YouTube Channel: Let's Play The Witness Part 15: Escape From The Evil Tetris Block Puzzles

In this episode I tire of the evil tetris block puzzles and escape to another area of the island.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play The Witness Part 14: More Evil Tetris Block Puzzles

In this episode I struggle with more evil tetris block puzzles. Please help me!

YouTube Channel: Let's Play The Witness Part 13: Evil Tetris Blocks

In this episode I leave the Keep and head towards a new area. I find a marsh where all the puzzles revolve around tetris blocks. These are the most difficult to understand puzzles yet.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play The Witness Part 12: Panels and Mazes

In this episode I explore half the the keep, but leave before solving all the puzzles.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play The Witness Part 11: The Second Laser

Finally solve all the puzzles in the forest area and activate the second laser. I then start exploring the mysterious keep right next to the forest with puzzles revolving around mazes and pressure pads.

Secondhand Opinions: Unravel and Firewatch

Unravel

The reveal of Unravel at E3 2015 was one of my personal favorite moments from any E3 press conference over that last few years.We saw nervous game developer Martin Sahlin come on stage and tell us of his dream game and introduced us to Unravel's protagonist Yarny in the form of a handmade doll he held in his trembling hands tearfully telling us how much love and effort went into his game. The trailer showed Yarny going on an epic adventure using his own yarn as a tool. When the game finally released I was sad to discover that the game had a lot of problems. Its puzzles were confusing and hard to understand and its central mechanic of Yarny string unraveling is criminally underused. This lead to the game getting middling reviews with some journalists like Jim Sterling being pretty harsh towards it. But in spite of its many issues, there is no denying that Unravel is a labor of love from Coldwood Interactive and that alone save it for many people. I still plan on picking it up one of these days when I have the time and money. If love and passion is enough to for you to forgive a few bad design decisions I recommend it as well.

Firewatch

The debut title of Campo Santo and the brain child of former Telltale developers Sean Vanaman and Jake Rodkin, who helped make the critically lauded first season of Telltale's The Walking Dead. Firewatch follows the story of Henry who works as fire lookout in the middle of Shoshone National Forest during the summer of 1989. His only regular human contact during this time is his supervisor Delilah who Henry only ever talks to via walkie-talkie. Together they get to know each other and learn of each others mysterious pasts while also trying to solve a series of mysterious events happening around the park. General consensus is that Firewatch is really good with fantastic writing and excellent chemistry between the two main characters. The only major issues of note are some technical hurdles on Playstation 4 with frame shuddering and other minor glitches and an anticlimax of an ending. However, some critics such as Laura Kate Dale have defended the anticlimactic ending of the game as a culmination of the games main themes of loss and missed opportunity. It's best to go into Firewatch with as little knowledge as possible to get the most out of it. If you are a fan of narrative focused games then give it a go. I know I'm going to once I get the cash to obtain the game.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play The Witness Part 10: Stuck On The Final Purple Shadow Puzzle

I finally get the hang of these purple shadow puzzles only to get stuck on the last one. It's a nightmare!

YouTube Channel: Let's Play The Witness Part 9: Perception and Shadows

Finally discover the final series of shadow puzzles I need to do to open the second gate and reveal the autumn forest final puzzle solution. These are the hardest puzzles yet so I'm going to be a while yet.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play The Witness Part 8: Only Half Done

In this episode I spend about twelve minutes trying to solve a puzzle that I only have half the solution of until I realize that and go looking for what I have to do to get the rest of the solution.

YouTube Channel: Bloodborne Random Bits: Invisible Snake Head

During a trek through the Forbidden Woods a came across a rather amusing glitch in which the game forgot to load the mass of snakes that erupt from the heads of the snake villagers shortly after they notice you. So a snake villager chased after me with what looked like a regular head, but the game treated like he had the mass of snakes on his head instead. I hope to find another glitch this funny sometime soon.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play The Witness Part 7: Playing With Shadows

Starting to dive into the shadow puzzles in the autumn forest area of the island. I'm going to be here awhile so sit back and relax.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play The Witness Part 6: Deserts, Quarries, and Forests Oh My!

After exploring the Desert and not being able to understand the puzzle logic of the area I go explore more of the island and eventually find a forest with puzzles revolving around shadows.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play Transistor Part 21(Final Episode): I Will Always Find You

Red has gained complete control of the Transistor and with it the entire city of Cloudbank. She now has the power to reshape reality as she sees fit. What does she do with this incredible power? Nothing. She makes a different choice.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play Transistor Part 20: Stay With Me

Red finally reaches Royce's bunker and returns the Transistor to it's cradle to get rid of the Process. However, Red and Royce are transported outside of Cloudbank to a strange countryside covered in Transistors. Royce then challenges Red for control of Cloudbank with a Transistor of his own.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play Transistor Part 19: I'm Starting To Get A Little Nervous Now

After finishing off all the challenges in The Backdoor, Red finally makes it to Royce's bunker in the deepest parts of the Processed Fairview District.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play Transistor Part 18: Like Staring At The Sky

