Puzzle Games Thread 2018 | A new ERA of head-scratching and mind-bending

More_Badass · Jan 7, 2018

Special thanks to Nappael for his help on formatting and structuring this thread
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Games can satisfy in so many ways. The thrill of the perfectly angled goal, of the white-knuckle drift on mud and dirt, of the expert mid-air headshot or the masterfully-executed parry. The wonder of new worlds, of compelling stories, of engaging characters, of gorgeous vistas and fascinating lore. The terror and fear of unexplored shadows, of the monster on the other side of the door, of unsettling imagery and virtual nightmares.

But there's something special about the satisfaction about solving a puzzle. It seems so benign compared to the spectacle and flair of other genres and kinds of games, and yet it can feel just as amazing, if not more so. Whether it's the rapid block placement of Tetris, the line drawing of The Witness, the careful logical deductions of Hexcells, the time-bending of Braid, the maddening avian positioning of Snakebird, and countless more, the enjoyment of learning and applying the rules and logic of puzzle games, the eureka lightbulb "ah..ha" moment, seems to be a universal and diverse feeling.

This thread, much like the RPG and point-n-click threads, will be an ode to the puzzle genre, in all its forms, to discuss and recommend old classic and new discoveries, spread the word on hidden gems, and shine a light on interesting and intriguing projects in development.

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Directory

New and Notable | Upcoming
A regularly updated guide to the newest puzzle games, and the games to keep an eye on

Highlights

Categories

More_Badass · Jan 7, 2018

New and Notable (updated monthly)

Bridge Constructor Portal - $9.99 (Steam), $4.99 (iOS, Android)

Enter the Aperture Science Enrichment Center and experience Bridge Constructor Portal – the unique merging of the classic Portal™ and Bridge Constructor™ games.

Gorogoa - $14.99 (Steam, GOG, Switch), $4.99 (iOS)

Gorogoa is an elegant evolution of the puzzle genre, told through a beautifully hand-drawn story designed and illustrated by Jason Roberts.

Pathos - $6.99 (Steam)

PATHOS aims to be the most mentally demanding puzzle game ever launched on Steam. Deep and narrative-driven, PATHOS emphasizes attention, lateral thinking and plain ol' persistence. What appears to be a simple mechanic – just find your way to the goal - builds on itself until every level is a Gordian Knot, every move one that requires real thought.

Witchway - $4 (itch.io)

Find your wand, save the bunnies and solve your way out of the well!

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Upcoming

Baba Is You - 2018

Baba Is You is a puzzle game where the rules you have to follow are present as blocks you can interact with. By manipulating them, you can change how the game works, repurpose things you find in the levels and cause surprising interactions!

Donut County (PC, Mac, iOS) - 2018

Donut County is a physics adventure game where you control a hole in the ground. Every time you swallow something, the hole grows a little bit bigger.

GNOG (PC) - January 2018

GNOG is a tactile 3D puzzle game about exploring whimsical monster heads and the secret worlds inside them. Filled with eye-catching designs, lively interactions, and a rich, reactive soundtrack, the hand-crafted heads come to life as you grab, poke, spin, pull, and play with each charming contraption.

Humanity (PC) - 2018

A crowd action game. "They walk, ever onward, sometimes looking like commuters in an underground transport system, sometimes looking like shoppers in a mall. Then they fall, then they fight, then they kill."

Manifold Garden (PC, PS4) - 2018

Rediscover gravity and explore an Escher-esque world of impossible architecture. Witness infinity in first-person, and master its rules to solve physics-defying puzzles. Cultivate a garden to open new paths forward, where an eternal expanse awaits.

Memory of a Broken Dimension (PC, Mac, Linux) - Maybe 2018

You dredge the satellite transmission. Awash in static, harsh structures emerge. Trace a guide line through crushing atmosphere; phantom signals lead to encoded relics. Exhumed from a frozen void, fragmented ruins assemble. But when the stream thaws, no system can handle this overflow...

Miegakure (PC, Mac, Linux, PS4) - Maybe 2018

Miegakure [Hide & Reveal] is a game where you navigate a four-dimensional world to perform miraculous feats and solve puzzles.

Photographs (PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android) - 2018

Photograph's big secret is that it's not a puzzle game. It's five puzzle games. The game is divided into five distinct stories, set in five different times and locations, A player will learn how to solve progressively difficult puzzles in one story, and then move to the next story which has completely different gameplay. That's important because Photograph's other big secret is that it's not a puzzle game, it's a narrative game. The dioramas, the photographs, the sound, the voices, and the puzzles, come together to create a cohesive narrative experience that tells that specific story.

Q.U.B.E. 2 (PC, PS4, Xbox One) - 2018

Q.U.B.E. 2 is the sequel to the hit first-person puzzle game Q.U.B.E. You are Amelia Cross, a stranded archaeologist who has awoken among the ruins of an ancient alien landscape. With the distant help of another survivor you must manipulate the structure of this mysterious world and find a way back home.

The Gardens Between (PC, Mac, PS4) - 2018

The Gardens Between is a surreal puzzle adventure that follows best friends, Arina and Frendt, as they fall into a mysterious world of beautiful garden islands. The player can traverse back and forwards in time to discover each garden's secrets and, along the way, reveal a story about friendship, childhood and growing up.

The Pedestrian (PC) - 2018

The Pedestrian is a 2.5D side-scrolling puzzle platformer that takes puzzle platforming literally. The player moves from sign to sign, rearranging and reconnecting signs in order to solve puzzles. These solved puzzles connect and occupy space in the 3D surroundings. This allows the player the ability to explore and maneuver smoothly through the terrain.

Where Cards Fall (PC, Mac, iOS) - 2018

Where Cards Fall is a coming of age story where you build houses of cards to move through imaginative puzzles and bring vivid memories of adolescence to life.

