Mystery unfolds the moment you step foot on the island in The Witness. With no dialogue, no tutorial, and no hand-holding, this game transforms logic puzzles into language, light, and illusion. If you're trying to solve every panel and understand the hidden narrative behind Jonathan Blow’s masterpiece, this guide covers it all.

We’ve included detailed directions, puzzle logic breakdowns, and visual cues to help you master each area, unlock the secrets of the island, and finally enter the elusive mountain.

Before you dive into specific areas, it helps to understand the game’s puzzle mechanics. The Witness uses symbols and panel mazes. Each area teaches you a different rule set:

• Basic Line Drawing: Get from start to end.

• Segregation Blocks: Separate different colors.

• Tetris Blocks: Fill exact spaces with shapes.

• Stars: Match same-colored pairs.

• Sound Puzzles: Solve using auditory cues.

• Reflection Puzzles: Use symmetry to trace mirrored lines.

Every region teaches you through trial and observation. Panels often build on what you learned before. So, it’s worth mastering the fundamentals early.

This lush garden area introduces the simplest rule: draw a line from the starting circle to the endpoint. Panels here are designed for first-time players.

How to Solve:

• Observe the maze-like grid.

• Begin with the start circle (bottom) and trace a path to the rounded cap (top).

• Use these puzzles to grasp the controls.

Tip: These tutorial panels must be solved to open the first door and activate the central hub.

Located near the entry, this serene orchard introduces color-based clue logic.

Puzzle Mechanics:

• Look at the apple trees nearby.

• Find the branch with a single apple.

• Trace the path on the panel that corresponds to that branch.

Strategy: Rotate your camera and align your real-world view with the puzzle panel. Observation is the key.

This coastal section introduces mirrored puzzles.

Mirror Line Rules:

• The panel is split vertically or horizontally.

• Draw your solution symmetrically—what you do on one side must be replicated on the other.

You’ll also find timed puzzles and a laser activation system here.

Tip: Don’t rush. Sometimes letting go and watching the mirrored path animate helps you spot errors.

This area explores multiple puzzle types across its facilities.

Subsections Include:

• The Saw Mill (Shape Puzzles)

• The Factory (Color Mixing)

• The Storage Yard (Perspective-Based Puzzles)

Watch for: Environmental illusions. In the Storage Yard, some puzzles appear solved only when viewed from the correct angle.

Calm and enclosed, this area focuses on black-and-white squares.

Main Rule: Separate different colors in your solution path.

The monastery tests spatial awareness and subtle separation. Later puzzles include additional layers with broken lines and distraction patterns.

One of the most unique areas.

Mechanic:

• Listen for audio cues (birdsong, tonal bleeps).

• Determine the sequence from the sounds.

• Replicate that pattern on the panel.

Tip: Use headphones. Each puzzle introduces one new audio frequency.

Beautiful but deceptive, this zone introduces visual tricks.

Mechanics:

• Light and shadows affect panel visibility.

• Colored filters change the visible route.

Pro Tip: Time of day and angle of the sun can make certain panels solvable. Some are best viewed in full shadow.

You’ll learn how to use Tetris-shaped pieces to fill grids.

Puzzle Types:

• Exact Fill: Shapes must cover exact squares.

• Negative Space: Use blank space around a shape.

• Overlapping blocks: Later panels require mental rotation.

Tip: Sketch solutions on paper if stuck. Visualization helps.

This central keep unlocks laser beams required to access the final area.

Mechanic:

• Mazes involving multiple correct paths.

• Flooding zones after puzzle activation.

Each tower involves a new logic twist. Complete them all to light the laser at the tower top.

Underground and claustrophobic, this zone mixes old mechanics in tougher forms.

Expect:

• Combined rules: Tetris + segregation + symmetry.

• Rotating panels and partial clues.

Some panels are partially broken. Use logic to guess missing symbols based on earlier ones.

After activating 7 lasers, the mountain opens.

Inside:

• Reflection puzzles.

• Time-based doors.

• Rapid-fire panels with changing symbols.

Strategy: Some puzzles reset if failed. Practice earlier areas to prepare. There are no shortcuts here.

Besides panels, The Witness is full of hidden “environmental puzzles.” These aren’t in the interface. You spot and trace them in the world itself.

Clues:

• A curved branch forming a circle.

• Rocks casting a maze-like shadow.

Activate these by aligning your viewpoint. They unlock hidden lore and late-game secrets.

Obelisks are tall black monuments scattered across the island. Each tracks completed environmental puzzles.

Goal:

• Complete all related visual puzzles per obelisk.

• Some unlock new endings.

This is where 100% completionists live.

After beating the game, you can access a secret challenge room with time-sensitive puzzles.

Inside:

• 14 rapid puzzles.

• Countdown timer.

• No retry—fail once, reset.

Rewards include new recordings, deeper lore, and access to a symbolic final puzzle.

The Witness rewards patience, perception, and presence. It doesn’t shout its secrets—it whispers them through wind, architecture, and sound.

If you're chasing 100%, slow down. Watch the trees. Listen to the waterfall. Tilt your head. And always, always trust your curiosity.

This isn’t just a puzzle game—it’s a personal test of observation, interpretation, and wonder.