The Looker on Steam: Free Witness Parody is surprisingly good

There was a time when video game parodies were still widespread – we’re talking about the 90’s and early 2000’s. While today only allusions and Easter eggs have a place in games, back then the market was teeming with titles that existed solely to make fun of other representatives of the genre. Myst alone has quite a handful of parodies, like Pyst or Mylk. Released a few days ago on Steam, the puzzle game The Looker is reminiscent of those good old days.

The Looker makes fun of The Witness

This is what puzzles look like in The Looker.

Source: Subcreation Studio

The Looker makes no secret of what it’s about. The player lands on a supposedly deserted island that is full of secrets and riddles that need to be solved in order to explore new areas. If that sounds like The Witness (buy now ) by Jonathan Blow, then that’s no coincidence, because the indie title is being badmouthed here. The puzzles are less about racking the player’s brain and more about amusing them.

The Looker is a single player game that respects you as an intelligent player and sees your time as… relatively valuable (I mean, don’t let that stop you from solving the Riemann Hypothesis or something). Let me get this straight – not every joke is a hit, but there are no fillers, the puzzles are fun, and if you think about it carefully, aren’t the real solutions the, uh… friends we make along the way?

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As is usual for a parody, The Looker’s tone is light-hearted and the jokes shallow. But 97 percent of all Steam users have enjoyed the title so far. At two hours and 55 puzzles, the game is pleasantly short and can be completed in one go. The Looker can be accessed for free Steam be downloaded.