More_Badass · Jan 7, 2018

For newcomers: Games to introduce yourself to puzzle games and genres

CLARC (PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android)

CLARC is an isometric, grid-based puzzle game with fast paced arcade elements. It features comic style visuals in various different graphical themes, from the inside of a chaotic factory to the surface of Mars to the interior of an intruding enemy spaceship where you think, run and fight through heaps and heaps of carefully designed puzzle and action areas.

Deep Under the Sky (PC, Mac, iOS, Android)

Fling, jet, grapple and roll your way through 80 levels of tentacle-flying physics fun. Time your bursts just right to explore every cleft and cranny of the floating beasts inhabiting the mysterious dark side of Venus. This game uses only one button but don't be fooled - you'll have to think like a jellyfish and zen to the heady biorhythms of the planet before you learn its secrets.

Ending (PC, iOS, Android)

Ending is a single player turn based puzzle game about movement and death. Recommended for people who like board games, chess and roguelikes.

Expand (PC, Mac, Linux)

Expand is a 2D indie minimalist game in which you guide a pink square through a circular labyrinth that constantly rotates, unfolds and expands around you. Navigate through a world that can easily lift as well as harm you, keeping you disorientated and unfamiliar in your surroundings. A world set in five stages, Expand offers an atmospheric experience of exploration, discovery and introspection through gameplay and compelling soundtrack designed to immerse you deeply into its allegorical themes.

Fidel Dungeon Rescue (PC, Mac)

Fidel is a puzzle-crawler where you trace a path through monsters, treasure and magic. No grinding, no filler, loads fast, quick to play, and there are many secrets to uncover!

GNOG (PC, PS4, iOS)

GNOG is a tactile 3D puzzle game about exploring whimsical monster heads and the secret worlds inside them. Filled with eye-catching designs, lively interactions, and a rich, reactive soundtrack, the hand-crafted heads come to life as you grab, poke, spin, pull, and play with each charming contraption.

Hexcells (PC, Mac, Linux, iOS)

Hexcells is an ambient logic puzzle game

Monument Valley 1 & 2 (iOS, Android)

In Monument Valley you will manipulate impossible architecture and guide a silent princess through a stunningly beautiful world. Monument Valley is a surreal exploration through fantastical architecture and impossible geometry. Guide the silent princess Ida through mysterious monuments, uncovering hidden paths, unfolding optical illusions and outsmarting the enigmatic Crow People.

Paint it Back (PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android)

Recreate lost works of pixel art by using brainpower. Use logic as your paintbrush to solve each painting's unique puzzle.

Papers Please (PC, Mac, Linux, iPad)

The communist state of Arstotzka has just ended a 6-year war with neighboring Kolechia and reclaimed its rightful half of the border town, Grestin. Your job as immigration inspector is to control the flow of people entering the Arstotzkan side of Grestin from Kolechia. Among the throngs of immigrants and visitors looking for work are hidden smugglers, spies, and terrorists. Using only the documents provided by travelers and the Ministry of Admission's primitive inspect, search, and fingerprint systems you must decide who can enter Arstotzka and who will be turned away or arrested.

Portal 1 & 2 (PC, Mac, Linux)

Portal™ is a new single player game from Valve. Set in the mysterious Aperture Science Laboratories, Portal has been called one of the most innovative new games on the horizon and will offer gamers hours of unique gameplay.

Quadrilateral Cowboy (PC, Mac, Linux)

Quadrilateral Cowboy is a single-player adventure in a cyberpunk world. Tread lightly through security systems with your hacking deck and grey-market equipment. With top-of-the-line hardware like this, it means just one thing: you answer only to the highest bidder.

Quell series (PC, iOS, Android)

Quell is an enchanting puzzle game of logic and relaxation. The game-play is simple: slide a little water droplet around a window-pane, avoid the spikes and collect the pearls. Easy, right? Absolutely, but the beauty of Quell is in the perfectly pitched difficulty curve - it's just taxing enough to test your powers of logic, but never so much so that it stops being fun.

The Room series (PC, iOS, Android)

Fall into a world of bizarre contraptions and alchemical machinery with The Room, a BAFTA award-winning 3D puzzler from Fireproof Games. Follow a trail of cryptic letters and solve many unique devices in ever more extraordinary places, on a time-spanning journey where machinery meets myth.

The Sequence (PC, iOS, Android)

[the Sequence] is a logic construction puzzler.Let your mind be your guide: Lay down seven different kinds of modules as your roadblocks to get you (portrayed as a binary data point) to a sweet destination.Apply an out-of-the-box thinking to get you to the next level!

Thomas Was Alone (PC, Mac, PS4, iOS)

Thomas Was Alone is an indie minimalist 2D platformer about friendship and jumping and floating and anti-gravity. Guide a group of rectangles through a series of obstacles, using their different skills together to get to the end of each environment.

Ticket To Earth (PC, Mac, iOS, Android)

Ticket to Earth is a sci-fi tale of betrayal and insurrection. The mining boom has left New Providence to die, and just one Earthbound ship remains. Survivor Rose stands in defiance of a broken system. Rise up with fast-paced RPG tactics, and battle across vibrant fields of color.

World of Goo (PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android)

World of Goo is a multiple award winning physics based puzzle / construction game made entirely by two guys. Drag and drop living, squirming, talking, globs of goo to build structures, bridges, cannonballs, zeppelins, and giant tongues. The millions of Goo Balls that live in the beautiful World of Goo are curious to explore - but they don't know that they are in a game, or that they are extremely delicious.

Best of the best: The best that the puzzle genre and its subgenres have to offer

Antichamber (PC, Mac, Linux)

Antichamber is a mind-bending psychological exploration game where nothing can be taken for granted. Discover an Escher-like world where hallways wrap around upon each other, spaces reconfigure themselves, and accomplishing the impossible may just be the only way forward.

Braid (PC, Mac, Linux)

Braid is a puzzle-platformer, drawn in a painterly style, where you can manipulate the flow of time in strange and unusual ways. From a house in the city, journey to a series of worlds and solve puzzles to rescue an abducted princess.

