The Witness is free on the Epic Games Store

The Witness, the lovely but baffling 2016 puzzle game from Braid creator Jonathan Blow, is now free on the Epic Games Store. Click here, click "free," and just like that, it's yours for keepsies.

I'll be honest, I didn't like The Witness as much as I wanted to. It's a stunning game and wonderfully atmospheric, but the puzzles get really dense, and I just don't have the patience (or, I suppose, the brain) to get my head around the later-game stuff. Taking a break just made it worse: When I came back a few weeks later I'd completely forgotten most of what I'd learned, and so had to replay much of the early game to get re-acquainted with it. By the time I hit the tough stuff again, I was done with it—again—and accepted that whatever mysteries it holds will be hidden from my eyes forever.

That's not to suggest that it, or any game, has to be finished to be enjoyed—just an FYI that The Witness is super-tough. It's not really an issue at this non-existent price, though. You could fire it up, toodle around, and enjoy the scenery for an hour, and still count it as a win.

The Witness is free for the taking until April 18. After that, the critically-acclaimed 2014 action-RPG Transistor will take its place.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.