Image source: http://www.artofluis.com/3d-work/the-art-of-the-witness/ (which is actually a very cool and interesting read!)Possibly a recurring theme here but I loved exploring this game's world! The world in The Witness is an intimate cosy island consisting of several distinct areas or biomes. Walking from one side of the island to the other takes just a few minutes. This is a world I'd like to go to, have a nice walk, there's some good picnic spots.
I ended up keeping track of my route as I lapped around the island
here. (Potential mild spoilers wrt. pathways around island, and also i came up with dumb names for places)
As you go around the island, you'll find many puzzles. If you ever get stuck, you can take a break and look around the island for some different puzzles to do. There's no urgency to anything, you can take everything at your own pace, choose your own path.
The puzzles consist of interacting with a panel and drawing lines from start points to end points. Of course, as you proceed, new mechanics are thrown into the mix. Neatly, the game never explicitly tells you the rules to any of the puzzles or mechanics, but instead gives you opportunities via the puzzles themselves to learn the rules! And then when you think you understand the rules, perhaps you find another puzzle which seemingly contradicts your understanding! And these are opportunities to correct any false assumptions you may have, until it clicks! Eureka!
It's hard to be precise about anything, since the learning experience makes up a lot of the fun of the game, but I really appreciated the variety of the puzzles as I journeyed around the coast of the isle, figuring out the mechanics piece by piece. There's a couple of puzzles which kinda feel more busywork than fun brain-teaser, but whatever.
The game has a few other cool tricks up its sleeve which are very exciting!
All in all, one of my favourite experiences of the year. Really pleasant, relaxing, pretty and clever!