Corrypt (PC, Mac, iOS)

A mysterious intricate puzzle game

Deadly Rooms Of Death series (PC, Mac, Linux)

DROD is a unique puzzle-logic game with clever mechanics and an engaging story. It is a turn-based top-down 2-D dungeon puzzler. The game play has amazing depth through emergent behaviors as puzzle elements are combined. There is a simple interface and only a handful of commands to master.

Device 6 (iOS)

DEVICE 6 plays with the conventions of games and literature, entwines story with geography and blends puzzle and novella, to draw players into an intriguing mystery of technology and neuroscience. Anna wakes up in a castle on a remote island, with little recollection of how she got there. All she remembers is an unusually unpleasant doll… Why are there two identical castles on the island? Who is the mysterious man in the bowler hat? And above all, what is the purpose of the tests Anna is put through? Read, listen and peek into three-dimensional photographs to solve the bizarre mysteries of DEVICE 6.

Else Heart.Break() (PC, Mac, Linux)

Else Heart.Break() is a reimagination of the adventure game – a fantastic story set in a fully dynamic and interactive world. Instead of rigid puzzles you will learn (with the help from other characters in the game) how the reality of the game can be changed through programming and how any problem can be solved in whatever way you find suitable.

English Country Tune (PC, Mac, Linux)

English Country Tune is a luxuriant abstract 3D puzzle game brought to you by increpare, the first commercial project of a developer who's brought you nearly 200 freeware games to date. Over the course of more than a hundred levels situated throughout 17 worlds, you'll become acquainted with a wide variety of very different mechanics, none of them what they first may appear, and which will combine together in challenging ways.

Escape Goat 1 & 2 (PC, Mac, Linux, PS4)

Escape Goat is a puzzle platformer where you take control of a goat, who has been imprisoned for witchcraft, and overcome traps and obstacles to escape the Prison of Agnus. Fear not, for with your supreme agility, sturdy horns, and the help of a magic mouse friend, you can turn the tables on foes and use the environment to your advantage.

Expand (PC, Mac, Linux)

Expand is a 2D indie minimalist game in which you guide a pink square through a circular labyrinth that constantly rotates, unfolds and expands around you. Navigate through a world that can easily lift as well as harm you, keeping you disorientated and unfamiliar in your surroundings. A world set in five stages, Expand offers an atmospheric experience of exploration, discovery and introspection through gameplay and compelling soundtrack designed to immerse you deeply into its allegorical themes

Fez (PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, iOS)

Gomez is a 2D creature living in a 2D world. Or is he? When the existence of a mysterious 3rd dimension is revealed to him, Gomez is sent out on a journey that will take him to the very end of time and space. Use your ability to navigate 3D structures from 4 distinct classic 2D perspectives.

Four Sided Fantasy (PC, Mac)

A game about the limits of your screen. Four Sided Fantasy is a seamless experience where you wrap the screen to solve mind-bending puzzles. Play as a man and woman who attempt to find each other throughout four seasons in a year, constantly separated by the boundaries of the screen.

Frost (iOS)

Draw paths to guide the flocking spirits to their home planets. Watch countless beautiful creatures emerge from light, bring balance to a world in constant motion, and unravel its mysteries.

Gorogoa (PC, Switch, iOS)

Gorogoa is an elegant evolution of the puzzle genre, told through a beautifully hand-drawn story designed and illustrated by Jason Roberts. The gameplay of Gorogoa is wholly original, comprised of lavishly illustrated panels that players arrange and combine in imaginative ways to solve puzzles. Impeccably simple, yet satisfyingly complex.

Hacknet (PC, Mac, Linux)

Hacknet is an immersive, terminal-based hacking simulator for PC. Dive down a rabbit hoIe as you follow the instructions of a recently deceased hacker, whose death may not have been the accident the media reports.

Hexcells (PC, Mac, Linux, iOS)

Hexcells is an ambient logic puzzle game

Linelight (PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, iOS, Android)

Linelight is a refreshingly inventive, minimalist puzzle-adventure game. It takes the wildly simple premise of "What if everything takes place on a line?" and rockets it into outer space. Each mechanic is immediately understandable, then gradually combined with familiar elements, leading to an exponentially large array bursting with puzzles, each with a one-of-a-kind solution. There's no jump button. There's no shoot button. The way you move creates a universe of possibilities and one mind-bending experience.

Lumino City (PC, Mac, iOS)

Lumino City is an award-winning hand-made Puzzle Adventure game. By exploring the city, and using your ingenuity piece together all sorts of puzzling mechanisms to help the people who live in its unique world. Discover gardens in the sky, towers marooned high on an immense waterwheel, and houses dug precariously into cliffs.

Monument Valley 1 & 2 (iOS, Android)

In Monument Valley you will manipulate impossible architecture and guide a silent princess through a stunningly beautiful world. Monument Valley is a surreal exploration through fantastical architecture and impossible geometry. Guide the silent princess Ida through mysterious monuments, uncovering hidden paths, unfolding optical illusions and outsmarting the enigmatic Crow People.

Myst series (PC, iOS)

Enter a world where nothing is as it seems... and adventure knows no bounds! Journey to an island world eerily tinged with mystery... where every rock, every scrap of paper, every fleeting sound holds a clue to an ancient mystery. Enter, if you dare, a starkly beautiful landscape shrouded in intrigue and injustice. Only your wits and imagination hold the power to unlock the shocking betrayal of ages past!

Obduction (PC, Mac, PS4)

A new sci-fi adventure from Cyan, the creators of Myst. Abducted far across the universe, you find yourself on a broken alien landscape with odd pieces of Earth. Explore, uncover, solve, and find a way to make it home.

Opus Magnum (PC, Mac, Linux)

Opus Magnum is the latest open-ended puzzle game from Zachtronics, the creators of SpaceChem, Infinifactory, TIS-100, and SHENZHEN I/O. Master the intricate, physical machinery of the transmutation engine— the alchemical engineer's most advanced tool— and use it to create vital remedies, precious gemstones, deadly weapons, and more.

