The Witness on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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You wake up, alone, on a strange island full of puzzles that will challenge and surprise you.
The Witness is a puzzle, exploration and first-person game
developed and published by Thekla and Inc..
Released on January 26th 2016 is available on Windows and MacOS
in 15 languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Polish, Portuguese - Portugal, Portuguese - Brazil, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Hungarian.
It has received 18,937 reviews of which 16,069 were positive and 2,868 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.3 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 6.65€ on Steam with a 82% discount, but you can find it for less on Gamivo.
The Steam community has classified The Witness into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at The Witness through various videos and screenshots.
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System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *: Windows 7
- Processor: 1.8GHz
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Intel HD 4000 series
- DirectX: Version 10
- Storage: 5 GB available space
MacOS
- OS: 10.11.6 (El Capitan)
- Processor: 1.8GHz
- Graphics: Intel HD 4000 series
- Storage: 5 GB available space
- Additional Notes: Metal support required
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
There’s nothing I can say that truly does justice to The Witness. The feeling it leaves you with, is unlike anything any other game can offer. That constant sense that everything is a puzzle, that not a single piece is placed at random. The gorgeous, immersive environment that pulls you in. The secrets hidden in every corner. The design of the island, with everything interconnected. Layers upon layers. There is no story. There is no music. Only your own footsteps break the silence. Your footsteps, and the song of the blackbird. After this, other games feel quieter somehow.
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The Witness is one of the most stunningly beautiful games I’ve ever played, and not just visually. The island itself is a work of art: the colours are vibrant, the island layout is carefully thought out, and it's filled with so many clever little details. If you look closely enough, you'll find clues all around you as to what this island truly is. I'm not telling you more, because the mystery is part of the fun of the game. Part of the beauty is in how the game presents its puzzles and invites you to engage with them. It's not linear. You can explore the entire island at once. This means that you might come across puzzles that you don't know how to solve yet. What you learn from completing another area's puzzles may be the key to solving those ones later. Clues are everywhere, hidden in plain sight. Some clues help you solve the puzzles in the area, others are hints at what this world is all about. You'll find audio recordings hidden here and there, some of which give you more clues about the island and what's happening. This isn’t a game that you can run through in a weekend. It's not an easy 100%. (I have 1 of 2 achievements at the time of writing). If you’re playing it the way it’s meant to be played, that is, exploring, paying attention to detail, and learning the puzzles without outside help, you’re likely in for 20-30 hours just to reach the mountain and complete the main path. (I have offline hours, so much more than 22.5, at time of review) And that’s not including the secrets, the environmental puzzles, or the small hidden areas that are rewards for deeper exploration. Using a guide might be tempting, especially when you hit a wall, but doing this will rob you of the game's best moments. You know? That sudden "aha" moment that's almost magical, when you finally get what you're supposed to do. I have checked online when I was super stuck, but have only done this maybe five times. A couple of things are not obvious and you might need a prompt on where to look, or how you're supposed to go about a set of puzzles. But I don't recommend using a guide to complete the puzzles themselves, unless you come across one where you really need to. It would kinda defeat the purpose of ever playing imho. I haven’t finished the timed challenge yet. This is a bonus area that requires some extra steps to reach. From what I’ve seen from my first few failed attempts, it’s a test of everything you’ve learned, except this time it's under pressure, and the puzzles are random. I know it’s going to take me many, many tries because I am terrible with timed stuff. But that’s okay. It'll give me something to do when I feel like picking this game back up again. What makes The Witness so unique is that it teaches entirely through it's design and it does it extremely well. There’s no dialogue, no tutorial prompts, no hints. You either learn by paying attention to detail, or you don’t learn at all. And that design choice is part of what makes it feel so rewarding when things finally click. It takes time. So if you follow guides completely, you won't learn the rules, and you will not be able to complete the bonus area. That's the reason I am saying to at least try figuring it all out yourself first. You'll be glad you did, if you're aiming to 100% the game. I will say that this isn’t a game for everyone. I loved it. It felt a little nostalgic, like when we were taken to a forest park as a kid and there were all of these ruins and different places to explore. But some players may hate the lack of direction or find certain puzzles way too frustrating. I'll admit that I had those moments too, so I quit, played something else and came back. But if you enjoy games that reward patience, careful observation, and genuine problem-solving, then The Witness is absolutely worth your time. This is a game that I feel respects the player's intelligence. (Except for maybe that one spinning puzzle, spinning for fake difficulty, that made me feel nauseous, but whatever. lol) Is it worth it's price? I think so. Although, I did pick this game up several years ago in a sale. =)
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The Witness is a great self-contained puzzle experience. You are dropped into a world with no explanation, no tutorial, no pop-ups to tell you what to do or where to go. You are left with only your curiosity and your drive to explore. But it's what this game does with that drive that I think makes it so enjoyable. As you explore the world you begin solving puzzles and unraveling the clues that different symbols in the world hold. The more you learn the more you begin to notice things that you previously overlooked. As time passes you can find so many hidden secrets that give you a strong sense of accomplishment and intrigue. If you are interested in calm, interesting puzzle games with a large exploration component, the Witness is a great option. I played this game originally back in 2018 and enjoyed its puzzles. I did the standard ending. I came back 7 years later to experience the game again in its entirety with a 100% play through and appreciated the game even more the second time. A must play for puzzle game enthusiasts.
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The game is a fine puzzler with mostly functional progression, but held back by how much a tortured artist Jonathan Blow thinks he is.
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an absolute masterpiece. This game is the epitome of what an "open world" non-linear puzzle game should be. The sense of exploration is out of this world and the puzzles are hands down the best I've ever done in my life. The game is structured in such a way that you even though you find lots of puzzles early on the solutions will only become apparent once you have gone through the different sections on the map. The game does an outstanding job at teaching how to solve each different puzzle type and I personally never found 1 puzzle too hard. The end of the game does an amazing job at putting everything you've learnt to the test. 10/10 buy on sale it's worth it
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Frequently Asked Questions
The Witness is currently priced at 6.65€ on Steam.
The Witness is currently available at a 82% discount. You can purchase it for 6.65€ on Steam.
The Witness received 16,069 positive votes out of a total of 18,937 achieving a rating of 8.31.
😎
The Witness was developed and published by Thekla and Inc..
The Witness is playable and fully supported on Windows.
The Witness is playable and fully supported on MacOS.
The Witness is not playable on Linux.
The Witness is a single-player game.
The Witness does not currently offer any DLC.
The Witness does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
The Witness supports Remote Play on Phone and Remote Play on Tablet. Discover more about Steam Remote Play.
The Witness is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for The Witness.
Data sources
The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 25 January 2026 07:34 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 26 January 2026 14:59 |
| Steam price | 28 January 2026 20:45 |
| Steam reviews | 27 January 2026 17:46 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about The Witness, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about The Witness
- SteamCharts - Analysis of The Witness concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck The Witness compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
209
Developer
Thekla, Inc.
Publisher
Thekla, Inc.
Release
26 Jan 2016
Platforms
Remote Play
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