For those who looking best puzzle games on pc to get their brains out of the way, we’ve compiled a list of the top puzzles, many of which are also suitable for slower PCs.
PRGs promote socialization, and shooters improve coordination and reaction is a well-known fact but very unpopular. For those who consider video games a waste of time, it is really difficult to explain that fanged orcs with eared elves are fun and useful.
But with logic games, puzzles, and quests, it is much easier because their positive influence is obvious, and we get fun and benefit in one bottle. And, after all, who is not pleased to be proud of himself, having solved some mega-difficult problem? So choose, download, and train your main organ with pleasure!
List of Best Puzzle Games On PC
TETRIS
Topping our top is the iconic puzzle game created by Soviet programmer Alexei Pazhitnov in 1984. Those who are a bit older still found the times when not the game itself was called “Tetris,” but a portable console with an LCD screen, usually made in China and including “100 games” representing different levels of difficulty of Tetris or variations of other games using figures from it.
Since then, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, but the popularity of Tetris has not decreased at all. After all, the game rules are clear to the child, and then gradually increasing complexity makes you strain your brains and reflexes. Unsurprisingly, Tetris came out for almost every possible platform.
QUADRIUM
An entertaining puzzle in which the goal is set before you to free the playing field from colored stones, bombarding them with other stones. Something like Zuma, but with slightly different rules. By connecting stones of the same color, you will make chains and receive bonuses, but be careful – you will encounter many obstacles on each of the 135 levels!
SUPRALAND
Imagine that you find yourself in the complete power of an almost omnipotent creature who loves to create labyrinths stuffed with cunning puzzles and dangerous enemies. And all you can do to protect yourself at first is a humble wooden sword.
The essence of Supraland is that the demiurge who plays with our fate is just a kid of about 12 years old, and our protagonist is a brave plastic soldier. This fun game combines elements of Metroidvania, RPG, quest, and even an old-school shooter. Locations are full of secrets and references to other games, movies, and TV shows. The pride of the game is complex and interesting puzzles full of unique mechanics.
THE ROOM SERIES
The Room is a rather challenging but very atmospheric puzzle game. The bottom line seems simple and straightforward: the player moves through several rooms in which he finds boxes; they need to open in search of clues, hidden switches, and other things necessary to go further.
Even though the tasks are really difficult, it is quite possible to solve them. The game has a system of prompts that either hint at what needs to done or even give direct instructions. From one piece to the next, the puzzles get harder, and the rooms get bigger, as do the number of secrets in them.
WORLD OF GOO
Written by a two-person studio, this puzzle game proved that conquering the world doesn’t take a huge budget, ultra-realistic graphics, or high-profile ad campaigns. An original idea and good humor are enough.
It releases in World of Goo in 2008, but both schoolchildren erect towers, bridges, and other strange structures from funny sticky balls during recess and serious adults. After all, despite the simplicity of this game’s idea, building a reliable structure from a minimum number of elements is a serious engineering task.
SPACECHEM
In this exciting and educational game, we have to take on the arrangement of entire production chains on a distant planet. Unlike the same Factorio, the resources here are not conventional “iron,” but quite specific chemical elements and compounds.
And for their processing, it is not enough to build a reactor; it is also necessary to set up the necessary sequence of operations on the elements entering it. Simultaneously, possible manipulations over resources are not limited to the simple creation of compounds; even nuclear fusion will have to master.
THE SWAPPER
In the atmospheric puzzle-platformer The Swapper, the player will control an astronaut unlucky enough to get stuck in an abandoned space station. The heroine will have to save herself using a device that simultaneously creates 4 of her clones. She can transfer her consciousness to any of the clones until he hits an insurmountable obstacle or dies. But death is not the end; the clone can make it again.
To create original graphics, the developers digitized the elements of the levels sculpted from clay. The Swapper has received many rave reviews and remains one of the best puzzle games on PC today.
HUMAN RESOURCE MACHINE
The creators of the legendary World of Goo took part in developing this puzzle, which influenced its style and introduced corporate humor. But the gameplay here is different – we have to take on the role of an evil boss and draw up action programs for the subordinate office plankton, who, without our instruction, is not able to lift a finger.