Papers, Please (PC, Mac, Linux, iPad)

The communist state of Arstotzka has just ended a 6-year war with neighboring Kolechia and reclaimed its rightful half of the border town, Grestin. Your job as immigration inspector is to control the flow of people entering the Arstotzkan side of Grestin from Kolechia. Among the throngs of immigrants and visitors looking for work are hidden smugglers, spies, and terrorists. Using only the documents provided by travelers and the Ministry of Admission's primitive inspect, search, and fingerprint systems you must decide who can enter Arstotzka and who will be turned away or arrested.

Portal 1 & 2 (PC, Mac, Linux)

The single-player portion of Portal 2 introduces a cast of dynamic new characters, a host of fresh puzzle elements, and a much larger set of devious test chambers. Players will explore never-before-seen areas of the Aperture Science Labs and be reunited with GLaDOS, the occasionally murderous computer companion who guided them through the original game.

Recursed (PC, Mac, Linux)

Recursed is a 2D puzzle-platform game where the structure of the world can be twisted. Stack up boxes and use keys to unlock doors to get the crystal at the end of each level. Jump into chests to enter other rooms, or pick up the chests and move the rooms around. Duplicate, destroy or alter the structure of the level to solve the puzzles. There's no way to die, no enemies to fight and no holes to fall in or spikes to hit. The only tool you need is logic.

Riven (PC, iOS)

Prepare to enter a world "torn asunder" by timeless, unresolved conflicts--a world of incomparable beauty, intrigue, and betrayal. Prepare to go to Riven. Journey through vast, awe-inspiring landscapes, where clouds sit nestled in a deep blue sky and the rolling sea waters shimmer from bright morning sunlight.

Sethian (PC, Mac)

Sethian is a sci-fi puzzle game in which you master a fictitious language. An archaeologist in the distant future, you venture to the far-flung planet of Sethian, investigating the mysterious disappearance of the people there centuries ago. An abandoned computer may have the answers you seek, but it only operates in the lost native language. Master their language, unravel their mysteries, and challenge their philosophy.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox One)

Shadow Tactics is a hardcore tactical stealth game set in Japan around the Edo period. A new Shogun seizes power over Japan and enforces nationwide peace. In his battle against conspiracy and rebellion, he recruits five specialists with extraordinary skills for assassination, sabotage and espionage.

Snakebird (PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android)

Snakebird is a very simple but deceptively challenging puzzle game about assuming the right shapes for the task at hand, be it pushing, lifting, teleporting or just defying the laws of physics.

SpaceChem (PC, Mac, Android)

Take on the role of a Reactor Engineer working for SpaceChem, the leading chemical synthesizer for frontier colonies. Construct elaborate factories to transform raw materials into valuable chemical products! Streamline your designs to meet production quotas and survive encounters with the sinister threats that plague SpaceChem.

Stephen's Sausage Roll (PC, Mac, Linux)

A simple 3d puzzle game.

The Talos Principle (PC, Mac, Linux, PS4)

As if awakening from a deep sleep, you find yourself in a strange, contradictory world of ancient ruins and advanced technology. Tasked by your creator with solving a series of increasingly complex puzzles, you must decide whether to have faith or to ask the difficult questions: Who are you? What is your purpose? And what are you going to do about it?

The Witness (PC, Mac, PS4, Xbox One, iOS)

You wake up, alone, on a strange island full of puzzles that will challenge and surprise you.

Thomas Was Alone (PC, Mac, PS4, iOS)

Thomas Was Alone is an indie minimalist 2D platformer about friendship and jumping and floating and anti-gravity. Guide a group of rectangles through a series of obstacles, using their different skills together to get to the end of each environment.

Toki Tori 2+ (PC, Mac, Linux, PS4)

Toki Tori 2+ may look cute, but it's a challenging puzzle adventure game. Whistle and stomp are the only moves you need to solve increasingly complex puzzles, as you go anywhere, anytime on a lush forest island.

World of Goo (PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android)

World of Goo is a multiple award winning physics based puzzle / construction game made entirely by two guys. Drag and drop living, squirming, talking, globs of goo to build structures, bridges, cannonballs, zeppelins, and giant tongues. The millions of Goo Balls that live in the beautiful World of Goo are curious to explore - but they don't know that they are in a game, or that they are extremely delicious.

Yankai's Peak (PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android)

YANKAI'S PEAK. is a love letter to PYRAMIDS. A colorful PYRAMID-pushing puzzle game about the beauty and joy of being a sentient blue PYRAMID.

More_Badass · Jan 7, 2018

Relaxing fun: For easy, calm, zen enjoyment

Dreii (PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, iOS, Android)
Engare (PC, Mac)
Frost (iOS)
GNOG (PC, PS4, iOS)
Knotmania (iOS)
LYNE (PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android)
Mini Metro (PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android)
Monument Valley 1 & 2 (iOS, Android)
Paint it Back (PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android)
Prune (iOS, Android)

Brain-twisting challenges: For mind-testing conundrums

Antichamber (PC, Mac, Linux)
Corrypt (PC, Mac, iOS)
Deadly Rooms Of Death series (PC, Mac, Linux)
English Country Tune (PC, Mac, Linux)
Induction (PC, Mac, Linux)
Snakebird (PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android)
Stephen's Sausage Roll (PC, Mac, Linux)
The Guides (iOS, Android)
The Talos Principle (PC, Mac, Linux, PS4)
The Witness (PC, Mac, PS4, Xbox One, iOS)

Methodical logic: For satisfying step-by-step, rule-applying mastery

Divide By Sheep (PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android)
Hexcells (PC, Mac, Linux, iOS)
Hydra Slayer (PC, Mac, Linux)
Opus Magnum (PC, Mac, Linux)
RYB (PC, Mac, Linux, iOS)
SpaceChem (PC, Mac, Android)

Cool & Unusual: Weird, odd, unique, and interesting works

Engare (PC, Mac)
Recursed (PC, Mac, Linux)
Sethian (PC, Mac)
Starseed Pilgrim (PC, Mac)
TraptionBakery (iOS)

