Summary
- RPGs often feature puzzles like riddles and minigames as integral parts of the storyline.
- Genshin Impact includes puzzles connected to elemental powers in the wilderness, offering rewards.
- Games like Baldur's Gate 3 and Skyrim offer various puzzles for players to solve, enhancing the RPG experience.
Role-playing games often include some kind of puzzle as part of the storyline or a way to reach a special treasure or hidden secret, and these puzzles can take on several different forms. It can be a minigame, such as chess, an arrangement of tiles, or a riddle that involves a magic word.
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Any Dungeon Master is also going to integrate a puzzle or two into their adventures, making them an intrinsic part of the overall RPG experience. The best RPGs offer a variety of puzzles for players to solve, ranging from easy to challenging, in exchange for rewards such as money, gear, or advancement in a quest.
7 Genshin Impact
Murals, Bridges, Colors, And Elements
Genshin Impact
- Released
- September 28, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Teen / Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items), Users Interact
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Action, Adventure, Gacha, Open-World
RPGs are supposed to be about exploring a world, and most of the puzzles that a player finds in Genshin Impact are scattered in the wilderness. A simple and obvious example is the Bloatty Floatties, also known as "Balloon Flowers," which reveal a chest if the player pops three in a row. Many others are connected to the elemental powers that form the main storyline and can include various devices, such as bridges, pressure plates, torches, and a range of other objects.
One of the more infamous and visually appealing puzzles in Genshin Impact is found in the Cave of the Legendary Mural, which players locate as part of the Hidden Exploration Objective. Solving it requires matching certain colors, and as the character gets closer to solving the puzzle, more powerful enemies and chests spawn.
6 The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered
Rotating Statues, Lockpicking, And A Welcome Home
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
- Released
- April 22, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action, RPG, Open-World, Adventure
Most of the puzzles in Oblivion Remastered are also present in the original game; however, the remastered version also contains the DLCs. Many of these contain player housing, and these mysterious locations have a few extra riddles to solve. The secret passage in Battlehorn Castle, which is only available in the Fighter's Stronghold DLC, is one example.
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The quests in Oblivion are completed by solving a puzzle as often as they are through combat. Word games, lockpicking, and meeting clandestine figures at specific times of day in certain places are a form of puzzle. Still, there are plenty more puzzles in Cyrodil that utilize classics like rotating pillars, secret notes, and pressing tiles in sequence. Joining the Assassins Guild, also known as the Dark Brotherhood, is a puzzle in itself, and the guild storyline is littered with similar riddles.
5 Baldur's Gate 3
Haunted Books, Hidden Doors, And Locked Ritual Chests
Baldur's Gate 3
- Released
- August 3, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Baldur's Gate 3 has a variety of puzzles scattered throughout the storyline. Some of them are typical, such as rotating floor tiles or magically locked doors, while others are creative enigmas that feature cursed books or restless ancient gods. The ruined Selunite Shrine in the Owlbear Cave, with a magically locked chest that opens with a prayer found nearby, is an early example.
Solving a puzzle in BG3 will often just lead to another puzzle, like acquiring the Necromancy of Thay in Act 1, which requires getting past a magic mirror and disarming a series of traps. Reading the book initially requires a series of Wisdom checks, which only deepens the mystery should the character succeed. Taking the book to Act 3 leads to another dangerous enigma: namely, the vault atop Sorcerer's Sundries.
4 Elden Ring
Evergaols, Paintings, And Towers
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
As it is with most RPGs that take place in a fantasy world, Elden Ring has its share of dungeons and castles, which also means it has a few puzzles to solve. The Tower Puzzles lead to treasure that includes more and better loot and gear, but they're protected by a magical seal that the player must find a way to break using only the subtle clues left for them. Albinauric Rise, for example, requires that players find a way to make the imps outside fight each other to break the seal.
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The Painting Puzzles are unique because they lead players to a place that unlocks another part of the story or reveals special rewards. The player has to find the painting first, then find the location it depicts in the open world that matches its description.
3 Persona 5 Royal
Minigames, Quest Riddles, And Treasure
Persona 5 Royal
- Released
- March 31, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Drug Reference, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
The main character in Persona 5 Royal is part of a gang called the Phantom Thieves, so it's predictable that this game is going to include more than a few riddles to solve. There's a minigame crossword puzzle in Cafe LeBlanc that players can complete on certain nights and gain 2 Knowledge points, but that's just one example of many.
Futaba Palace is one of the locations that's known for its puzzles. It's located outside the urban setting of Tokyo, where most of the game's action takes place, and features distinctive murals, tiles, and statues in the style of an ancient Egyptian pyramid. It also includes two of the Seven Deadly Sins, Sloth and Wrath, and players have to work their way through the various riddles in the palace, starting with the sealed doors outside.
2 Divinity: Original Sin 2
Divinity: Original Sin 2
- Released
- September 14, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
The series is brought to the gaming world by the same people who developed Baldur's Gate 3, Larian Studios, and it follows a similar pattern of integrating a variety of puzzles into the game. A subtle difference is that these puzzles are integrated into quests differently in some cases, such as the "Trial For All Seasons" quest, which can only be found in specific locations on the Reaper's Coast.
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Players can travel to the Nameless Isle to test their intellect with the Lunar Gate, which leads into the mysterious Academy, to complete the quest that brought them to this location in the first place. As it is with these kinds of riddles, there are a few different ways to enter the Gate, one that involves more exploration and clue-gathering, and another that consists of finishing other quests to gain information or special items.
1 The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Stones, Claws, And Underground Cities
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Released
- November 11, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol
Skyrim takes everything great about the puzzles in Oblivion, which was a lot, and adds even more fun and games to the mix. It's not just the Nords that left various riddles scattered throughout the snowy hills, but also the now-extinct Chimer, the snow elves who built vast cities beneath the snowy mountains.
Some of the more famous examples of Skyrim's puzzles include the rotating tombstones, which appear in various crypts and caverns throughout the game and must be solved to gain access to the innermost rooms. The Chimer's machines still function if players can solve the riddle of how to use them, and the Dark Brotherhood is still lurking in the shadows, watching and waiting for the right moment to drop a cryptic note with a strange symbol.
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