Recs.
Updated
The Witness is a visually impressive puzzle game, passionately developed for 7 years by Jonathan Blow (of Braid fame). Explore a mysterious island that looks like it came straight out of an art gallery and uncover the secret behind its desertion.
Specs
Pros
Pro The Island is loaded with visual appeal
Not just the fact that there are several zones within the island. Not just the fact that the ambiance in each zone is distinct enough to stand out. But the island is littered with secrets just waiting to be discovered. Nothing in this place is not done deliberately. If you find something out of place, it's most likely a visual illusion. Standing on a patch of grass at just the right angle, will reveal a pattern in the flowers. Positioning yourself in front of a statue at the right alignment, can reveal how it connects with a mountain in the background. Notice a crack in the wall? It's probably going to lead to a secret passage with more puzzles to solve. All around, invites mass exploration and taking your time with it.
Pro For a colorful game, it fully supports the color-blind and visually impaired
A minor but very thoughtful thing about this game is that out of all the main zones, you will only need to solve all but 2 of them in order to access the final zone. This is because 2 of the zones have puzzles that rely on sound and mixed colors respectively.
Cons
Con Disappointing story ending
If you are playing this with the idea that you'll find all answers to your questions solved, don't bother. The main ending is a pretentiously philosophical mess. Without spoiling much, let's just say that there is no ending if you play the main path straight. And while that may be the point (as you will find out in the secret ending, which isn't saying much either), it might come as a total letdown for a player expecting some sort of satisfaction from solving all those puzzles.
Con Only two kinds of tbe same puzzle, despite variations to the formula
If you are not a fan of Spatial Reasoning (finding the right combination of shapes to fit a bigger shape) or Pathfinding (finding the correct path given certain constraints) puzzles, then you will not find this game fun. Literally all the puzzles in this game are a variation of those 2 kinds of puzzles. And since some of the puzzles act as gates of progress, you won't get very far exploring the island if you don't keep your wits about you. Difficulty also scales pretty fast. Even if you do manage to solve the first few puzzles, the next set might slow you down, hampering your exploration attempts.