Classics: Vintage puzzle solving

Lemmings
Myst
Picross
Puyo Puyo
Sokoban
Tetris

More_Badass · Jan 7, 2018

Puzzle Platformers

140
A Boy & His Blob
And Yet It Moves
Braid
Candle
Closure
Escape Goat 1 & 2
Fez
FLY'N
Four Sided Fantasy
Full Bore
Gateways
Gunpoint
Hue
In Between
In The Shadows
Life Goes On
Metrico
Monochroma
Mushroom 11
NightSky
Nihilumbra
Nimbus
Nova-111
Out There Somewhere
OVIVO
Perspective
Pid
Recursed
RETSNOM
Seasons after Fall
Splitter Critters
Starseed Pilgrim
Stealth Bastard 1 & 2
Teslagrad
The Swapper
Thomas Was Alone
Toki Tori 2+
Typoman
Uurnog Uurnlimited
Veer
Vessel

First-Person Puzzlers

Antichamber
Bokida: Heartfelt Reunion
Chromagun
ECHOPLEX
Enigma Prison
Fabric
FRACT OSC
Fragments of Euclid
Glitchspace
Kairo
Parallax
Polarity
Portal 1 & 2
Q.U.B.E.
Quantum Conundrum
Standpoint
The Ball
The Talos Principle
The Turing Test
Tri

Minimalist

Adjacency
Bicolor
Blek
Blockwick 2
Circles
Cosmic Express
CrossCells
Empty
Expand
Frost
Hade
Hexcells
Hook
Invert
Kami 1 & 2
Klocki
KNIGHTS
Linelight
LOOP
LYNE
Mini Metro
Quetzalcoatl
PEG
_PRISM
Prune
PUSH
Rop
RYB
SinkR
SPL-T
Splice
SquareCells
Strata
Trilogic
Twisted Lines
Unium
Voi
Zenge
Zip-Zap

More_Badass · Jan 7, 2018

Sokoban-style

A Good Snowman Is Hard To Build
Campfire Cooking
CLARC
Corrypt
English Country Tune
Pathos
Quell series
Slayaway Camp
Sokobond
Starman: Tale of Light
Stephen's Sausage Roll
Test Chamber
Volvox
Yankai's Peak

Zachtronics/Hacking/Programming

Else Heart.Break()
Hacknet
Hack 'n' Slash
Human Resource Machine
Infinifactory
Opus Magnum
Perfect Paths
Quadrilateral Cowboy
SHENZHEN I/O
Silicon Zeroes
SpaceChem
The Sequence
TIS-100

Myst & Myst-likes

Infra
Myst series
Obduction
Riven
The Eyes of Ara
The House of Da Vinci
The Room series
The Witness

Physics-Based

Art of Gravity
Balancity
Besiege
Bridge Constructor
Claybook
Deep Under the Sky
Dreii
Incredipede
PixelJunk Shooter series
Poly Bridge
Radium 2/Ra^2
Super Sharp
The Bridge
World of Goo

More_Badass · Jan 7, 2018

Text Adventure/Point & Click

Ahnayro: The Dream World
Botanicula
Counterfeit Monkey
Cube Escape series
Device 6
Framed 1 & 2
GNOG
Gorogoa
Hadean Lands
Lume
Lumino City
OneShot
Puzzle Agent
Rusty Lake Hotel / Rusty Lake Roots
Samorost series
Sethian
Tengami
The Dream Machine
The Fall

Match-3

10000000
Beglitched
Hero Emblems
Puzzle Quest series
Super Puzzle Platformer Deluxe
Swapperoo
Swap Sword
Ticket to Earth
Tomb of Tyrants
Tower of Archeos
Tumblestone
You Must Build A Boat

Tactical Puzzlers

Atom Zombie Smashers
Commandos series
Desperados 1 & 2
Deadly Rooms Of Death series
Ending
Eucledian Lands
Fidel Dungeon Rescue
Hydra Slayer
Morphblade
Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
Volume

Isometric Puzzlers

Induction
Lumo
Monument Valley 1 & 2
Pan-Pan
Pavilion
See No Evil
She Remembered Caterpillars
The Sexy Brutale

More_Badass · Jan 7, 2018

Word-based

Alpha Omega
Antitype
Blackbar
Bonza
Grayout
Lettershift
Typeshift
Uncarta
Word Squared

Music-based

Audiosurf 1 & 2
Beat Sneak Bandit
Chime Sharp
Circuits
Lumines
Micron
Sentris

Picross-like

Draw Puzzle
Paint it Back
Picross
Pictopix

VR

I Expect You To Die
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
SUPERHYPERCUBE

Miscellaneous

Blackbox
Cubesis
Divide By Sheep
Engare
Eucledia
Flame Over
Good Fences
Helsing's Fire
Knotmania
Manowar
Papers, Please
Puddle
Semispheres
Six Sides of the World
Snakebird
Tetrobot and Co.
The Guides
Thoth
Touchtone
TraptionBakery

More_Badass · Jan 7, 2018

Need to add links and platforms for the categories, but the thread is open now

Lord Brady · Jan 7, 2018

Picross, Lumines, Meteos, Tetris, are all of my favorites, but nothing has ever matched the simple genius of Panel De Con (aka Pokemon Puzzle Challenge, aka Tetris Attack, aka Planet Puzzle League).

Ryo Hazuki · Jan 7, 2018

Amazing thread. Puzzle games is probably my favourite genre and you've pretty much covered all of them. Some of my favourite puzzle games are my favourite games of all time.

The Talos Principle is easily one of my favourite games ever made. Truly a masterpiece and deserves to be played by everyone. The Witness and Stephen's Sausage Roll are also masterpieces. Amazing games that are also close on my favourite games ever made list. I've played a lot of puzzle games over the years and I'm probably forgetting some.