Red continues her trek towards Royce, the last member of The Camerata, in the Processed Fairview District. Along the way he explains the Camerata's beliefs and ponders what the Process and the Transistor's purpose are.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play Transistor Part 17: The Key to the City

Aftercrossing the entirety of the Processed Goldwalk District, Red finally makes contact with Royce Bracket, last member of the Camerata. Through a proxy he tells us how to channel the true power of the Transistor to create a bridge to the remote Fairview district which has been utterly consumed by the Process.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play Transistor Part 16: Comfort In Knowing

After completing a few more tests in The Backdoor, Red returns to Cloudbank to continue her trek to Fairview and passing some somewhat familiar places along the way that have now been completely consumed by the Process. Things keep going from bad to worse.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play Transistor Part 15: Escape From Reality

Red and the Man in the Transistor decide to take a break from reality and do some more tests in The Backdoor. It's fun trying to take you mind off the inevitable end of absolutely everything.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play Transistor Part 14: Not Our Town Anymore

After learning that the last member of The Camerata and the only hope of saving Cloudbank is in the remote Fairview District, Red begins to backtrack thorugh Goldwalk to get to Fairview. Goldwalk has now been almost completely consumed by The Process along with every single other person in Cloudbank. Things aren't looking good.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play Transistor Part 13: Cowards

After taking a quick bathroom break, Red accesses the final terminal to unlock the door leading to the leaders of The Camerata hiding on top of Bracket Towers. Red doesn't find what she thinks she's going to though.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play Transistor Part 12: Hand Picked and Unique

Red most find a way to bring down the firewall gate that Grant and Asher Kendrell are using to hold back the process from The Camerata headquarters. We find a terminal in the Maintenance Wing of Bracket Towers disables part of the gate and it seems like another one must be in the Archive Gallery.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play Transistor Part 11: The Process Are Out of Control

After completing all the challenge currently unlocked in The Backdoor. Red then begins exploring Bracket Towers to find a means of opening the gate to the top of the building so she can confront the leaders of The Camerata.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play Transistor Part 10: Breaking Its Heart

Red finally confronts the Spine of the World and breaks its freaking heart which restores the mind of the Man in the Transistor. They finally make it into the headquarters of The Camerata. There she meats Asher Kendrell, the second in command of the Camerata, who has confessed to the people of Cloudbank about their crimes and apologizes to them for not being able to stop the Process that are destroying everything. Red takes another trip to the Backdoor to process all of this new information.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play Transistor Part 9: On The Run

Red continues her trek up Bracket Tower and evading the Spine of the World along the way. Meanwhile, the Man in the Transistor is rapidly losing his grip on reality. Also on my side of things, my mom decided to come into my room while I was recording to tell me about some swim trunks she got for me.

Secondhand Opinions: XCOM 2

Join Us or Become Them.

The idea of leading an elite team of soldiers against an overwelming alien enemy while balancing researching alien tech and support from countries around the world is just great to me. That is why I absolutely adore XCOM: Enemy Unknown despite the fact that I'm absolutely shit at it. Even when playing on Easy Mode I always end up either losing my best soldier, researching the wrong tech, and losing support from an important country country, having all my rookies devastated by giant alien monsters I wasn't prepared for, or all of the previous things I said all happening at once. When the expansion Enemy Within was released I just decided rather then try and play a game I was complete shit at I would instead watch Let's Plays of people that were actually good at the game and I really enjoyed doing that.

XCOM 2 features many new alien threats to face and many new weapons and tools to face them with.

Now with XCOM 2 out I'm probably going to do the same especially with it now being PC exclusive and my five year old laptop praying sweet release of death just running Steam. XCOM 2 also changes up the XCOM fomula in a very interesting way. Instead of being the commander of a global organization with the backing of every major country on your side you are now a rebel leader leading a small group of freedom fighters up against an alien controlled Earth. The reviews from most major gaming outlets have been very positive and gaming commentator TotalBiscuit, who is a big fan of XCOM, has given XCOM 2 a very positive impression. So if you are a big fan of turn based tactics games and have a beefy PC gaming rig give XCOM 2 a shot.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play The Witness Part 5: Feeling Like An Idiot

I finish all the symmetry puzzles on the small island and decide to move on to another area. The orchard puzzles I do next make you look at your environment in a very interesting way and are my favorite puzzles in The Witness thus far.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play Transistor Part 8: The Spine of the World

Red finally makes it to Bracket Towers, but decides to take a break in The Backdoor to help the Man in the Transistor get a hold of himself. After completing a few more challenges Red returns to Cloudbank and has her first close encounter with the giant Process the Man in the Transistor has dubbed "The Spine of the World."

