It’s no understatement to say puzzles type the spine of video video games as a medium of leisure.
For me, it began with video games like The Legend of Zelda: A Hyperlink to the Previous, by which dungeons contained quite a few mysteries that pushed me to contemplate, after which rethink, how I used Hyperlink’s huge arsenal of instruments to perform a process like, say, opening a secret door to a room. And whereas a number of journey video games make problem-solving a key facet of exploring, simply plain outdated puzzles even have performed a big function within the historical past of video video games.
It may very well be the image book-esque stylings of point-and-click video games like Goragoa or the mind-bending worlds of Cocoon, builders proceed to bathe followers of video games with every kind of brainteasers. Even previously two years, I’ve seen phrase video games — nonetheless puzzles! — tackle a brand new degree of widespread recognition by means of the breakout success of video games just like the New York Occasions’ Wordle and now Connections.
There are really too many puzzle video games to select from. If we actually needed to get philosophical, we may lengthen this designation to the overwhelming majority of video games. So we right here at Polygon determined to start out by writing up a few of our private favourite puzzle video games. From basic match video games like Puyo Puyo to the deviously intelligent visible puns of Baba Is You, listed below are Polygon’s favourite puzzle video games. —Ana Diaz
Baba Is You
The place to play: Android, iOS, Nintendo Change, Home windows PC
Baba Is You is a phrase sport and an environmental puzzle sport, however not in the way in which that both of these style phrases sometimes get used.
On this sport, the phrases you choose change the surroundings round you and the complete situations of the sport itself — nearly such as you’re the extent designer. The highest-down, 2D sport begins merely sufficient, providing you with guidelines within the type of textual content on the display screen like “Baba is you” (you management slightly sprite named Baba), “rock is push” (in the event you run up in opposition to a rock, it’ll transfer), and “flag is win” (contact the flag to finish the extent). However every of these items of textual content could be moved round on display screen to spell out totally different instructions, thereby altering the complete world. Pushing these items of textual content to as a substitute make them say “rock is you” turns the rock right into a playable character, whereas Baba merely stands there immobile.
Which may not sound too sophisticated, till the sport introduces a ton extra objects and actions, thereby permitting you to really feel like much more of a galaxy-brained genius upon determining how one can reorder them in your favor. Like the most effective puzzle video games, Baba Is You will make you are feeling each good and silly always — however principally good, since you’ll be coaching your mind to assume in methods which might be totally new. —Maddy Myers
The Case of the Golden Idol
The place to play: Nintendo Change, Home windows PC
Very similar to Return of the Obra Dinn (extra on that in a sec), the true work of enjoying The Case of the Golden Idol doesn’t contain something you do on display screen — it occurs in your head as you type by means of the clues the sport has offered.
On this sport, it’s not only one occasion that it’s essential unravel, however an entire sequence of mysterious and fantastical murders to unravel, one after the other. The killings happen over the course of a number of years, every of them associated indirectly to a magical object with extraordinary and deadly powers (the titular Golden Idol). Like Obra Dinn, all you get are glimpses of every homicide, however not an entire cutscene — simply an unsettling, looping animation of the sufferer’s last moments. Because the omnipresent investigator, you may type by means of the character’s pockets and discover the sufferer’s environment, which is able to mean you can put collectively clues and make an accusation — within the type of a written logbook that has predetermined phrases so that you can choose.
In that approach, Golden Idol includes some technique of elimination, since there are solely ever so many phrases which you can put into your logbook to explain the homicide’s occasions, however these phrases won’t make any sense to you till you’ve absolutely processed the scene and the clues. Once more, it is a sport that unfolds in your head and never on display screen — as a result of as soon as you recognize whodunit, deciding on the phrases that describe the answer is a complete breeze. This can be a sport that may have you ever wishing you might erase your reminiscence and play it once more. Fortunately, there’s some unbelievable DLC for it and a sequel on the way in which. —MM
Cocoon
The place to play: Nintendo Change, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Home windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Sequence X
It’s troublesome to speak the phrases of a puzzle with out utilizing a single line of dialogue or piece of textual content, but that’s exactly what Cocoon does all through its brief (four-to-five-hour) however monumentally spectacular run time. You play as a cute little bug exploring a sequence of unusual sci-fi worlds utilizing mysterious, glowing orbs to move your self back and forth. Environmental hazards abound, however the path past every of them all the time seems to be head-slappingly easy, requiring you to only have a look at the minimal instruments at your disposal and utilizing them to your benefit. The pulsing synth soundtrack will speed up in a hopeful path everytime you get nearer to fixing a puzzle, which helps. The one irritating half is that Cocoon nonetheless has boss battles in between its oodles of environmental puzzles, and these are high-quality however not almost as enjoyable as, properly, the puzzles. That’s why you’re right here, in spite of everything. —MM
Connections
The place to play: NY Times Games
Generally you need a gorgeously rendered puzzle sport which you can sink hours into in your PC or your console. And different instances, you need “grid on telephone.”
