I originally played on PS4 and got just short of platinum only missed out on the final challenge as controller was just too slow for me to finish in time so I bought it on here so I can try and finally see the last of it.
I played through the whole thing originally in a 2-3 day span of little else, and the trippy effect of seeing the shapes in the world around me after that dive was surreal, and very fun.

The total vision of the puzzle design of the game is really benefited from the open world, allowing the designer to place not only some very interesting environmental elements but also sprinkling through some more complex puzzles that the rules for are explained elsewhere, giving you an interesting peek into what is to come and sometimes allowing you to sequence break a little if you can parse it out yourself. Sometimes it can be a little frustrating trying to figure out what the game wants from you in a particular location, but almost always that can be alleviated by coming back to it later, either because the puzzle element will be explained more simply elsewhere, or because your eyes just need a little break from whatever challenge you are facing, and until almost the very end of the game, there is always another avenue to explore.

There is a lot of feeling that the game is pretentious, or takes itself to seriously, and while I agree that the philosophy can be a bit much at times and feels a little off inside of such a colorful world, I don't think that it is at odds with the more laid back, contemplative vibe here, and few of the quotes and ideas really apply directly to the message of the game in my mind, it is more of an atmospheric element than some sort of self-aggrandizing inclusion to try and make the game seem more grown up than it is.

I can envision a version of The Witness that has none of the elements of the overworld, say something like inbento or any other traditional 2d puzzle game that works perfectly well on a tablet. The Witness has a sense of immersion that is hard to top, and puzzles that are easy to master. Just don't let yourself get frustrated and quit, keep it up and don't try to take too big of a bite, I think you'll like it.

I originally played on PS4 and got just short of platinum [spoiler]only missed out on the final challenge as controller was just too slow for me to finish in time[/spoiler] so I bought it on here so I can try and finally see the last of it. I played through the whole thing originally in a 2-3 day span of little else, and the trippy effect of seeing the shapes in the world around me after that dive was surreal, and very fun. The total vision of the puzzle design of the game is really benefited from the open world, allowing the designer to place not only some very interesting environmental elements but also sprinkling through some more complex puzzles that the rules for are explained elsewhere, giving you an interesting peek into what is to come and sometimes allowing you to sequence break a little if you can parse it out yourself. Sometimes it can be a little frustrating trying to figure out what the game wants from you in a particular location, but almost always that can be alleviated by coming back to it later, either because the puzzle element will be explained more simply elsewhere, or because your eyes just need a little break from whatever challenge you are facing, and until almost the very end of the game, there is always another avenue to explore. There is a lot of feeling that the game is pretentious, or takes itself to seriously, and while I agree that the philosophy can be a bit much at times and feels a little off inside of such a colorful world, I don't think that it is at odds with the more laid back, contemplative vibe here, and few of the quotes and ideas really apply directly to the message of the game in my mind, it is more of an atmospheric element than some sort of self-aggrandizing inclusion to try and make the game seem more grown up than it is. I can envision a version of The Witness that has none of the elements of the overworld, say something like inbento or any other traditional 2d puzzle game that works perfectly well on a tablet. The Witness has a sense of immersion that is hard to top, and puzzles that are easy to master. Just don't let yourself get frustrated and quit, keep it up and don't try to take too big of a bite, I think you'll like it.