The Witness is the 2017 iPad Game of the Year because: It’s one of the best puzzle games of all time.
What makes it unique? It’s a game that doesn’t hold your hand, and in doing so shows faith that you’ll unravel its many mysteries. Its answers are sometimes far from obvious; some obstacles will stump you—but persevere and you’ll eventually comprehend their logic.
If The Witness asks a lot, it gives back just as much. Successes thrill because they’re genuinely earned—and each solution offers more compelling insight into the game’s immense world.
You wake on a picturesque tropical island. No people or animals are in sight, but it’s overrun with high-tech panels, each representing a different conundrum, all interconnected via electrical wires.
As you investigate and engage with the island’s puzzle panels over the dozens of hours of gameplay, it’s hard not to be awed by the design. And then there’s the sheer beauty of the lush location— drenched in pastels—with detailed vegetation, shimmering water and ambient lighting.
But just as wondrous are the puzzles and their relationship to this world. Each challenge has a purpose; meaning is everywhere. You just have to join the dots. Literally.
Director Jonathan Blow and studio Thekla have crafted an intuitive control scheme that works brilliantly with iPad’s touchscreen. Tap on a location and the game handles the rest. Interacting with the puzzles is as intuitive as tracing lines with your finger.
The Witness, ultimately, is a game about epiphanies, where every “a-ha” moment is quickly echoed by a “wow”.