“Grid on telephone” is having a second within the puzzle style — trivia video games just like the Immaculate Grid or Vulture’s Cinematrix have captured the hearts of nerds of all stripes. However for my cash [Ed. note: Those games are all free] the New York Occasions’ every day Connections is essentially the most full and satisfying model of “grid on telephone.”
Every day, gamers are offered with a four-by-four grid of phrases. The aim is to search out 4 teams of 4 related phrases: Perhaps they rhyme, or should do with a related subject, or can all use the identical prefix or suffix. Some are tougher than others — in every set of 4 teams, sometimes two are fairly simple and two are fairly troublesome — and Connections editor Wyna Liu is kind of expert at tricking you into considering you’ve discovered a gaggle the place one doesn’t exist. That degree of issue is what makes Connections difficult and enjoyable, and whenever you handle to guess essentially the most troublesome group of the day first, it’s an awesome feeling. —Pete Volk
Grindstone
The place to play: iOS, Nintendo Change, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Home windows PC, Xbox One
Capybara Video games’ Grindstone is one in every of my go-to video games if I’m simply touring with my iPad. You play as an ogre-like miner who slays monsters and collects gadgets referred to as grindstones. To gather these stones and full every degree, you’ll chart a path by means of a corral of monsters by connecting creatures of the identical coloration. If you happen to slay greater than 10 monsters in a single flip, you’ll be rewarded with a shiny grindstone that permits you to proceed your chain assault with a in a different way coloured monster.
Grindstone is polished all the way down to essentially the most minute particulars. The builders honed in on a robust sense of favor that leans into colourful, cartoony artwork and quirky character design. Even small actions, like slicing by means of monsters, feels oh-so satisfying as your little ogre grunts and rips by means of all of the little creeps.
I additionally personally like which you can play by means of the marketing campaign and improve your character. So whereas it’s a puzzle sport, the sport does have a development ingredient the place you energy up your little miner. What’s extra is that this a part of the sport additionally launched sure technique parts, so that you may have to plan out what gadgets and upgrades you’ll need relying on the particular problem of every degree. —AD
Lumines Remastered
The place to play: Nintendo Change, PlayStation 4, Home windows PC, Xbox One
Have you ever ever beloved a sport that you just completely suck at? That’s me with Lumines Remastered. On its face, this sport has a relatively easy premise that may really feel comfy to followers of different falling-block video games, nevertheless it by no means fails to kick my ass.
In the primary mode, you’re employed with a generously large board that’s 16 blocks lengthy and 10 excessive. As you play, a two-by-two sq. composed of smaller blocks falls from the highest of the display screen. Every of those squares has its personal mixture of two totally different colours of blocks. For instance, the primary degree has a silver-and-orange theme, so one sq. may need three orange blocks, after which one silver block within the higher proper nook. You clear the board by arranging these smaller squares in order that the smaller blocks of the identical coloration stack to type different sq. and rectangular shapes. You lose the sport as soon as the blocks stack up and surpass the peak of the board.
Lumines Remastered feels nice to play and has an awesome sense of favor in addition. The sport has a rhythmic tempo to it as a result of the squares and rectangles of the identical coloration don’t clear till a cursor aligned with the beat passes over them. I personally assume followers of Tetris Impact will like it for its pulsing digital beats and dazzling visible results. I won’t all the time get so far as I would like, however I’ll all the time come again for extra. —AD
Peggle
The place to play: Android, iOS, PlayStation 3, Home windows PC, Xbox 360
Peggle was launched in 2007 and it’s nonetheless top-of-the-line puzzle video games of all time. A mixture of Japanese playing arcade sport pachinko, pinball machines, and centuries-old billiards sport Bagatelle, Peggle is performed by launching a ball from the highest of the display screen to bounce round and clear a board filled with pegs. It’s a mixture of luck and technique in deciding the place to purpose the ball to maximise the quantity of pegs which might be lit up or cleared. It’s pure serotonin whenever you make large combos or clear the board — set to an epic rendition of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, notably “Ode to Pleasure.”
I bear in mind enjoying Peggle on Xbox Reside Arcade, nevertheless it’s now out there on principally all platforms. PopCap ultimately launched Peggle Nights and Peggle 2, plus Peggle Blast for cellular units, amongst others. From its main success, Peggle has nearly grow to be a style: There’s roguelike Peglin, dungeon crawler Roundguard, and role-playing sport Beast Breaker, in the event you’re trying to boost the unique gameplay. —Nicole Carpenter
Picross
The place to play: Nintendo Change
Nonograms like Picross are a tried-and-true puzzle format. In Picross video games, you fill in bins on a grid to disclose an image by utilizing numbered hints assigned to every line. My private favourite model of it’s Sega’s: the Picross S video games for Nintendo Change. Sega launched the primary Picross S in 2017 and has launched greater than eight totally different variations of it since. (I performed Picross S4 and 5, and loved these ones particularly.)
