4 out of 5
The Witness
You are alone. There is no one to witness your deeds and, when you die, you will be forgotten. At least there are hundreds of puzzles. A spoiler filled review of The Witness by Dustin Ritchea.
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
—Percy Bysshe Shelley
Johnathan Blow, the notorious creator of Braid, an indie video game considered to be one of the best ever made, has designed yet another brain puncher in his new title, The Witness. Developed by Thekla, Inc., The Witness is an adventure puzzle game that takes many deliberate notes from Myst — the game, NOT the movie. In The Witness, players take on the role of a nameless character who wakes up in an underground bunker on a beautiful island teeming with puzzles. They do not remember why they are there, how they got there, or what they are doing there.
This ambiguity permeates the game. There are no tutorials, no defined objectives, and no explanations throughout the entire game. You awake, you see a puzzle on a door, you solve it, and from there you travel the world trying to understand where you are. This is a very intentionally cryptic game, an exploration into epiphany, meditation, religion, science, and existence. The only interactive solace you ever receive comes in the form of audio files and video messages hidden throughout the island.
These glimpses into the creator’s mind are one of the highlights of the game. They are philosophical statements, proses, poems, films, biographies, and stories made to make the player think about life, god, death, human endeavor, and time. It is evident these elements were well thought out because finding them felt like a treat. They always asked the right questions at the right times, questions that made me ponder, and while I believe the game had a stronger atheistic overtone than I would have liked, the beauty even the atheistics promoted a religious undertone. This is a subconscious game that drives at logic, persistence, and changed perspectives.
So, what is this game? The Witness is Myst done with lines. In this game the character exits a bunker into a walled garden sealed by an overtly complicated electrical gate — this is the only electric gate in the game… hmmm…. interesting… we’ll get back to that later. The gate looks like it can be powered down at a control panel, but the panel is covered. Looking around, there are more control panels, but these contain line puzzles. The first few feel like they are out of a children’s coloring book, like finding your way through a maze. These ones are easy. These ones are fun. Solving the puzzles activates a power cord from the panel (another line) that leads to the next panel/puzzle. Solve enough of these and the gate will open. Off to the races.
I thought this game was going to be easy and fun. I have always been good at line puzzles and mazes, so I was excited to play a 40 to 100 hour game devoted to mysteries and exploration. I was wrong. The Witness is one of the most brutally hard games I have ever played. It is the Demon Souls/Dark Souls of puzzle games, and it should not be played for a relaxing, fun time. The only form of help comes from finding an easy panel. What I mean by this is that some panels contain puzzles with one symbol on them. Solving a one symbol, one line puzzle is simple, but they get harder, exponentially so. The first one I came up against was a line puzzle with a white square and a black square. After about four hours I had to look up what the pattern was (Oh behave, I only cheated on four panel puzzles—I solved 420 by myself). Turns out, you have to separate the white squares from the black squares using a line… That may seem rudimentary, but I couldn’t figure it out. There were too many possibilities, and that was only the beginning.
By the end of the game the puzzles are so intricate that the environments have to be manipulated to solve them. There are puzzles that coordinate to pairs, to shapes, to colors, and to sounds. One of the puzzles involves creating the wrong shapes so that it triggers a symbol to activate a platform in the correct manner. Another uses sunlight to etch the pattern into the panel—this one feels easy until the patterns are incomplete and the only way to reflect the light is to lower water as a refractor. This stuff gets hard. Some puzzles involve memorizing complex systems, building and deleting shapes based on rotational alignments, and one particularly nasty puzzle is so complicated it has to be solved four times as the character walks back and forth between two panels.
