Hours played
How long do people play The Witness?
Half of its Steam reviewers had played 16 hours or less when they gave their verdict. The middle half sat between 6 hours and 30 hours.
First 2 h
56% recommend
2–5 h
73% recommend
5–10 h
80% recommend
10–20 h
86% recommend
20–50 h
94% recommend
50–100 h
96% recommend
100–200 h
97% recommend
200–500 h
500 h and up
One token is 1% of its Steam reviews, standing at the hours its author had played. Amber recommends it, red does not. Counted from about 21,500 Steam reviews, by the hours each author had played when they wrote theirs. It is not a time to beat.
Does The Witness hold up?
It grows on people: 73% recommend it at 2–5 hours, and 97% at 100–200 hours.
Is The Witness better now than at launch?
Its Steam reviews began in January 2016. Of those posted in the first 30 days, 86% recommend it; of those posted in the last 12 months, 81% do.
Jan 2016
86%
≈ 1,290 reviews
Now
81%
≈ 2,140 reviews
One token is 2% of the reviews first posted in its first 30 days, and in the last 12 months. Each counts with the verdict it carries today, so a review its author has since changed shows the new one. The biggest comebacks and falls.
The refund window
Do the first two hours of The Witness tell you?
10% of its reviews were written inside Steam's two-hour refund window, and 56% of those recommend it. After the window, 88% do. Of the players who gave it a thumbs-down, 71% were already past the window; the typical thumbs-down came 5.5 hours in.
Out of every 20 thumbs-down, 6 came while a refund was still possible and 14 after the window had closed.
Seal
The Witness grows on you
Grows on you
73% of its Steam reviewers recommend it at 2–5 hours played, and 97% at 100–200 hours played.
Earned when the share recommending a game rises 8 points or more from its first stage past the two-hour mark to its last, never falls 5 points on the way, and at least 80% of all its Steam reviewers recommend it. Every game that holds it.
Made this game? Put the seal on your site
<a href="https://www.videogamebacklog.com/game/the-witness#seals"><img src="https://www.videogamebacklog.com/game/the-witness/seal/grows-on-you.png" width="160" height="160" alt="The Witness: Grows on you. 73% of its Steam reviewers recommend it at 2–5 hours played, and 97% at 100–200 hours played."></a>Everyone's copy
14 of 36 copies here were never launched
In 36 libraries here. 14 never launched it; the typical player who did put in 1.9 h.
Name 100
How well it's remembered
Named in 2.1% of Name 100 runs, about 1 in 47: people remember it when asked to name 100 games from memory.