The Witness is a single-player game in an open-world exploration. You are alone on an island and do not remember your identity. You have no memory of ever getting into this island, ever. The only thing you can do is explore the island as much as possible and regain your memory throughout the process. Remember who you are and find your way back home.
The Witness feels like the fulfillment of that dynamic, a way of ingeniously hiding locks and keys and entire modes of inquiry in plain sight. Blow’s triumph lies in his insight into the thresholds of human perspective, how information travels and agglomerates, and how, given the right frame of mind, any of us might move mountains.