at times

[Cleinhun]

I've been calling it the flower tower, and I will probably continue to do so even if it has an official name.