The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Choose The Witness if you want a focused first-person island exploration game built around learning line-puzzle rules through observation and experimentation. Choose Order of the Sinking Star if you want a larger, interconnected puzzle adventure with multiple mechanics, playable characters, and a more explicit story. Its scheduled launch is October 8, 2026, so that recommendation is based on publisher information and pre-release hands-on coverage—not a finished-game review.
How the two games approach puzzles
The Witness: learn the language of the panels
The Witness places line-drawing puzzles across a deserted island. You trace paths on panels, observe how symbols and layouts change the rules, and carry what you learn into other puzzles. TIME’s Matt Peckham described the game in a January 25, 2016 review as offering more than 600 puzzles, with exploration open from the start and little tutorial or story-sequence guidance. The design asks you to infer the rules rather than wait for the game to explain them. TIME’s review documents the experience and its 2016 platform context.
Order of the Sinking Star: combine systems across worlds
Order of the Sinking Star is presented by developer Thekla as a narrative adventure spanning four distinct worlds, each with its own mechanics, characters, and stories. Its puzzles are designed to intertwine as those worlds meet. A pre-release PlayStation Blog hands-on report by Corey Brotherson describes mechanics including pushing, pulling, swapping, and beams, alongside character-specific abilities and rules that become increasingly combined. That report is an early hands-on account, not a review of the released game. Steam’s listing describes the worlds and interconnected systems; Brotherson’s PlayStation Blog report gives pre-release impressions.
Which one fits your preferences?
| If you prefer… | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One central puzzle language learned by observation | The Witness | Its panels teach through changing line-puzzle rules and symbols, with minimal explicit instruction. |
| Several puzzle systems and abilities interacting | Order of the Sinking Star | Its worlds, mechanics, and playable heroes are designed to combine. |
| Exploring freely and choosing puzzles as you go | The Witness | TIME’s 2016 review describes an island open to exploration from the beginning. |
| A more explicit character-and-story presentation | Order of the Sinking Star | The July 2026 pre-release hands-on report describes a more explicit story than The Witness. |
| A game whose reception and full experience are already documented | The Witness | It is the released, reviewed option in this comparison; confirm current storefront availability for your platform. |
How much game is there?
The numbers available are not an apples-to-apples measure of length. TIME’s 2016 review reports more than 600 puzzles for The Witness. Thekla and Steam advertise over 1,000 interconnected handcrafted puzzles for Order of the Sinking Star; Steam also promotes dozens of mechanics and hundreds of hours of gameplay. Those latter figures are publisher/store claims, not an independently measured completion time. Brotherson’s pre-release report refers to 900-plus levels and multiple endings, but “levels” is a different measure from the publisher’s puzzle count. None of these figures establishes a reliable completion-time comparison or proves which game is longer in practice.
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For The Witness, the practical commitment depends on how many puzzles you pursue and how readily you notice their rules; the cited review does not provide a standardized completion-time figure. For Order of the Sinking Star, treat the advertised hundreds of hours as promotional language rather than a promise about your playthrough.
Release date and platform availability
As of October 7, 2026, Order of the Sinking Star is scheduled to release October 8 on Steam, Nintendo Switch 2, and PlayStation 5. Steam still listed it as unavailable on October 7, with no user reviews displayed at that time. The Nintendo US listing describes the Switch 2 version as digital and estimates 18.4 GB of storage; check the listing for current regional details. Thekla’s official site gives the game’s announcement and release information, while the Nintendo US listing covers that specific edition.
Rank #2
The Witness was available on Windows PC and PlayStation 4 in TIME’s January 2016 review. That historical platform information does not confirm present-day support or storefront status, so check the store for the device you intend to use.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is not known yet about Order of the Sinking Star
The recommendation for Order of the Sinking Star is necessarily provisional before launch: its scale and design descriptions come chiefly from Thekla and storefront material, supplemented by a July 2026 hands-on report. At the October 7, 2026 snapshot, there was no post-launch review consensus or player response to weigh. The available evidence supports comparing the games’ stated design approaches, not declaring an objective winner or predicting whether the finished game will fulfill its ambitions.
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