Summary
- Games reward creativity: titles like Zelda, Hitman, and MGSV let players solve problems in countless ways.
- Nonlinear play grows thinking: puzzles and open missions encourage outside-the-box solutions.
- Across genres — from Scribblenauts to Death Stranding 2 — games give varied tools and freedom to experiment.
Linear games are great if the campaigns are still full of excitement. For example, the Call of Duty campaigns are some of the best in the business, and some fans prefer the campaigns to multiplayer. They feature globe-trotting levels with intense action, and there are other games like them out there.
However, some prefer to play games with non-linear designs. Moreover, they may want a game that offers multiple paths through puzzles. Games that offer player input can help grow the brain as they think of solutions outside the box. All of these examples aren’t specifically puzzle games, as even action games can help players think critically. Let’s go through some of the best examples.
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The Legend of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom
Thinking Outside The Box... By Creating It
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
- Released
- September 26, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom both feature Shrines, wherein players can engage with physics to solve puzzles in numerous ways. They’re adaptable adventures, but Echoes of Wisdom, while it might appear to be a simpler game, has more player choice.
As Zelda, players can copy enemies and objects to clone them into effect. Players can stack boxes to reach a ledge or bounce on a trampoline, for example. The solutions are endless thanks to this game’s easy-to-use mechanics and endless creativity.
Hitman: World of Assassination
A Kill Is A Kill
Hitman World of Assassination
- Released
- January 20, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
Setting up the perfect kill in any of the new Hitman games, all combined into Hitman: World of Assassination, can be addictive. Beyond other stealth game protagonists, Agent 47 has a lot of leeway in how he disposes of his victims.
In some cases, he can poison the victims with food or get them with a well-timed stab while passing by. He can even go so far as to disguise himself as a rock star to get close to his target, even though he isn’t musically gifted himself. Each mission is like a toy box, and it’s up to players to decide how to use their toys to reach their end goal.
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
Venom Snake Has It Covered
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
- Released
- September 1, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Action, Open-World
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is the most open the series has ever been. As Big Boss, rebranded as Venom Snake, players can tackle several biomes with missions. As is the case in any Metal Gear game, players can deal with soldiers lethally or non-lethally, with the latter option being particularly useful for this entry.
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Players can send officers back to Mother Base and recruit them for projects, giving them more incentive to share soldiers. How players deal with them in the field is up to them, as the gadgets are widely varied, from boxes that look like women to classic sleeping darts.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
Package Delivery!
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Released
- June 26, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach’s gameplay is pretty simple relative to the complicated story. Players, as Sam, have to deliver packages as a post-apocalyptic courier. Sometimes it can be easy, especially if players get vehicles, and if there are roads in place. Other times it will be challenging, like when Sam has to hike up mountains.
Players have to bring tools and consider terrain, like getting a ladder to cross rapids or passing a gap in the mountains. The further players get, the more gear they can play with to deliver their packages. There’s no wrong way to do it, but the best ways will often net bigger rewards from customers.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Pick Your Way
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Released
- August 23, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- Genre(s)
- FPS
Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a stealth cyberpunk RPG wherein players can build their character, Adam, in several directions. They can turn him into a cybernetic god who can stealth kill his way through anything, or they can arm him with guns. They can also raise speech proficiency or hacking skills. No matter how players want to approach a situation, there are typically several ways to do it. It’s a nice freeing feeling for an RPG and one that encourages multiple playthroughs.
Scribblenauts
If You Can Type It, They Will Come
Scribblenauts
- Released
- September 15, 2009
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle, Action, Platformer
Many 80s and 90s kids grew up playing educational games like The Oregon Trail and Number Munchers. These games were more fun than being lectured in a class, but not as fun as something like Super Mario World.
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Scribblenauts reimagined the educational typing games and made a compelling puzzle game out of it on the DS. Players were given a puzzle, like how to rescue a cat in a tree or put out a fire. The game recognized hundreds of words, and it was up to players to come up with a solution that was not set in stone. Sequels only made the wordplay more compelling.
Tunic
Think Outside The Game
Tunic
- Released
- March 16, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
Tunic, from the start, looks like a Zelda clone except that the hero is a fox and not a little elf boy. Players wear a green tunic, explore a top-down world, fight enemies with a sword and shield, and solve basic puzzles. However, the game is much deeper than that.
Players have to piece together an ancient mystery regarding the game’s language and guidebook that they can piece back together. It takes patience to think outside the game and figure out context clues on how to solve puzzles to progress to the next level of enlightenment.
Fez
A Mind-Bending Puzzle
Fez
- Released
- April 13, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E For Everyone due to Mild Fantasy Violence
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle, Platformer
Fez begins in a simple 2D world as a platformer before the hero finds the titular fez. With it, players can start to spin the world to reveal hidden perspectives. A ladder may look broken from one viewpoint, but from a different angle, it’s complete. The solutions to puzzles are mostly linear, so players don't necessarily get creative with their ideas. However, it takes a clever mind to figure out everything, especially toward the latter half when things get truly trippy.
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