Picross video games have a laid-back really feel that’s notably much less frantic than a number of the different choices on this record. You possibly can study the fundamentals in minutes and chill when you do. I personally admire how the Picross S sequence feels nice to play in a digital format because it offers you all of the notation instruments it’s essential succeed.
Picross would make the right match for the sudoku-inclined. I’d additionally enterprise to say that its laid-back gameplay and nearly pen-and-paper really feel would make it an awesome subsequent step for any followers of phrase video games eager to strive one thing new. It’s the excellent sport to play on a lazy Sunday morning as you drink a large cup of espresso. —AD
Pocket Card Jockey: Experience On!
The place to play: iOS, Nintendo Change
One in every of my favorites puzzle sport genres is “inconceivable mashup of solitaire with one thing else” (see the entry for Regency Solitaire on this record), and also you don’t get extra inconceivable than Pokémon developer Recreation Freak’s collision of frantic, high-speed card-clearing with a surprisingly deep and tactical horse-racing sim. Initially showing on Nintendo 3DS, Pocket Card Jockey is now out there in a remake for iOS (by way of Apple Arcade) and Nintendo Change. The sport includes clearing palms of playing cards in a short time in opposition to the clock to find out your success in numerous phases of the horse race, however there’s a load of different stuff happening too, together with managing your horse’s positioning on the observe, its ranges of power and stamina, and so forth. There’s even an concerned and prolonged profession mode the place breeding and steady administration comes into play. Tremendous cute and accessible on the floor, Pocket Card Jockey is a deep, hypnotic, and thrilling mashup of sports activities and puzzle sport below the floor. —Oli Welsh
Pokémon Puzzle League
The place to play: Nintendo Change On-line + Enlargement Pack
After I’m hanging out with household across the holidays, there’s all the time one sport that comes out. It’s not a sleepy-eyed Mario Kart or something like that, no — we simply like to play Pokémon Puzzle League.
Initially launched on Nintendo 64 in 2000, we now benefit from the sport by enjoying it by way of the Nintendo Change On-line + Enlargement Pack subscription. The sport is principally Tetris Assault (also called Panel de Pon) with a Pokémon pores and skin. You navigate a one-by-two cursor that flips the blocks from one spot to a different. So when you’ve got a crimson “fire-type” block sitting to the left of a blue “water-type” block, it would swap their spots so the blue one is on the left and crimson is on the correct. Then, you simply attempt to match up strains of three of the identical coloration or extra. While you get into it, the sport can tackle a dizzyingly quick tempo that may hook you in for hours.
With a soundtrack that accommodates cutesy variations of basic tracks like “Pokémon World” and crunchy animated visuals from the early period of the franchise, it would tickle any longtime followers of the sequence. Nonetheless, it nonetheless holds up as an awesome puzzle sport and is a pleasure to play in native co-op with the non-Pokémon lovers in my life. —AD
Puyo Puyo Tetris
The place to play: Nintendo Change, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Home windows PC, Xbox One
If there may be one sport on this record that has an uncanny capacity to depart me and my pals red-eyed and questioning the way it’s already 3:00 a.m., it’s Puyo Puyo Tetris.
The sport combines Puyo Puyo — the beloved color-matching sport from Sega — and Tetris, the basic falling-block sport with tetrominoes. It’s sort of a matter of “if it ain’t broke, don’t repair it,” and Tetris actually doesn’t want any fixing. Puyo Puyo Tetris (and its accompanying sequel) have lengthy been my sofa co-op Tetris sport of alternative.
Whereas the sport does have single-player content material, I’ve solely ever performed it with others. In a match, every particular person will get to decide on between enjoying with the Puyo Puyo mode or Tetris mode. You possibly can play with as much as 4 individuals without delay, and clearing strains on the board within the Tetris model or matching colours within the Puyo Puyo model sends assaults that replenish your opponents’ boards with grey blocks or Puyos.
Puyo Puyo Tetris blends the 2 classics excellently, even when my teams are inclined to skew towards the Tetris aspect of issues. I’ve had pals leap in with Puyo and it offers a brand new sort of problem as a Tetris participant. The one disadvantage? Some may discover the voice-over of its cartoon characters a tad annoying, however even their grating nature could be endearing in its personal approach, particularly in the event you’re one to shout into the late hours of the evening. —AD
Puzzle & Dragons Story
The place to play: iOS
Puzzle & Dragons Story is an Apple Arcade sport that mixes creature battling and match-3 programs. The basic tile-matching gameplay is the place you’ll be attacking the monsters you’re preventing — what you match determines how laborious you hit, what ingredient is boosted, or whenever you heal. It’s a kind of video games that appears simple, however there’s numerous technique concerned whenever you get into the depths.
