Xbox One owners will soon get their hands on The Witness, the commended exploration puzzle game from acclaimed director Jonathan Blow.
Starting Sept. 13, gamers will be able to load The Witness on their Xbox One consoles, for a price of $40.
The storyline finds the main character exploring a secluded and abandoned island where they find puzzles in different locations. The environment is more than just a stunningly beautiful interlude between puzzles, as it contains clues that can aid in upcoming challenges.
The title is famed for its high difficulty, and some gamers will probably make use of walkthroughs to reach its end. We compiled a list of tips so you can get by without spoiling the fun of actually unlocking the mysteries of the island.
Finishing The Witness asks players to embark on the daunting task of believing in themselves, and Xbox One owners are the last to join the party. The game debuted on PlayStation 4 as Blow, the helm of The Witness, inked a deal with Sony to make the game a limited console exclusive for PlayStation 4.
Blow's fame started to rise back in 2008, as he rolled out the commended platformer Braid on Xbox 360 Xbox Live Arcade platform. The game soon landed on different ecosystems as well, leaving the lauded designer enough time to build the complex and intricate puzzles that make The Witness one of the best quests out there. Blow, who owns Thekla gaming studio, was assisted in his endeavor by a team of programmers and game designers.
January 2016 saw The Witness making waves on PlayStation 4 and PC.
Reviews were highly positive, both from critics and players who praised the cleverness of the puzzles as well as the immersive breathtaking design of the game's world.
Keep in mind that all challenges in The Witness rely on a simple maze-like line puzzle, but as the game progresses, new rules are added, which makes finding a solution increasingly difficult. As quest aficionados know, the more difficult (yet rational) the puzzle, the more rewarding the feeling when you complete it.
Xbox One's version of The Witness indicates that the game designer resolved some previous issues it had with Microsoft.
Blow pointed out that big publishers forced indie studios to sign platform-exclusivity contracts, as well as making it mandatory for tiny teams to pay hefty certification costs for updates to the original product. In comparison, Steam and other platforms charge zero for such updates.
It seems that Microsoft learned its lesson and either went softer on platform exclusivity requirements or pulled the plug on certification costs altogether.
Check out the release trailer for the game below.
