Skip to main content

The Witness 8-bit remake is supported by its original creator, Jonathan Blow

Few seasons invite lazy puzzle solving like summer does. But we’ve already left some of this year’s great puzzle titles in the dust, among those Jonathan Blow’s The Witness. The game sold more in one week than the developer’s previous game, Braid, had sold in a year. That’s despite having a rather high price tag for a game that many still count as an indie developer title. So the game set new standards in terms of what pricing indie developers can reach as well as establish the developer as something capable of more than a one-hit wonder.

And as if we didn’t have enough fun imagining playing Game Boy Color games by combining old Burger King toys with Raspberry Pi Zero hardware, somebody’s gone through the trouble of “demaking” The Witness for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Now all we can dream about is playing The Wit.nes on a Game Boy in the backseat of a car headed to the next vacation destination.

Recommended Videos

The Wit.nes is the title of Itch user Dustmop‘s demake of the original game. It recreates some of the atmosphere and mechanics from the original game, and what is there is rather well done. But there’s no promise that we’ll see a fully realized version of The Witness on the NES. For now it’s just a demo, but judging from Twitter and the developer’s response to the community, it seems like development at the very least is continuing. Even Jonathan Blow retweeted the announcement of the demake.

Currently there’s only the starting area to explore, but it’s enough to appease the mind. Among the included content you’ll find “32 puzzles with different rules,” “16 full screens of map,” and an “Overhead world with 4-way scrolling.” In theory, it’s playable on any established NES emulators or on all-in-one cassette solutions like the Everdrive or Powerpak, which that let you have a ton of games on one cassette.

The demo is available for download on Itch and can be played on any NES emulator regardless of platform. just make sure you pick one of the more popular emulators to stay on the safe side.

Dan Isacsson
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Being a gamer since the age of three, Dan took an interest in mobile gaming back in 2009. Since then he's been digging ever…
iBuyPower Memorial Day sale: Access huge savings on gaming PCs with this code
The side view of the iBuyPower RDY Y70 R05 gaming PC.

Memorial Day is just around the corner, and iBuyPower is celebrating it with lowered prices for its wide range of gaming PCs. From now until May 26, you can enjoy discounts for the brand's pre-built (RDY) and custom gaming desktops by using the coupon code MEMORIAL during the checkout process. You'll get $50 off for purchases over $999, $100 off for purchases over $1,999, $200 off for purchases over $2,999, and $300 off for purchases over $3,999.

The coupon code during the iBuyPower Memorial Day Mega-Sale will further reduce any promotional prices, so here's your chance at huge savings. Feel free to take a look at all the available offers, but we've also rounded up our favorite gaming PC deals from iBuyPower below if you want any recommendations. Either way, you better hurry -- there's a lot of time left on these discounts, but stocks of the gaming desktop that you've got your eyes on may not last until the sale's last minute.

Read more
I got bullied during my Patapon 1+2 Replay demo and I loved it
Creatures attack a fire breathing monster in Patapon 1+2 Replay.

During PAX East 2025, I played a whole bunch of games. But Patapon 1+2 Replay is the one that will forever be etched into my brain. Before walking into my appointment, I didn’t know a thing about Sony’s cult series. The only thing I knew was that I had a hard time pronouncing the name initially, and that it was some kind of rhythm-based game.

Before I entered the appointment, a colleague (let’s call him John) asked if he could join and watch. I had no problem with that, and Bandai Namco gave the okay. When I had begun talking to the team about Patapon 1+2 Replay, they immediately noticed that I had said the name wrong and engaged in some playful teasing as they corrected my pronunciation. It was foreshadowing of what was to come during a demo that would show me the comedic joy and tension of a classic series that’s built for casual, carefree entertainment.

Read more
The massive Samsung Odyssey G9 is almost half off today
The Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 gaming monitor.

Your powerful gaming PC will be wasted if you're still using an old screen, so you should take advantage of monitor deals for gamers. Here's one from Samsung that you wouldn't want to miss: the 49-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 gaming monitor for $1,300, following a $900 discount on its original price of $2,200. You won't always get the chance to buy a premium display for nearly half-price, so stop hesitating and push forward with your purchase as soon as possible.

Why you should buy the 49-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 gaming monitor

Read more