This is not a game for the faint of heart. This is an homage to some of the most ruthless puzzle games ever made, and you will need a pen and paper to solve it. It is a fair game, I will give it that, but it is hard, and it’s not rewarding. Solving a panel puzzle does not change the map, it simply activates another puzzle. Puzzle after puzzle after puzzle. It’s maddening. Still, if the 450+ panels aren’t enough, then the environment puzzles will be. Throughout the island, there are lines that can be drawn using different objects and edifices. Perhaps the shadow of a tree, or the way fruit looks at certain angel is a puzzle. If the line is drawn, the map erupts in sparkles of firework light. Cool, right? No. these puzzles are sometimes even more difficult to find and solve than the panels.
*Disclaimer: Do not cheat. I needed help figuring out two patterns, but I only cheated for answers on two puzzles. If you cheat, it makes the game more difficult, and you might as well just sell it. This game is about puzzles. Enjoy them*
At least Johnathan Blow gives the mercy that not every puzzle needs to be solved in order to beat the primary game. The goal then is to ignite 7 beacons (again, this isn’t a true objective, it just happens). These are the level enders—you’ll know them when you see them. There are 11 beacons to light. I lit them all, please forgive me, brain. There is also a bonus level hidden in the caverns beneath the mountain—really look at the box on top of the mountain and it’s is easy to find. The secret cavern holds the hardest puzzle in the game. It’s hard because there are 14 puzzles that have to be solved in seven minutes, and they change every time, so they can’t be memorized or cheated on. I couldn’t beat it and after four hours I gave up and decided to just beat the game.
*Big spoilers from here on out*
At the end, having lit enough beacons, an elevator appears and music swells. At last! Stepping into the elevator I thought to myself, “Answers. Finally, there will be answers.” Again, I was wrong. The elevator lifts, and slowly the elevator disappears, but the character remains. As they fly through the map, going to every place they’ve been, the beacons shut off, shut down, and the puzzles restart. The game ends right back where the game began.
I was very disappointed, but that is because I missed the message, and having done research, I can better appreciate the game now. According to several fan theories and an interview with Johnathan Blow, The Witness is about epiphany. Players are meant to have “aha” moments. The end, then, is an “aha” moment. There is no one to witness what the player has accomplished. In fact, anything that resembles another character is frozen in stone on the island. The blogging community has a theory that the stone statues and the game reset helps us as players to realize how insignificant we really are.
…
Or does it? Because wait a second? There was only one electrical gate in the entire game. And when the game restarted, isn’t that gate lit up again? Hmmmm…. That’s strange…. Wait… that pole powering the gate, doesn’t it look like a line? And there you have it. The biggest secret in The Witness is that the ending is at the beginning. By powering up the line, the gate that led to the rest of the game actually leads to a secret hotel. Traveling through this alternate reality leads the player to the final cutscene: a video of someone (most likely Johnathan Blow given the pee bottle by the couch in the video) waking up after being plugged into a computer. The audio files in the hidden cavern also illustrate that the meta-game developers were trying to simulate a dream state environment—the island. This is a meta end to an Inception-esque storyline wrapped in an enigma that finishes like a copout. A dream, really?
It’s a bittersweet sort of end, but at least the environments were beautiful on the island. The Witness is gorgeous, and the landscapes are as varied as any adventure game should be. There is a secret theater, a castle, a dojo, a mountain, a swamp, a tree fort, a pyramid, a bunker, and a secret laboratory that looks to have jumped out of the game Portal. The sounds is well done (yes, I mean sound, not music, there isn’t much music except for at the end and in the secret cavern), and the atmosphere is well balanced for mediation and reflection. The game made me feel like I was on an island, and the water is elegant and tranquil.
Come for the puzzles but stay for the world because, at the end of it all, there will be no one to see what you’ve done, and you will cry out “Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair” but there will be nothing to see and no one to hear you.
The North remembers.
In the universe of Game of Thrones, scenes’ before the opening theme are constant for the first episode of every season. For example, two great scenes that come to mind are the three Night’s Watchmen hunted down by White Walkers in season one or Tywin Lannister melting down house Stark’s sword Ice for Jamie and Geoffrey, season four. On the other hand, the opening scene of season is just plain horrific but awesome at the same time. Nothing is more satisfying then watching all the men of House Frey choke on their own blood after being reminded of the Red Wedding. It was an absolute grand-slam and took off perfectly from where we last saw Aryain season 6.
