Hi! I'm Bart Bonte, a Belgian independent game designer and bontegames.com is where I blog about new interesting browser and mobile games. My own games are all in the left column (or at the bottom of this page on mobile). More info about me and my games on bartbonte.com.
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April 04, 2019

the witness [download]

If you do not already own the excellent puzzle game The Witness by Jonathan Blow then now is the time to get to the Epic Games Store because this paid game (originally released in 2016) is currently free to download until April 18th. You wake up alone on a strange island full of puzzles that will challenge and surprise you in the hope of regaining your memory and finding your way home.


23 comments:

  1. This is a great game. I've owned it for a few years and I'm still not 100%. It's tough and brain-wrenching in all the right ways. If you haven't picked it up yet, I'd suggest doing it. The entire island is its own tutorial.

    A word of warning though... The game still effects me from day to day. Some of the things it shows you, you can't unsee.

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  2. I just downloaded it but I now I am slightly worried. Sample in what way has the game affected you?

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  3. What he means is that he's getting the Tetris Effect - he sees line puzzles in the real world!

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  4. Sample and Bart are right, The Witness is awesome. Has to be in the top 10 games I've ever played. I did it 100% and there's no shame in racking your brain. It's a wonderful, complex, layered adventure.

    And like ^Anon said, Mary, nothing scary or bad, just engrossing!

    That's an absolute steal of a freebie- you'd be bananas to pass it up, lol.

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  5. Oh My God!
    Get it right now, everyone, this is absolutely brilliant!
    One of the best first person puzzle games I've ever played, alongside with Portal and The Talos Principle.

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  6. Impossible to create an account. None of the display names I choose are accepted. And trust me, I was very creative :-).

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  7. Don't let the name chosen bug get you.
    That is what I thought too, it only checks on submit.
    If I remember correctly the mouse over gets stuck on name used.

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  8. As with Coreena, I too am having problems with the display name. And, yes, I click "create an account", and it then tells me the name is already in use. Coreena, did you finally find one that was accepted?

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  9. Had the same problems - it kept saying I already had an account or the name was in use. In the end I created an account with a new email address in order to get it to work.

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  10. Thank you, 17:31. I'll have to try that.

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  11. Mary, the anonymous person is right. I got a bad case of the Tetris effect because of the game. However, some audio logs and at least 2 of the 6 theater videos changed my perspective on life and the world in general. (Some logs, videos and puzzles are tedium though...)

    On the other hand, I'm a sucker for philosophy and puzzles so your mileage may vary.

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  12. Thank you! :) I can't wait to play it

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  13. Well, I give up. I tried creating an account by using a different email address, but after numerous tries with various display names, it still doesn't work. Too bad.

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  14. MAJOR SPOILERS!!!!

    I usually don't say anything like this, but the game does help you into the "Tetris effect" and it's clear that this was an intended experience.

    I hope I was vague enough to not ruin any magic.

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  15. The game refused only the first username I gave it, then it seemed fine, but crashed as it was loading. Restarting my computer did the trick. Now it works just fine and I am enjoying the puzzles and the wonderful graphics. It's worth it to keep trying!

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  16. I give up. Finally I managed to sign up, but the installation does not work. There is a kind of a loop.

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  17. free until April 18... does it means you have to finish the game before? or you can play forever once it's on your computer? i love this kind of game. (i also had problem to connect but apparently i was already registered)

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  18. You can keep the game forever.

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  19. Is it just a bunch of puzzles and doors? Maybe I need to give the game some more time bc I've been playing just 10 but I'm already bored. The controls using the mouse are really annoying. There's not much to interact with apart from the puzzles and the records... and I can hardly understand them bc they are in english!!

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  20. Almost 4 GB download?

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  21. >Epic Games Store
    Uhh that's gonna be a no from me, dog

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  22. I really enjoy the game, but I almost feel motion sickness from looking at the screen when moving around the island. :/ Any tips on how to avoid that?

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  23. It's a good puzzle game, think Myst-like. I don't think there's anything to do but solve puzzles (but it's a puzzle game).

    But that Epic store is a real mess. Kept telling me I already had an account when I tried to sign up. Then it worked on something like the 10th try, so if it doesn't work at first, keep trying. It thinks my name is Ican and I'm in Thailand, but I got it installed.


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