Am i an idiot or is this game super hard?

[Calamity]

a lot of these puzzles leave me stumped...

[MASTAN]

Each puzzle type has area with simple puzzles, which allow you to gradually learn it. Don't try to solve every puzzle you see right away, explore the island.

[Contracrostics]

Honestly the joy of it left me not noticing the difficulty, but some puzzles took a long time. Remember to relax, explore, think sideways, and enjoy. There is more here than meets the eye.

[MJS WARLORD]

i got this when i first came out i saw it in pc gamer magazine , for the first time ever all they did was show photos ......... no tips or spoilers.

The best advice i can give about the puzzles is once you can get into the mind set of the programmers the puzzles dont seem so difficult ( thats a lie ) they are difficult.

BTW i was lazy i completed it having only done 417 of the 650 + puzzles.

[nO_d3N1AL]

The problem is you can't solve a puzzle without knowing the rules. I think that's the biggest problem with this game. The Talos Principle makes the rules obvious because you can clearly see things happening, whereas in this it just flashes something and says you failed without you knowing why.

[GMC]

It usually gives you a clue as to why a solution is wrong, e.g. flashing specific pieces which violate a rule. I consider the game to be quite good at teaching you the rules via the "show, don't tell" principle. If it isn't clear why a solution's wrong, it usually means you haven't finished all of the areas which teach you the rules you need. Stars are probably the most common issue, as the area which teaches the rules is only accessible by boat and so is usually one of the later areas to be found.

If you try to process each area as you find it, you'll typically do the introductory area (black/white segregation, hexagonal dots) first, then the desert (reflections), then you'll encounter either the town (which uses all the rules, so should be done last) or the quarry/sawmill area (which teaches the trefoil rule but needs the rules for polyominoes and stars).

So don't do that. If a puzzle seems to use rules you don't know, leave it and explore the rest of the island. If a puzzle is rejecting solutions you think are correct or seems to have no solution, it's using rules you don't even know you need. E.g. puzzles which use the rules from the greenhouse (there's one in town like that) can't be solved without knowing the rules and how to apply them (you need to find something in the environment).

[nO_d3N1AL]

Originally posted by GMC:

It usually gives you a clue as to why a solution is wrong, e.g. flashing specific pieces which violate a rule. I consider the game to be quite good at teaching you the rules via the "show, don't tell" principle. If it isn't clear why a solution's wrong, it usually means you haven't finished all of the areas which teach you the rules you need. Stars are probably the most common issue, as the area which teaches the rules is only accessible by boat and so is usually one of the later areas to be found.

If you try to process each area as you find it, you'll typically do the introductory area (black/white segregation, hexagonal dots) first, then the desert (reflections), then you'll encounter either the town (which uses all the rules, so should be done last) or the quarry/sawmill area (which teaches the trefoil rule but needs the rules for polyominoes and stars).

So don't do that. If a puzzle seems to use rules you don't know, leave it and explore the rest of the island. If a puzzle is rejecting solutions you think are correct or seems to have no solution, it's using rules you don't even know you need. E.g. puzzles which use the rules from the greenhouse (there's one in town like that) can't be solved without knowing the rules and how to apply them (you need to find something in the environment).

The thing is even the "tutorials" aren't always clear. I was getting the Squares ones right without knowing why. All the dev needed to do is literally put one or two words. This approach of being deliberately cryptic isn't a good decision IMO because for abstract puzzles like this it is ambigious, whereas in The Talos Principle or Portal you can physically see the rules

[MASTAN]

Figuring out the rules is the puzzle itself, The Witness just goes deeper than similar games.

Just google solution(ie exact rules) if you hate this kind of puzzle specifically.

[nO_d3N1AL]

Originally posted by MASTAN:

Figuring out the rules is the puzzle itself, The Witness just goes deeper than similar games.

Just google solution(ie exact rules) if you hate this kind of puzzle specifically.

I don't hate puzzles but IMO it shouldn't be a challenge to figure out what the objective is. For me the fun should be in solving the puzzle, not figuring out the rules. In games like Portal for example, the rules of physics are part of the puzzles but these are explorable by experimentation - that's half the fun because there is direct, tangible feedback. I think the feedback in this game is too subtle because the puzzles are abstract and the rules are completely arbitrary

[MJS WARLORD]

NOTE TO EVERYONE please refer to my first comments on this topic, you have to get on the same wave length as the guys who made this then one day you think HEY i got it !

[MASTAN]

Originally posted by nO_d3N1AL:

I don't hate puzzles but IMO it shouldn't be a challenge to figure out what the objective is.

And why it shouldn't be a challenge? In puzzle games everything can be a challenge, this one is just another kind of puzzle.

[nO_d3N1AL]

Originally posted by MASTAN:

Originally posted by nO_d3N1AL:

I don't hate puzzles but IMO it shouldn't be a challenge to figure out what the objective is.

And why it shouldn't be a challenge? In puzzle games everything can be a challenge, this one is just another kind of puzzle.

Because as I said the rules are completely arbitrary. I understand for some it may be fun but not for everyone (I'm one of those people that would never play an action game without objective markers), and I suspect the intention wasn't to be deliberately cryptic about the rules but to try to make the player internalize them intuitively. If this wasn't the case there would be zero feedback but I think the feedback that is there could definitely be improved.

[MASTAN]

Then just look them up in some guide, like any other kind of puzzles you can't or don't want to do.

[nO_d3N1AL]

Originally posted by MASTAN:

Then just look them up in some guide, like any other kind of puzzles you can't or don't want to do.

I will. I'm just saying it's a shame that such a guide needs to exist at all.

[MASTAN]

Originally posted by nO_d3N1AL:

Originally posted by MASTAN:

Then just look them up in some guide, like any other kind of puzzles you can't or don't want to do.

I will. I'm just saying it's a shame that such a guide needs to exist at all.

Needs to exist only for you. Like any other guide for any person who can't or don't want to do specific puzzle.

[Curious Duck]

This game doesn't hand hold you.

However it does provide all the details you need to progress and learn.