Jovuto

I have mixed feelings about this game for a couple of reasons, one is that the balance and difficulty curve in this game is often pretty bad and, after taking a break from video games for a couple of weeks, the game has seemingly deleted my save data (I was at the final boss too). I do however definitely recommend this game and here's why. First of all, the game practically oozes charm. If you're into games that are built upon a wacky or crazy idea, or even into games with a good sense of humor, then this is definitely the game for you. Who knew that bloodthirsty aliens could be fought off with baseball ey? The charm even seeps into the gameplay too. At the base of the game we have Breakout but with a completely different rule set. It actually makes Breakout engaging and fun to play, and honestly the worlds/levels that are good are REALLY GOOD. I had a blast playing the levels I actually enjoyed. And holy hell the music in this game is so damn good. I really wish there were more tracks. This is probably more of a backhanded compliment but the music is SO good that I feel like it's wasted somewhat. Most of the bosses share the same theme and I think it would've been cool to have separate boss themes. But that's just me. The art style and character designs are super cool too. But the game is definitely far from perfect. Firstly the difficulty curve in this game makes no sense whatsoever. World 1, 3 and sometimes 5 are a piece of cake. Worlds 2 and 4 though? Yeesh... My main issue with world 2 is that they introduce one of the most annoying and difficult enemies in the game... straight after world 1. I'm talking about the green slime aliens. You run into them, you get locked in place and have to button mash to break free. Oh and they also take three hits to kill and they have invincibility frames. I'm really not a fan of enemies that freeze or lock you into place and the fact that they're introduced so early and are so hard to kill just made me feel frustrated rather than challenged. Oh and there's a boss that's basically a giant green slime alien on world 4. Why oh why did they think making the most annoying enemy in the game into a boss was a good idea. The green slime boss is by far the worst part of this game. There are a few other small issues with the game but they're mostly nitpicky... dodging sometimes goes in the wrong direction (probably my fault), I only seemed to get items when I didn't need them (probably just a coincidence), the game deleted my save data (probably an isolated issue) etc. Overall, it's a neat indie game with quite a few flaws. That said, you should definitely pick this game up. It's only £2.79 and even though it has some flaws you'll at least have fun with world 1, a little bit of world 2 and the custom levels... that in itself is at least 2 hours of enjoyment (at least for me). And hey, if you aren't a crybaby like me and don't mind an insanely hard game, this REALLY is the game for you. But maybe not quite for me. 6/10

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Gameplay: 7/10 For the most part, the puzzles in this game are pretty entertaining and require the player to think in different ways. However, unlike games of a similar nature (like Myst), the puzzles become really repetitive and boring after a while as all puzzles are solved via the panels (except for one area). The puzzles also become unbearably difficult later on so the gameplay may not be accessible to some. Controls: 4/10 If you're planning on playing this, play it on PC because the controls on the PS4 are dreadful. Moving the camera is unbearably slow and what's worse is that there's no setting to change the camera's speed. The lack of camera sensitivity settings is unacceptable in a game like this. Aesthetic: 10/10 This game is gorgeous and what's surprising is that everything seems to be low poly to some degree. Jonathan and his team did a great job. Sound and Music: 10/10 When I heard that this game would have more than a thousand footstep sound effects, I was blown away and I still am. You can just tell that a lot of care and attention went into making the game sound just right. Usually I'm a fan of games with great soundtracks but The Witness doesn't have one. But that's because it simply doesn't need one. The sound design in this game is enough to win me over. User Experience/Tutorials: 9/10 Apart from telling the player how to move, how to activate a panel and how to run, the game tells the player nothing in terms of how to play the game. The game shows the player instead. Each area of the island is a tutorial for a puzzle mechanic and each area (minus a few) does such a great job in teaching the player how a certain mechanic works. Story: 0/10 Ooooh boy.... this fell apart really quickly. So, there's two endings. One that happens when you get to the end and one that happens when you discover a secret after getting the normal ending. The first ending simply puts the player back to the beginning of the game, resets the puzzles whilst some people say some meaningless quote on quote "deep" drivel. This honestly feels more like a troll ending than anything. Like, did Jonathan Blow just waste a good chunk of my time with this game just for it to be reset? The secret ending is even worse than the first. It's basically an "it was all a dream" ending. The worst and laziest kind of ending to any story. Except this time, it was all just a crazy VR game. The ending is complete and utter **** and I'm so glad that I used a walkthrough for the last segments of the game because I would've felt so defeated if I had wasted my time actually solving the last few puzzles. Price: 1/10: After an ending like that, I can't help but feel ripped off by the shocking £30 price tag. I would probably give this section a higher score but after all the "don't pirate our game" drama I can't help but be even more annoyed by the price tag. Hey... if you want to pirate The Witness, go right ahead because it is no way worth £30. Overall: 5/10

Boring, repetative, button-masher with character designs that look like they've been taken from a DeviantArt/Tumblr furry page. Apart from the characters, the overall art style is pretty nice.

Gameplay: Nothing interesting to see here. Just another twist on the Minecraft/survival/"lel so indie" trends we've been seeing for the past 5 years. Although, I'll admit that the game can cause serious urgency when the character's sanity gets low. But that hardly effects the gameplay. Unlike Minecraft, it is a very hectic game and requires the player to focus on multiple things at once. However, after doing this again and again, it can get very boring. Gameplay: 0/10 The controls are near perfect. However, it took me a while to figure out how to set traps in this game. It would've been easier to work out, if there was a prompt to set the trap. Also, walking around would feel more satisfying if the walking animation was more fluid. Controls: 8/10 Yet again, the art style is also a rip off. The game tries to capture the Tim Burton aesthetic. And although it works well with the themes of this game, it's certainly not original. Aesthetic: 6/10 This game is an indie, so it isn't aiming for a huge technical/graphical target. The game works well, 1080p and 60fps, and I have not encountered any glitches. Technical: N/A Although the music works well for the game, the sound effects can become annoying (especially the main character's voice.) Sound and Music: 3/10 There are no tutorials. No effort has been made to teach the player how to play the game. Abysmal. User Experience.Tutorials: 0/10 For an 2D indie game with a false portrayal of length, I wouldn't pay more than £5 for this game. It's £12. Abysmal. Price: 1/10 Overall I think that this game is not for me. But I think that other people could easily enjoy this game if they have the patience to play it over and over again and is willing to pay for the absurd price. Overall: 3/10