Taiji

Taiji is, as to my mind, literally everything The Witness wishes it was. - Introducing: The Smoothest Pixelated Graphics I've seen to date in a videogame, and, were it not for the UI, I would've forgotten this was a pixel game in the first place. - The puzzles are fun and always provide a reasonable enough introduction to the concepts they're teaching, and I only had to work with a full-on spoiled guide when I was tired of an area and couldn't think straight anymore (if you're having this issue, I recommend going to a different area to do the puzzles there, or closing the game and shifting your focus elsewhere). - The game's musical score is relaxing and only adds more to an already peaceful gameplay experience, unlike the uncanny island of its' 3D counterpart (seriously, what the ♥♥♥♥ is up with the statues in The Witness?). - There is a simple enough narrative with no wordy explanations (with a focus on Chinese philosophy, though I bet you can already tell from the trailer), which lets you enjoy the puzzles in the context of the story, not force yourself through the story while solving mediocre puzzles along the way. - Hell, even the movement is better! Traversing the ma…

Amazing!

Taiji is an amazing puzzle game with zero instructions or text. You would *think* that would make it harder, but it actually turns the game into a beautiful discovery of mechanics. The game does an excellent job of indicating what is wrong with a solution without giving away the rules, allowing the player to slowly build up an understanding as the puzzles become more complicated. Runs extremely well on Steam Deck as well as PC.

If you like puzzle games, definitely give it a try!

Absolutely fantastic puzzle game with a lot of creativity yet simplicity. The artstyle and music composition compliment this work just right, making this one of my all-time favourite puzzle games. Would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who enjoys this sort of thing!

Neat little puzzle game. Not particularly innovative in any of it's mechanics or themes but what's there is mostly fun. It feels like a pastiche of The Witness though Taiji is far from attaining those heights. The pixel art overworld is gorgeous with lots of little details and a variety of biomes. The soundtrack is short but delightful and was never obtrusive. The game runs well throughout the entire playtime with the sole exception of the final cutscene. As for puzzles, they are fine. There are very few new ideas here for puzzle game veterans. Very few puzzles had me delighted after discovering the solution. A lot of puzzles feel more like filler, rather than deeply exploring the consequences of the mechanics, to the point that the solving process became repetitive rather than engaging. This is especially offensive considering that some mechanics weren't even taught well. The gallery and final area of the game felt really refreshing. Some of those puzzles had me really enjoying my time. The former took the familiar mechanics for a spin but got close to overstaying its welcome with a heap of puzzles that have the player guess at what the puzzle even is rather than reasoning thro…