The franchise has been round since 2012 in a number of totally different varieties on cellular, however Puzzle & Dragons Story is the newest launch, eradicating the microtransactions from the sport — one of many huge issues the sport has been criticized for previously. Between the dungeons, Puzzle & Dragons Story is crammed out with a dramatic narrative that’s simple to devour in small bites, making this one in every of my prime video games for each time I’ve bought a spare second. —NC
Regency Solitaire
The place to play: Nintendo Change, Home windows PC
For soothing, smooth-brain puzzling within the true casual-gaming custom, you may’t do higher than this elegant solitaire variant with a Jane Austen-inspired storyline. In 2015’s Regency Solitaire and its 2024 sequel you play Bella, a social-climbing debutante whose pursuit of the right marital match is punctuated by numerous attractively organized tableaux of playing cards to clear by clicking on them. And the press feels nice — developer Gray Alien Video games is a grasp of this form of factor, so the crisp sound results and lightweight arcade-style scoring programs are completely tuned to maintain you pleasantly engaged, however not too excited. The Austen pastiche is fairly humorous, too. There’s not a lot to decide on between the primary and second video games, however Regency Solitaire 2 seems higher on trendy shows, and is a tad extra refined. (The unique is accessible on Change and PC; Regency Solitaire 2 is on PC solely.) —OW
Return of the Obra Dinn
The place to play: Nintendo Change, PlayStation 4, Home windows PC, Xbox One
The vessel Obra Dinn left port with 60 souls aboard and returned with none alive. It’s your job to infer what occurred to every member of its crew and the way they met their destiny. You’re given a crew manifest, some sketches, and a pocket watch. Utilizing this gadget subsequent to a corpse or different factors of curiosity presents you with a snapshot of how the incident occurred and a little bit of dialogue, permitting you to piece collectively occasions as you discover extra of the ship.
The primary handful of deductions are comparatively easy, however as you cross names off your record, proof turns into more and more obscure, forcing you to fill within the blanks by cross-referencing new data because it turns into out there. You could have a limiteless period of time to return to your conclusions earlier than departing, however the Obra Dinn isn’t a very hospitable place. From the second you step aboard, the eerie silence is punctuated solely by your footsteps and the groaning of the vessel in opposition to the more and more stressed tide. Even with the data that I may depart at any time, I discovered myself sometimes leaping at shadows and questioning if I wasn’t joined by some spectral passenger.
The primary-person perspective may throw somebody that’s unfamiliar with the style, however the easy management scheme and leisurely tempo make sure that it stays accessible for anybody searching for a puzzle sport that provides an truthfully distinctive expertise. —Alice Jovanée
Suika Recreation
The place to play: Nintendo Change
Suika Recreation was one in every of my most-played video games final 12 months, and can doubtless be within the operating in 2024, too. Even with so many hours logged, I’m not good at Suika Recreation, and I’m unsure I ever will likely be. And but, I preserve enjoying — the fruit-merging sport has its hooks deep in me. It’s, once more, a kind of deceptively easy video games: Simply mix two of the identical fruit and preserve fruits from spilling out of the field? Straightforward, proper? No! That is like Tetris if it had bounce physics, so that you even have to fret about fruits taking pictures themselves out of the field with a bizarre bounce. Although I get annoyed, I preserve coming again as a result of it is a compelling mixture of talent and luck — however doubtless principally luck. You possibly can solely play Suika Recreation on Nintendo Change in the US proper now, however there’s hope for it coming to cellular. —NC
The Witness
The place to play: Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, Home windows PC, Xbox One
If you wish to go on a philosophical journey into the center of puzzles as an artwork type — and who doesn’t? — there may be maybe just one sport that may take you there: The Witness, the summary, first-person puzzle journey that was designer Jonathan Blow’s follow-up to Braid. In a approach it recollects Myst; you wander round a wierd, idyllic, abandoned island, fixing puzzles to unlock new areas. However in The Witness, completely all of the puzzles, which you entry by way of panels within the sport world, are 2D maze puzzles, variations on an unique design of Blow’s. Via numerous permutations, Blow builds upon this easy puzzle idea, turning it right into a language in its personal proper and a dialogue with the participant — like Bach turning a easy melody into the Goldberg Variations. It’s one of the vital rigorous and difficult explorations of sport design ever, and a vital expertise for the true puzzle connoisseur. —OW