The Witness: Another great puzzle game from the mind of Jonathan Blow
If you want to be "rewarded" from completing puzzles turn back. A routine complaint I've seen of this game is that there is no reward for completing the puzzles, and in a sense that is correct. If you enjoy puzzles for there own sake this is a game for you.
The puzzles, in essence, are incredibly simple. There is a starting and ending point on a panel. You must drag a line to the ending point. Puzzle complete. This, however, is quickly complicated with new caviots and rulesets which are never explicitly explained. This game is an excercise in teaching the player new concepts without telling them. It lets the player feel out the rulesets themselves and, in truth, this is what most of the gameplay is. It isn't shy about letting the player misunderstand a ruleset and this will sometimes happen, but it always gives a way to learn what is wrong about your current mindset.
The puzzles exist, often in sets, on an island with various areas. Each area has its own rules and theme. The world will often blend itself into the puzzles whether directly being a part of it or through somthing like the asthetic.
The world is very well designed. This is a very beautiful game. The game has a painting-esque look to it and often uses diverse colors to striking effect. The environments and purpose of having these puzzles abstractly placed on pads may seem pointless at first but the island and panels serve a purpose.
The game wouldn't be the same if you simply flipped through a book of each puzzle. The game, in fact, would not be able to exist as it is now.
I don't want to spoil some of the fun of the puzzles in The Witness so I'll close by saying this. The puzzles in the witness can seem a bit trial and error like at times, but I don't believe this is the case. The Witness is simply a puzzle game that is trying to say some things about the way we learn.
It is a must play game for fans of puzzles or great world design.