The North remembers.
Right after the credits we get a quick reminder of the army of the dead, and with more bad news; Giant white walkers. But thankfully we are intercepted by Bran warding into one of them which seems like a very useful ability (what’s next dragon’s or an ice dragon?). He is now with
the Watchers on the Wall and back in the mix, hopefully heading for Winterfell where he can inform Jon he is a Targaryan (This will be hype! I wonder if he can be burnt by fire!). Bran’s story has taken a back seat to other prevalent Starks but it’s nice to see him in the mix, demonstrating his power.
Next, we have psycho Cersei and her sane, lover brother Jaime. I still can’t forgive him for pushing Bran from the tower but I am starting to come around. The disapproving way he has been looking at Cersei dating back to last season says it all. From confronting her about
Tommen’s suicide, to questioning her about the enemies created (Targaryans, Tyrells, Starks, Dornish, and Half the Iron Borne) and the lifeless dynasty they will continue. He keeps his position with Cersei discussing what allies they have left but Jaime is clearly becoming distant and realizing the extent of his lover/sister’s delusion. I forecast a remake of the tale of “The King Slayer” retitled “The Queen Slayer”. In the mean time, the diabolical Yuron Greyjoy, the new king of the Iron Islands rekindles the bond between the Lannisters to move him into a prime position to become King of The Seven (three at this point) Kingdoms. He is presented as a lot more cunning and rounded character kissing up to the Queen and promising her a gift, whether that be Tyrion, and/or a thousand ship armada. What will be interested is how Jaime responds to a marriage between them, because Cersei and Yuron have a demonistic chemistry. She even abides by him making hand jokes and death threats (killing his brother, telling her to do the same). This was a fantastic scene all the while, and it really shows if Cersei get’s close to Yuron and isolates Jamie she will create yet another enemy.
We then get to a short snippet of Samwell Tally’s horrific, grotesque life as a server at the Citadel preparing to become the maester of Castle Black. There is a massive scene which shows him preparing food, cleaning and handling old people plumbing. What’s intriguing is the un-thrones like comedic cut between him doing his daily work; It’s funny and it’s not a bad idea to lighten the tone up because Tyrion used to be the comedy for us in the earlier seasons. Samwell helps the archmaester with the dissection of a corpse where he confirms his thoughts of the White Walkers. What was kind of cheap for me was his simple way of finding dragon glass through a book in the restricted section. It seemed too easy for Game of Thrones, like something you would see Hermione Granger find in the “restricted section”. Hopefully there is more too this but it was kind of stale and forced
Oh wait, Ed Sheeran? I didn’t see it coming, and I thought it was weird but acceptable. It was obviously him having an in with the producers and wanting a cameo role, but he has pure, angelic voice and creates a sympathetic feeling for the Lannister troops that brings out the non-assassin in Arya. She tells them she’s on her way to kings landing to “kill the queen” and it’s not taking seriously which shows how dangerous she has become. But what I see from this is season two when Mellisandre said there is a darkness in her. This darkness has come to fruition and it will be interesting to see how this is received by the remaining Starks. Besides the randomness of Ed Sheeran, I thought this really grounded Arya.
Sandor Clegane and the brotherhood without banners are now at a place he would rather not be; an old victim’s house where Clegane took their silver and resources. They find the father and daughter dead, holding each other. This almost creates an epiphany for the character, asking why the child dies, and fellow brother Beric Dondarion should be brought back. Then the flames get him, showing him the army of the dead and the reality of the larger issue at hand. I think we will see a more compliant hound the rest of this season. I’ve loved this character from the beginning and his arch is getting much broader for the better. I predict a positive change in attitude for the hound.
