The Witness preorders go live with a $40 price tag

The Witness , Jonathan Blow's sprawling puzzle game follow-up to Braid , is now available for preorder on Steam and the Humble Store .

. The bonus for preordering the game, which will sell for $40, is “the warm fuzzy feeling” that comes from paying for things up front, Blow said, adding, “It's exactly the same as buying the game at launch, except earlier.”

The response to the $40 price tag has not been entirely positive; comments on various popular gaming forums have expressed surprise and disappointment that it's much higher than some expected. But Blow has previously said that The Witness is going to be a very big game, with up to 100 hoursof play for “a completionist who wants to wring every last drop out of the game.” For the sake of comparison, $40 is also the price for The Talos Principle, another outstanding and very atmospheric puzzle game, although we can't say yet if The Witness will live up to that standard.

The Witness is set for release on January 26. Find out more at The-Witness.net, or have a look at our previewfrom April.