History VideoGame / TheWitness

* SpiritualSuccessor: Very much in the style of ''Myst'' (even more so its sequel ''{{VideoGame/Riven}}''), with the lonely BeautifulVoid and numerous puzzles aimed towards a common goal.

* Metroidvania: A unique example in that you progress though the island not by acquiring upgrades but by acquiring the knowledge in how the puzzle symbols work together.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Very much in the style of ''Myst'' (even moreso its sequel ''{{VideoGame/Riven}}''), with the lonely BeautifulVoid and numerous puzzles aimed towards a common goal.

''VideoGame/TheWitness'' is a 2016 multi-platform video game by Creator/JonathanBlow, creator of ''VideoGame/{{Braid}}''.

** The mechanic of the [[spoiler: singular/dual triangle puzzles]] can be hard to ascertain as they are found across the map and are rather easy to solve with brute force. This becomes a problem when trying to later open...
** ...[[spoiler:The "Secret Challenge" inside the mountain. The same mechanic also turns the fence back on, with that solution found within the Secret Challenge.]]

** The mechanic of the [[singular/dual triangle puzzles]] can be hard to ascertain as they are found across the map and are rather easy to solve with brute force. This becomes a problem when trying to later open...

* CallBack: One puzzle is solved with the help of a slow moving set of clouds, in a nod to a similar maneuver made by Blow in his previous game, {{VideoGame/Braid}}.
* DeathMountain: In the southeast lies a mountain, which you ultimately must scale.

* FauxlosophicNarration: The game is littered with audio recorders that read out quotations from the likes of Albert Einstein, Russell Schweickart and Arthur Eddington; They provide a very esoteric story for the game itself.

* GenreThrowback: Blow made this to be like an old AdventureGame with all the bad bits taken out.
* GuideDangIt: The entirely hidden [[spoiler: perspective-based puzzles that power the black obelisks.]] In short, it requires you to [[spoiler: line up the scenery in specific ways so that the telltale large starting circle and curved ending point appear.]]

* SceneryPorn: The island has a very beautiful, stylized look to it. As soon as you open the first gate, you're able to climb up on the second level of the starting point and look out at all of it.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Very much in the style of ''Myst'', with the loneliness and numerous puzzles.

The player must ultimately activate seven of ten total beacons in order to gain access to the island's mountain and discover just what this place is and what happened here.

** [[spoiler: The video of American guru Gangaji, who implores her followers to stop looking for what they want, "not cynically, but innocently and openly."]]

* DroneOfDread: As there is no score, the environments will give off subtle ambient cues -- and some of them fall squarely into this trope.
* FauxlosophicNarration: The game is littered with audio recorders that read out quotations from the likes of Albert Einstein and Arthur Eddington; They provide a very esoteric story for the game itself.

* GuideDangIt: [[spoiler: The hidden, perspective-based puzzles that power the black obelisks. In short, it requires you to line up the scenery in specific ways to find hidden paths to unlock. The first one is accessible by ''turning around'' after exiting the very first door.]]

* ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch: The game is receiving backlask from those who believe that it is nothing more than a dolled-up, 3D version of an endless puzzle game like Sudoku or ''Candy Crush''. The game goes ''{{Film/Inception}}''-levels deeper than that.

* FauxlosophicNarration: The game is littered with audio recorders that read out quotations from the likes of Albert Einstein and Arthur Eddington; as well as some original and/or anonymously written quips.

* ShiftingSandLand: The northwest portion of the island is pretty sandy.

* BeautifulVoid / SceneryPorn: The poster child of 2016. As soon as you open the first gate, you're able to climb up on the second level of the starting point. It's worth every second spent gawking.

* {{Homage}}/SpiritualSuccessor: To ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' and first-person 3D adventure games in general. Much of the imagery also brings to mind many classic [[{{Surrealism}} Surrealist]] paintings.

* VideoGameSettings:
** BubblegloopSwamp: Found in the easternmost part of the island.
** DeathMountain: In the southeast, and which you ultimately must scale.
** TheLostWoods: Makes up the greater portion of the island.
** JungleJapes: Found in the southeast at the foot of the mountain.
** ShiftingSandLand: The northwest portion of the island.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: The player is entirely incapable of falling off of anything. Then again, they can't jump, either.

* BeautifulVoid

* PatchworkMap: There are an awful lot of different biomes close together on such a small island.
* SceneryPorn

* JigsawPuzzlePlot

''VideoGame/TheWitness'' is a 2014 multi-platform video game by Creator/JonathanBlow, creator of ''VideoGame/{{Braid}}''.

''VideoGame/TheWitness'' is a 2013 multi-platform video game by Creator/JonathanBlow, creator of ''VideoGame/{{Braid}}''.

* {{Homage}}: To ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' and old {{Adventure Game}}s in general. Much of the imagery also brings to mind many classic [[{{Surrealism}} Surrealist]] paintings.

** LostWoods: Makes up the greater portion of the island.

The game has you control an unnamed, unseen PlayerCharacter stranded on an island filled with beautiful vegetation and buildings but completely devoid of human life. Scattered across the island are audio recordings offering the esoteric backstory of this place and numerous puzzles that must be solved in order to progress further into various sections of the world. The player must ultimately activate seven of ten total beacons in order to gain access to the island's mountain and discover just what this place is and what happened here.