Finally, the Queen of Dragons, Breaker of Chains, Denarys Stormborn is finally home. From season one this is the only thing she has wanted. But now, she has an army of unsullied, the Dothraki and there gigantic Dragons. The final scene of her tearing down the Baratheon banner and taking her spot among her ancestors war table was breathtaking. It was a long, drawn out scene but the character deserves this and it has been a long time waiting. Fire and blood seem to be the strongest motto of any house right now, and it will for sure be enforced upon the Lannisters. My prediction although is that she won’t penetrate King’s Landing because of Cersei’s ruthlessness and George R.R Martin curveball tendency. Whit I think everyone is looking forward to is the meeting with Jon Snow that will eventually happen. It will be interesting if she commands him to bend the knee (he better not, he’s the rightful heir of the Taragaryan house and not a usurper like Daenarys)! This episode was a great starting block for the season while still providing notable and exciting action.
Rest in peace, watermelon.
The latest episodes in ‘Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid’ were very interesting to watch.
One was definitely a fanservice episode, and heck, even the producers know that! Episode 7’s title contains the phrase ‘The Fanservice Episode, Obviously’, so that cracked me up.
Episode 7 focuses on the elements of anime that will appeal to any nerd out there. By that, of course I mean bathing suits and comic conventions! Cue the beach episode!
Tohru and company decide to go swimming for the day. Kanna’s adorable as always, while Lucoa doesn’t realize just how sexual she is toward a small boy.
Like, really? You think wearing a very sexy swimsuit in front of a lot of kids on a beach is okay? And why do you insist on torturing Shouta with your breasts? It’s obvious that he’s tempted, but stop trying to seduce small children.
Of course, they’re dragons, so hilarious antics ensue. Tohru and Kanna get carried away in a swimming race, making water splash up everywhere. Also, a crab and watermelon are murdered. RIP.
However, one aspect that I thought was a nice touch was the backstory we got for Tohru. It wasn’t much, but Tohru and Kobayashi have a deep and meaningful conversation about their family’s lives, as well as how humans and dragons are different from one another. Fanservice episodes usually focus on that alone, but fortunately that’s not the case here.
The second half of Episode 7 focuses on Comiket. Tohru and Kobayashi help Takiya run a booth, and we learn that Fafnir is also participating by attempting to sell powerful curses. Wow, didn’t see thaaaaat coming at all.
Tohru notices otherworldly creatures in their true forms at Comiket, as they reveal that this is a great way to show their true forms. With Kobayashi’s permission, Tohru exposes her wings and tail, appearing to others as if she’s cosplaying as, well, a dragon maid.
Episode 7 was very nice because there were many heartfelt and adorable moments.
Meanwhile, Episode 8 FINALLY introduced the dragon that I keep on mentioning in my reviews. Her name’s Elma, a dragon who is a rival of Tohru’s. Elma accuses Tohru of disrupting the human’s ways and tries to force her to return to the dragon world. This doesn’t succeed, however, as Tohru sends her to an open field and leaves her there.
Unable to get back home, Elma stays in the human world and begins working at Kobayashi’s company. Kobayashi teaches Elma how to use computers and technology so that she can keep her job. Of course, this prompts Tohru to become jealous, smelling the scent of another dragon off Kobayashi like a dog does with a human. I won’t reveal how the episode ends, but it ends in a positive manner for Tohru.
Overall, I really loved these two episodes because they made me feel warm and fuzzy. They appealed to the emotional senses through a heartfelt conversation between Kobayashi and Tohru. Elma is also an innocent sweetheart who only wants to bring harmony to the human and dragon worlds. And I can’t wait to see more of her in the upcoming episodes.
I feel like in these two episodes alone, we learned so much about Tohru and her feelings for Kobayashi. She really wants to understand the human world and will do anything to stay with Kobayashi.
I’ll up my rating to a 4.7. These episodes were both fun, and we finally got the new dragon! Bless.
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