YouTube Channel: Let's Play The Witness Part 4: The First Laser

I solve the puzzle that activates the first laser, but don't realize immediately and decide to solve the rest of the puzzles on this section of the island. Not that I wasn't going to do that anyway.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play Transistor Part 7: Mr. Nobody's Confession

After completely some challenges in The Backdoor. Red continues her trek to Bracket Towers and the Man in the Transistor is slowly losing his mind as something big in the distance gets closer and closer.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play The Witness Part 3: Beautiful Symmetry

In this episode I finish the first series of puzzles on the desert island that trigger the door and begin working on the second series of puzzles. Something tells me this is going to be a long series.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play Transistor Part 6: Welcome Home, Red

We finally make it to Highrise and discover that not only is this where we'll find The Camerata, but also the district of Cloudbank that Red calls home. After droping by her apartment real quick to eat that Sea Monster Flatbread she ordered in Part 2 of this Let's Play. She continues her trek to the Camerata's headquarters at Bracket Towers, but finds herself stalked by a gigantic process that is messing with the Man in the Transistors ability to communicate with Red.

The Witness Review: More Than Just Line Puzzles

This game has far more then just line puzzles to define it.

The abandoned island setting of The Witness is absolutely beautiful.

Developer: Thekla, Inc.
Publisher: Thekla, Inc.
Version(s): PC and PS4(reviewed)
Price: $39.99
Release: January 26th, 2016

Jonathan Blow is one of the most fascinating people working in the video game industry today. He can arguably be held responsible for starting the independent game renaissance with his debut game Braid. Braid is a fantastic game that combined 2D platforming with ingenious time-bending puzzles. I personally loved Braid and when I heard that his next game would be a first person puzzle game inspired by Myst I was sold. Over the course of six years I've watched The Witness go from a small scale follow up to Braid being made by one person to a massive undertaking made by an entire time of extremely talented people. So how did the final game turn out? Honestly, I have some mixed feeling about it.

The moment I saw the solution to this puzzle I saw the world of The Witness in an entirely new way.

The Witness puts in the role of an unnamed, unseen protagonist that finds themselves on a mysterious island covered in panels that all seem to contain line puzzles. You soon figure out that solving puzzles in certain regions of the island activates a laser that shoots toward a mountain that is most noticeable landmark on the island. So the goal of the game seems to be to activate all the lasers on the island and unlock the mysterious box on top of the mountain. There isn't a real coherent narrative in The Witness which I found kinda disappointing. One of the things I loved about Myst which The Witness is heavily inspired by was the excellent narrative that slowly came to the forefront as you solved the various puzzles each area threw at you. The only thing that comes close to that in The Witness are various well hidden audio logs that recite quotes from various famous scientists and philosophers and some videos you can find by solving some of the game's most challenging puzzles.. The Witness is a game that is more interested in making you think about life, the universe, and everything then telling a coherent satisfying story which is fine, but I would have personally preferred the latter. It's not only the narrative and thematic elements that I'm conflicted about. The puzzles also have me torn between to viewpoints.

Every puzzle dealing this these Tetris block  elements made me want to pull my own hair out.

Let's start with the things that I liked. I liked how the puzzles in the early parts of the game focused on teaching you new mechanics and slowly ramp up the challenge as time goes on and you go to other sections of the island. I really liked it when old puzzle mechanics were reintroduced with a new twist that forced you to rethink things. I absolutely loved when the puzzles reflected the environment around you in interesting ways the blew your mind when you finally figured them out. However, I didn't like certain puzzle mechanics such as the puzzles that had Tetris block symbols on them that I never was able to fully understand them and ended up always blunt forcing them. I absolutely hated the sound based puzzles in one part of the game. I hate sound based puzzles with a fiery passion and was not happy to find them featured in The Witness. In spite of my frustrations with some of the puzzle mechanics I didn't like I still mostly enjoyed by time solving the puzzles and felt that the majority of them were fair, well explained, and logically sound.

You will eventually find a boat that will allow for quick travel around the island and even access to previously unreachable areas.

Regardless of some of my issues with The Witness there's not denying that this game is a labor of love. Jonathan Blow and the team that helped him bring this game to life should be proud of all the hard work they have done here and even if it's not entirely not what I wanted it to be I don't regret playing it for a minute. If you are interested in playing The Witness there are two things that I need to make clear. One is that this game is not very friendly towards people that suffer from color blindness and deafness as color and sound are important factors in some of the game's puzzles. The other is that some people may find The Witness a tad overpriced at $40, but if you are a fan of puzzle games it's worth the price of admission. While I'm certainly conflicted about certain elements of The Witness I still had a good time with it and it's always nice to play a game that was made with so much love and dedication. The Witness is currently available for PC and PS4 and will be coming to iOS later this year.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play The Witness Part 2: The First Hard Puzzle

I begin this episode by doing the first hard puzzle the game throws at you and then I head to an area where all the puzzles have two symmetrical lines you have to keep in mind. Things are getting pretty interesting.

YouTube Channel: Let's Play Transistor Part 5: Chilling At The Beach

After finding out that The Process want to consume all of Cloudbank, Red decides to take a break from reality and complete some challenges in The Backdoor. After all the doors are closed she returns to Cloudbank and continues her journey to Highrise and finds that The Process are getting stronger and stronger by the minute.