But with the right guidance, they will be able to complete the task and get a promotion. The game will be especially useful for novice programmers, but even humanities by nature will be able to understand it quite well.
THE TALOS PRINCIPLE
In the first-person puzzle game The Talos Principle, the player will have to try on an inquisitive robot’s image with the rudiments of human intelligence. The protagonist finds himself in a world where cool technologies are closely intertwined with ancient civilizations’ legacy. He will have to solve over a hundred puzzles, riddles, wade through mazes, and overcome all kinds of obstacles. Each problem solved pushes to the next.
Simultaneously, the game gives an incentive to explore the world around it because there are scattered points where you can find terminals; with their help, you can open new plot information and other interesting things.
BRAID
This game is difficult to refer unequivocally to any one genre. A bit of a puzzle, a bit of a platformer, a bit of postmodern drama.
There are many complex puzzles from the puzzle and the fundamental impossibility of losing or dying (after all, here you can rewind time and replay the “that jump”), from the platforming game – basic gameplay in which you need to run, jump from platform to platform, pull levers and dodge monsters. But from the drama – the plot, because taken from Mario, the line of “saving the princess” at the end turns out to be turned upside down.
LARA CROFT GO
The spin-off of the famous Tomb Raider Lara Croft GO series is a turn-based puzzle game with nice graphics and interesting places and tasks. Passing level after level, Lara will find herself in increasingly difficult locations, constantly overcome obstacles, while using all sorts of disposable items lying under her feet.
The game has touted for its addictive gameplay, mechanics, and original design. Thanks to the detailed and high-quality rendering of the background and details, it may seem that you are playing an arcade about the adventures of a tomb raider and not a puzzle.
DILOGY PORTAL
In this game, we have to take on the role of “experimental rat,” following (at least at the beginning) the instructions of the laboratory AI named GLaDOS. We will investigate the properties of a device that allows you to open input and output portals through which objects, including us, can move.
With these portals’ help, you need to overcome various obstacles, and later – and bypass enemies. It is the simple concept of this legendary puzzle released back in 2007. And maybe not every gamer went through it to the end, but we all now know that the cake is a lie.
HUMAN: FALL FLAT
The game’s main character, whose name is Bob, is an ordinary guy with unusual dreams. It is in Bob’s dreams that the events of this carbon monoxide game take place. To progress further in the story, you need to solve puzzles, using the fact that even in Bob’s dreams, physics laws (and especially gravity) work as in the real world.
So Bob will have to climb, run, jump, dodge. And it could be easy if the game had standard controls. But instead, each button controls a separate part of Bob’s body. It’s not easy to play, but it’s a lot of fun, especially with friends.
THE BRIDGE
The Bridge takes us to a black and white world of dreams, where the main character will have to wake up from a sudden blow to the head with an apple. This beginning is not accidental because physics laws in this world play the same important role as in the real one.
To complete the level, you need to get to the door, find the keys, and open one or more locks. But the further, the more difficult it will be to overcome obstacles: optical illusions, teleporters, whirlpools, mirror effects will begin to appear around—all in all, lots of fun in a stylishly rendered monochrome world.
ANGRY BIRDS SERIES
Restless colorful birds first settled on our phones in 2009, but they have not only been in no hurry to leave their homes since then. Still, they have been steadily breeding, spawning over ten games of the original series, spin-offs (of which Brave Piggies is in no way inferior to the original and offers a look at events from the other side completely different gameplay), and even cartoons.
And even though evil critics say that games with similar mechanics came out long before the “birds,” – still nothing beats the fun of the explosion of a bird-bomb in the middle of a stone castle full of pigs.
WE WERE HERE TOGETHER
Where could a medieval castle come from in the middle of the snowy wastelands of Antarctica? Where have the colleagues on the research station gone on a mission? Who launched the flare? Whose request for help was your radio caught? What evil creature has settled in the castle?
To find out the answers to these questions and be saved, you will have to explore the castle and solve many puzzles methodically. To cope with this difficult task will help your partner (yes, the game has only co-op mode), who followed the SOS signal trail with you. Unfortunately, the castle’s dark forces have scattered you in different rooms, so at first, the only way to communicate will be a radio.