One first-person puzzle game I enjoyed that isn't on the list is Standpoint. I enjoyed my time with this and if you enjoy unique puzzle games with a challenge check it out:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/322550/StandPoint/

Another first-person puzzle game I enjoyed was ChromaGun. Has some interesting mechanics that make for some interesting puzzles. Check it out:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/408650/ChromaGun/

jefjay · Jan 7, 2018

Award for member who causes me to spend the most money: More_Badass

Awesome thread. So many great games, and I'll also state how much I loved Talos Pronciple. I'll have to sort through these lists at some point.

To add to the topic, A Snowman is hard to build is fantastic, and their other games are also good: Robotic Hearts and Cosmic Express

Kalor · Jan 7, 2018

This is a pretty good thread. I didn't realise Fidel Dungeon Rescue had came out so I should probably get that now.

Deleted member 1849 · Jan 7, 2018

Thread looking good! Puzzle games are great, and there's so many good games listed. Happy we have something like this now, and I'll definitely be checking up on this thread now and then.

I'm particularly a fan of Zachtronics games, environmental puzzles like those in The Witness, and Sokoban inspired games like Stephen's Sausage Roll or Yankai's Peak. Also really loved Snakebird, but god that game broke my brain.

No problem with the help, by the way. I think you definitely did the most in setting this up! I was just happy to contribute.

Ryo Hazuki · Jan 7, 2018

Few more games that deserve to be checked out.

Perspective - A free student game from DigiPen. These put out some very unique concepts and Perspective is amazing. Worth playing for sure and still does some things new that no other game has done since it released.

https://games.digipen.edu/games/perspective#.WlJk_dXFKUk

Miasmata - Not overtly a puzzle game, more of a survival exploration game, however, there are definitely puzzle elements to the game and it's one of my most memorable games. It still uses some unique mechanics that I've not seen in other games, mainly the mapping system which can definitely bring a puzzle element to the game. Worth checking out for sure.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/223510/Miasmata/

Polarity - Another first-person puzzle game. Simple puzzle rooms with nothing too deep but it has some fun puzzles if you need a first-person puzzle fix.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/315430/Polarity/

Enigma Prison - A first-person puzzle game. This apparently will be released this year. It uses some interesting techniques and there is a free demo that covers some of the game and how it will work.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/500740/Enigma_Prison/

Knurek · Jan 7, 2018

Puzzle game thread without even a mention of NDS makes me go :(
(They are still playable on curgen hardware)
Hudson's Puzzle series, Picross DS and 3D, Pic Pic, Prism: Light the Way, Polarium, Exit. Easily a thousand hours of solving puzzles.

Also worth noting that Pictopix on Steam has recently been updated with support for puzzle sizes up to 40x40 and a bunch of new, hard puzzles.
Draw Puzzle is also getting constant updates. Even if you have 100% the game before, check it out from time to time.

Deleted member 1849 · Jan 7, 2018

Knurek said:
Puzzle game thread without even a mention of NDS makes me go :(
(They are still playable on curgen hardware)
Hudson's Puzzle series, Picross DS and 3D, Pic Pic, Prism: Light the Way, Polarium, Exit. Easily a thousand hours of solving puzzles.

There is a mention of Picross at least!

The DS definitely had a lot of great puzzle games though. Also worth giving a shout out to Professor Layton.

Deleted member 13148 · Jan 7, 2018

Great thread! A love a lot of these games, and I will definitely pick up a few if the ones I don't have yet.

I would also highly recommend Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes for a local cooperative puzzle game. I've only played it in VR with friends, but it should work just as well in flat mode. In the game, one player is alone in a room with a bomb, and the other players are using a bomb disposal manual to try to walk the other players through how to successfully defuse the bomb. It's also available for PSVR, Gear VR and Google Daydream.

Deleted member 1849 · Jan 7, 2018

Devin said:
Great thread! A love a lot of these games, and I will definitely pick up a few if the ones I don't have yet.

I would also highly recommend Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes for a local cooperative puzzle game. I've only played it in VR with friends, but it should work just as well in flat mode. In the game, one player is alone in a room with a bomb, and the other players are using a bomb disposal manual to try to walk the other players through how to successfully defuse the bomb. It's also available for PSVR, Gear VR and Google Daydream.

I've played Keep Talking in "flat mode" with a bunch of friends. It worked great! One of us had the laptop while the others all sat the other side of the screen. One of the best coop puzzle games we've come across.

More_Badass · Jan 7, 2018

Devin said:
Great thread! A love a lot of these games, and I will definitely pick up a few if the ones I don't have yet.

I would also highly recommend Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes for a local cooperative puzzle game. I've only played it in VR with friends, but it should work just as well in flat mode. In the game, one player is alone in a room with a bomb, and the other players are using a bomb disposal manual to try to walk the other players through how to successfully defuse the bomb. It's also available for PSVR, Gear VR and Google Daydream.

Any other good VR puzzle games?

TheIlliterati · Jan 7, 2018

Great thread. I've played or looked at most of these, found a few good recommends. I'd like to hear people's thoughts on Fidel Dungeon Rescue. I bought it and almost love it....but I hate the ghost mechanic. I get quite far (14 out of 16? maybe) and then the ghost eventually just spawns randomly and kills me while I'm thinking. Can anyone give me courage to carry on? I also thought there was a puzzle mode...does it unlock when you beat it? What other secrets are in this thing?

Mugen · Jan 7, 2018

More_Badass said:
Any other good VR puzzle games?

Great thread, insta-watched! How is Superhypercube for a vr puzzle?

thelongestj · Jan 7, 2018

Thanks so much More_Badass for all the work you put into this thread. Amazing links and so many interesting games that I've never heard of before that I am excited to check out!

Stoze · Jan 7, 2018

TheIlliterati said:
Great thread. I've played or looked at most of these, found a few good recommends. I'd like to hear people's thoughts on Fidel Dungeon Rescue. I bought it and almost love it....but I hate the ghost mechanic. I get quite far (14 out of 16? maybe) and then the ghost eventually just spawns randomly and kills me while I'm thinking. Can anyone give me courage to carry on? I also thought there was a puzzle mode...does it unlock when you beat it? What other secrets are in this thing?

