The immersive nature of video games ensures that players will feel strong emotions that can't be replicated in other media like books or movies. After all, player agency plays a vital role in a title and ensures that any progress made is driven by their actions.
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This is why puzzle games can be so satisfying for players to check out, since they challenge their brains to figure out solutions and make progress. The best games in this genre usually feature simple mechanics with a ton of depth that helps players feel a sense of pride and accomplishment as they use their brainpower to solve the many tricky puzzles that come their way.
Portal 2
The Poster Child Of Ingenious Puzzle Design
Portal 2
- Released
- April 18, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ for Everyone 10+: Fantasy Violence, Mild Language
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle, Platformer
Portal 2 is one of the greatest video games that highlighted Valve's brilliance yet again. The simple act of using portals to connect spaces is bolstered with new mechanics, letting players cover surfaces with substances that either boost their speed or allow them to bounce around.
This makes both the single-player and co-op campaigns a blast to play. The ingenious puzzle design ensures that players won't get frustrated for too long and lets them enjoy a sense of accomplishment as they figure out solutions to tricky problems.
Outer Wilds
Exploration Leads To Players Acquiring The Knowledge They Need To Solve The Game's Underlying Mystery
Outer Wilds
- Released
- May 28, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Fantasy Violence, Alcohol Reference
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
Outer Wilds is a product of love and passion that shows how puzzle games can be as emotional as they can be. The 22-minute time loop may seem frustrating at first, but it encourages players to make slow yet steady progress and follow other leads if they're gazumped in a particular situation.
Exploration is the meat and bones of this title, with the simple act of moving around being enough for players to get the clues they need to solve certain brain-teasers. The pacing of this game is brilliant and ensures that players will feel smart when everything clicks in place, especially in a moment that fans of the video game are more than familiar with.
Blue Prince
Even With Some Frustrating RNG, Players Will Feel Very Smart As Their Conclusions Turn Out To Be True
Blue Prince
- Released
- April 10, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Alcohol Reference, Simulated Gambling
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle, Adventure, Exploration, Strategy
The roguelike genre has become so popular that it's being combined with the puzzle genre, with Blue Prince being a great example of what makes this approach click. Sure, the RNG may be frustrating to deal with for certain specific solutions, but the bulk of the experience uses the inflow of knowledge to help players organically stumble upon a solution.
Deductive reasoning is a major part of the experience and ensures that players will love it when they connect the dots and are rewarded for their intelligence. The RNG issues become non-issues as players use their brainpower and see everything click into place as they come closer to entering the elusive Room 46.
Baba Is You
Players Must Manipulate Statements To Find Ingenious Solutions To Puzzles
Baba Is You
- Released
- March 13, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle
Baba Is You is a game that stems from the clever idea of manipulating video game code to craft unique solutions for certain puzzles. Players change how things function, changing everything from what can be controlled to how the puzzle's elements interact with each other.
So, it's easy to see why this ingenious puzzle-solving will help players feel smart as they figure out unique solutions time and time again. The brain teasers in some of Baba Is You's later levels can be very challenging, which is why players will enjoy an immense sense of satisfaction as they finally figure out how to make progress in this well-executed video game.
The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
Manipulating Game Mechanics And Solving Shrine Puzzles Feels Great
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Released
- May 12, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Rated E for Everyone 10+ for Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Action, Open-World
Both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom integrate elements that interact with each other harmoniously to ensure that players can either take the straightforward approach or manipulate game mechanics to achieve their desired result.
This statement applies to exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat, the three biggest gameplay pillars of the new Zelda games. Tears of the Kingdom, with its unique powers, is far more flexible in this regard and lets players craft unique solutions to problems that can be genuine headscratchers.
Return Of The Obra Dinn
One Of The Most Ingenious Mystery Games Ever Made
Return of the Obra Dinn
- Released
- October 18, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
Return of the Obra Dinn is another excellent video game that highlights Lucas Pope's brilliance for everyone to see. This ingenious detective game is a blast to play as players figure out what happened to the crew of an abandoned ship that mysteriously washes up on shore.
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Players must figure out the names of the crew and uncover the mystery surrounding their deaths, which is far more immersive than it has any right to be. The big brain energy players enjoy after slowly but surely filling out the list of crew members and their causes of death makes for a riveting experience that makes Obra Dinn a masterclass of video game design.
Catherine
A Hard Yet Rewarding Puzzle Game
Catherine
- Released
- July 26, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle
Atlus is mainly known for developing epic and lengthy JRPGs, so fans were surprised to see that the first game they made with their newest engine was a puzzle title about moving blocks around to ascend to the top of levels in a person's nightmare.
The gameplay seems odd, but Catherine is genuinely challenging and forces players to figure out a way to reach the top before they get sucked into the void. The regular levels themselves are highly challenging, but the bosses at the end of each night are harrowing experiences that will push players to their very limits, frustrating them over and over and over again until they finally survive by the skin of their teeth and feel incredibly smart for doing so.
Void Stranger
This Sokoban Puzzle Game Is Frustrating And Satisfying In Equal Measure
Void Stranger
- Released
- September 1, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle, Adventure, 2D
Sokoban puzzle games are deceptively difficult and can involve a huge amount of brainpower for players to reach the end of a stage. Void Stranger embraces this style of gameplay and harbors an incredible story that is slowly uncovered as players make progress in this hard-as-nails game.
The stages can be a nightmare to deal with, especially with the added gameplay twist of players having to remain Unvoided to make progress in the story. However, as players use their brains to figure out solutions to obtuse puzzles, they unlock tools that help them fly, attack enemies, and perform a bunch of actions that make the puzzle stages easier to handle and make an Unvoided Run way more doable than they expect it to be.
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