10 Years Later, This is Still the Hardest Platinum Trophy I’ve Ever Earned

Key Points:

• The Witness, a 2016 puzzle game by Jonathan Blow, presents an optional but extremely challenging final puzzle sequence that took the author considerable time and effort to complete, making it their most prized PlayStation platinum trophy.
• The game's island setting features multiple biomes with unique puzzle rules, encouraging exploration and observation of environmental clues, but the final challenge involves solving 14 randomly generated puzzles within a strict time limit of under 400 seconds without pausing.
• The final challenge's design prevents shortcuts or looking up solutions, requiring players to locate all puzzles and solve them quickly, creating a tense yet rewarding experience akin to defeating a difficult boss in other game genres.
• The author reflects on how The Witness has influenced their appreciation for puzzle games, mentioning other titles like The Talos Principle and Big Walk, and reminisces about early gaming memories with Myst and Riven, lamenting the cancellation of Cyan World's latest project.
• Despite impressive speedruns now completing the final challenge in under 80 seconds, the author values their personal accomplishment as a euphoric gaming moment and continues to seek similar challenging experiences in games.