When's the last time you played? The dev has nerfed the ghost multiple times.

Spoilers but if you really do want to carry on:

after beating the 16th floor there's a way to disable the ghost permanently. You'll get your other answers after doing that as well, or by looking at the achievements, there's a lot more to the game after that point.

Deleted member 13148 · Jan 7, 2018

More_Badass said:
Any other good VR puzzle games?

Not that I have much personal experience with yet. I just recently was able to get my VR space back after a while, so I should be able to try out SUPERHYPERCUBE and the Talos Principle VR port relatively soon. I've also heard good things about I Expect You to Die, so I'll probably pick that one up in the near future.

TheIlliterati · Jan 7, 2018

Stoze said:
When's the last time you played? The dev has nerfed the ghost multiple times.

Spoilers but if you really do want to carry on:

after beating the 16th floor there's a way to disable the ghost permanently. You'll get your other answers after doing that as well, or by looking at the achievements, there's a lot more to the game after that point.

I've only played it as of a few weeks ago, bought it day one of the Steam sale. I will struggle on. The ghost goes against my nature of how I'd like to play, but knowing for sure there's a lot more to discover gives me reason to overcome it.

JeTmAn · Jan 7, 2018

How are you gentlemen. I'll second a nod to the excellent Professor Layton series. I haff 12 matchsteek.

More_Badass · Jan 7, 2018

Knurek said:
Puzzle game thread without even a mention of NDS makes me go :(
(They are still playable on curgen hardware)
Hudson's Puzzle series, Picross DS and 3D, Pic Pic, Prism: Light the Way, Polarium, Exit. Easily a thousand hours of solving puzzles.

Also worth noting that Pictopix on Steam has recently been updated with support for puzzle sizes up to 40x40 and a bunch of new, hard puzzles.
Draw Puzzle is also getting constant updates. Even if you have 100% the game before, check it out from time to time.

JeTmAn said:
How are you gentlemen. I'll second a nod to the excellent Professor Layton series. I haff 12 matchsteek.

Will add these later

timmbp · Jan 7, 2018

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun seems like an odd one to include, unless you plan on putting a stealth game category.

Stoze · Jan 7, 2018

TheIlliterati said:
I've only played it as of a few weeks ago, bought it day one of the Steam sale. I will struggle on. The ghost goes against my nature of how I'd like to play, but knowing for sure there's a lot more to discover gives me reason to overcome it.

Gotcha. I can't tell if I'm in the majority or minority, but I like the ghost and think it's crucial to what makes the game so good, and it's trivialization is partially why I have mixed feelings on how the game has been updated. But I'm also someone who thought the vanilla or week 1 release state of the game was borderline perfect, so I could just be hard to please.

More_Badass · Jan 7, 2018

timmbp said:
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun seems like an odd one to include, unless you plan on putting a stealth game category.

To be fair, stealth games are pretty much more complex puzzle games, and Shadow Tactics (and that subgenre in general) was more puzzler than most. You have very clear defined systems, very specific character roles and often limited in what characters you have for missions, and needed to experiment to find the best solution using the tools at hand. I'd liken it to Chess puzzles, where you have specific pieces and need to use those pieces' strengths to conquer a given challenge on a board.

I might include Hitman as well since its sandbox levels are basically just clockwork puzzleboxes where you're collecting items and using them at the right place at the right time, like an adventure game.

If something like DROD is the puzzle variant of the dungeon crawler RPG, Shadow Tactics, Volume, and Hitman are the puzzle variants of the stealth game

FunnyJay · Jan 7, 2018

I love Vessel. A truly lovely game with a few sinister puzzles.

Also, no love for the Puzzle Agent games?
Not as hard puzzles perhaps but some lovely, quirky humor.

More_Badass · Jan 7, 2018

FunnyJay said:
Also, no love for the Puzzle Agent games?
Not as hard puzzles perhaps but some lovely, quirky humor.

Never heard of them, what category would they fit in?

Deleted member 1849 · Jan 7, 2018

More_Badass said:
Never heard of them, what category would they fit in?

http://store.steampowered.com/app/31270/Puzzle_Agent/

Point and Click is probably the most appropriate category for them, honestly. I haven't played them but I've heard of them before. Apparently they are pretty good.

FunnyJay · Jan 7, 2018

Nappael said:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/31270/Puzzle_Agent/

Point and Click is probably the most appropriate category for them, honestly. I haven't played them but I've heard of them before. Apparently they are pretty good.

I think they are generally compared to the Professor Layton games? Never played one of the Layton games so I cannot be the judge.

mclem · Jan 7, 2018

Wonderful thread, about a subject close to my heart. Very comprehensive OT, nothing seems egregiously absent at first glance, but I'll have a think and let you know if anything comes to mind.

Puzzle Agent is best compared to the Layton titles, so sort-of like a puzzle book with a narrative more than anything else. They're good, but a wee bit on the short side.

Edit: Jelly No Puzzle probably deserves a nod, unless I've just missed it in amongst the list.

zoodoo · Jan 7, 2018

Anybody remember Exit?
You play as a hero saving people from fire or other hazardous situations. The goal is to lead them to the exit.
I played the shit out of the first one on psp. There were 2 on psp and a ds game also. This series deserves more love. I never hear anybody talking about it.

Deleted member 1849 · Jan 7, 2018

mclem said:
Wonderful thread, about a subject close to my heart. Very comprehensive OT, nothing seems egregiously absent at first glance, but I'll have a think and let you know if anything comes to mind.

Puzzle Agent is best compared to the Layton titles, so sort-of like a puzzle book with a narrative more than anything else. They're good, but a wee bit on the short side.

Edit: Jelly No Puzzle probably deserves a nod, unless I've just missed it in amongst the list.

You definitely did not miss it! I had just completely forgotten about it, and I guess More_Badass missed it too.

I remember playing it years ago and finding it incredibly difficult but well designed. It's also a favourite of Jonathan Blow too. It's definitely worth a nod.

Lord Brady · Jan 7, 2018

One of Miyamoto's best games is a puzzle game called Mole Mania. I owned it when it originally came out and then bought it again on VC.

Dangerblade · Jan 7, 2018

zoodoo said:
Anybody remember Exit?
You play as a hero saving people from fire or other hazardous situations. The goal is to lead them to the exit.
I played the shit out of the first one on psp. There were 2 on psp and a ds game also. This series deserves more love. I never hear anybody talking about it.

Yeah, I loved that game. Awesome art style and very addictive!

Knurek · Jan 7, 2018

More_Badass said:
Will add these later

Here are the Hudson's Puzzle series entries that are playable for people with no knowledge of Japanese (you will still have to deal with the menus, but all of the below are logic puzzles, and not word puzzles like the other games in the series):

Sudoku Gridmaster (aka Puzzle Series Vol. 3 - Sudoku)
Puzzle Series Vol. 4 - Kakuro
Puzzle Series Vol. 5 - Slither Link
Puzzle Series Vol. 6 - Illust Logic (Picross/Nonograms)
Puzzle Series Vol. 9 - Sudoku 2 Deluxe
Puzzle Series Vol. 10 - Hitori
Puzzle Series Vol. 11 - Nurikabe
Puzzle Series Vol. 12 - Akari
Illust Logic DS + Colorful Logic (Picross/Nonograms with ColorCross puzzles)

Deleted member 1849 · Jan 7, 2018

I know it's in the OP, but just wanted to give an extra mention to Yankai's Peak. I've been playing it over the past week and have been really enjoying it. Mobile controls are a little better than keyboard and mouse in my opinion but both work fine.

Small, very focused levels which reveal a surprising level of mechanical depth. A number of worlds which bring in new mechanics each time to mix things up, and a good level of difficulty which isn't completely mind breaking but is still very challenging.

I'm on world 3 (out of 6?) at the moment and can only recommend it. My favourite game of this style since I played Stephen's Sausage Roll.

More_Badass · Jan 7, 2018

Nappael said:
I know it's in the OP, but just wanted to give an extra mention to Yankai's Peak. I've been playing it over the past week and have been really enjoying it. Mobile controls are a little better than keyboard and mouse in my opinion but both work fine.

Small, very focused levels which reveal a surprising level of mechanical depth. A number of worlds which bring in new mechanics each time to mix things up, and a good level of difficulty which isn't completely mind breaking but is still very challenging.

I'm on world 3 (out of 6?) at the moment and can only recommend it. My favourite game of this style since I played Stephen's Sausage Roll.

If you like the dev's style of design (simple but surprisingly complex), check out his platformer Circa Infinity. I think I should probably add that to the puzzle platformer list; it doesn't look like one but that's kind of what makes it so clever.

Deleted member 1849 · Jan 7, 2018

More_Badass said:
If you like the dev's style of design (simple but surprisingly complex), check out his platformer Circa Infinity. I think I should probably add that to the puzzle platformer list; it doesn't look like one but that's kind of makes it so clever.

I actually have Circa Infinity! I quite liked it but think I only played it for 20 minutes or so. I should probably get back to it.

OnanieBomb · Jan 7, 2018

Wow this is my kind of thread! I almost always have a puzzle game in rotation with whatever else I'm playing.

Wibblewozzer · Jan 7, 2018

More_Badass said:
Any other good VR puzzle games?

Statik is worth including but to note it's only PSVR - http://www.statik.institute/

I'll have to brainstorm to see what else comes to mind to help fill in any missing titles worth noting.

PurpleMoustache · Jan 7, 2018

Great thread, subbed instantly. It's mentioned as a link in one of the OP posts, but I feel like profiling Deadly Rooms of Death, also known as DROD. Behold:

Yes. It looks like ass. Yes, it kinda sounds like ass too. Yes, the voice acting is clearly like 3 Swedish dudes recording into a 2001 laptop mic in a bathroom, but Jesus christ, this game will destroy you.

DROD is a long running (1995-present day) puzzle game series that presents itself as a top down dungeon crawler, but actually is the most complex turn based puzzle game ever. You move around with the numpad, and rotate your sword using the Q and W keys. Each of those movements takes a turn, which in turn enemies will also take one. All enemies use predictable, easy to understand AI, so you can always use the same solution on each level. But where the game really shines is when it uses it's near hundreds of systems and mechanics to turn each room into a unique clockwork puzzle, having you poke and prod at each nook and cranny until you piece it together. 5 full games, plus 15 official expansion campaigns, and an RPG spin off gives you plenty to solve and there's even a built in level editor with a community collection of over a thousand mini campaigns to play. A great starting point is game 4: Gunthro and the Epic Blunder, a game designed for beginners. All the other games (except for the most recent one) and official expansions are available as DLC for the Steam version as well.

Lamptramp · Jan 7, 2018

Great thread More_Badass , watched.

My word Gorogoa looks fabulous, I'm going to have to get that, and I already felt compelled to pickup Battlefield 1 this week down to your LttP thread (had amazing fun with that this afternoon) :)

Knurek · Jan 7, 2018

PurpleMoustache said:
Great thread, subbed instantly. It's mentioned as a link in one of the OP posts, but I feel like profiling Deadly Rooms of Death, also known as DROD.

Loved the spoof/homage to DROD in Frog Fractions 2.

TheIlliterati · Jan 7, 2018

PurpleMoustache said:
Great thread, subbed instantly. It's mentioned as a link in one of the OP posts, but I feel like profiling Deadly Rooms of Death, also known as DROD. Behold:

DROD and the related games are all brilliant, been playing those for decades. I really want more DROD RPG/Wizard's Tower style games as well. Desktop Dungeons(this game is too damn hard) and Fidel Dungeon Rescue are sort of similar but not quite. Anyone know of any?

Puzzle Games Thread 2018 | A new ERA of head-scratching and mind-bending

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