QUBE SERIES
Many people compare this series of games with Portal, but QUBE has its characteristics despite its similar surroundings. Here we have to manipulate colorful cubes sticking out of the walls, floors, and ceilings of rooms in some strange space research center.
Special gloves interact with the cubes, and the color of the cube determines its properties – for example, red cubes can be pushed closer or pushed deeper, and blue cubes can uses as a springboard. The first version of the game was just a puzzle, and in the subsequent ones, a plot adds.
THE TURING TEST
As you know, the Turing test was supposed to be carried out on a person over an AI to determine whether he is truly intelligent. In essence, in this game, everything happens the other way around – this is the AI conducting a test on human intelligence.
In the story, the main character is Eva Turing, an engineer on Jupiter’s moon Europa, who has to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a group of scientists. Arriving at the research complex, Eva discovers that to advance through the structure, she will have to solve various puzzles, representing the rearrangement of special energy spheres.
THE WITNESS
This game has the same author as Braid. Not surprisingly, despite the different gameplay, both games are somewhat similar. To understand the plot, they have to collect information bit by bit.
In The Witness, the protagonist finds himself on a desert island and must solve various puzzles to understand what’s going on. In essence, the game’s puzzle is a maze in which you need to draw a line from entrance to exit, but each of them has many additional rules besides. And the visual range in The Witness is a separate work of art, reminiscent of the impressionists’ paintings.
CRAZY MACHINES SERIES
For everyone who played the legendary The Incredible Machine, this game will allow you to feel nostalgic and solve new problems with slightly better graphics. In the same way, here, you need to collect various crazy machines to solve the simplest tasks.
In the beginning, part of the required mechanism has already assembled; the rest give out in the inventory, mixed with excess trash. Every detail needs to be put in place and press “Start,” then everything will happen as gravity will fall in the real world, balloons will take off, gears will spin from the engine, and electrical appliances will work if they connect to the network.
BRIDGE CONSTRUCTOR SERIES
As the name implies, in this series of games, you need to build bridges from the various building materials available. And not just bridges, but good and reliable bridges – after all, vehicles will have to cross the bridge at the end of each level, and the bridge shouldn’t collapse from this.
However, if this does happen, thanks to super-realistic physics and good graphics, the player will have something to look at before “working on mistakes.” The series includes five games in different settings (there is even a medieval version), the last of which is a crossover with Portal itself.
THE BALL
Most of all, in concept, this puzzle game resembles the level “We Don’t Go To Ravenholm …” from the legendary HL2, only instead of a gothic town we have Aztec ruins, instead of zombies – mummies, dead gorillas, reptilian thugs, and … yes, also zombies. And instead of circular saws – a huge metal ball.
This ball will have to be rolled throughout the game, solving puzzles with it, creating transport on its basis, and, of course, crushing enemies with its huge mass and brilliant spherical shape. As a result, we have such a shooter/puzzle game with elements of a billiard simulator.
BROTHERS – A TALE OF TWO SONS
Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons tells a touching story about two brothers trying to find a cure for a sick father. It is a puzzle-platformer in which the player will embark on a journey where puzzles, obstacles, simple tasks, and other challenges will block his path to the goal.
The gameplay is built on two main characters’ interactions – where one is weak; the other will help. Moreover, the player will have to control two characters at once, constantly switching between them. It is a bit inconvenient, so we recommend inviting a friend and playing the game together.
FEZ
FEZ will send the gamer to a two-dimensional world in which the little man Gomez lives. Once an incredible event happens to him – he finds a three-dimensional object, “Hypercube,” and gets the opportunity to feel the third dimension. Meanwhile, a catastrophe occurs in his homeworld, and now an unremarkable little man becomes the only hope for his salvation.
You have probably guessed what the players have to do in FEZ – all puzzles and riddles bases on a game with three-dimensional space. At any time, you can turn the world 90 degrees and see the solution to the problem. This kind of gameplay is unlikely to get bored and add great visual style to it, and you have a satisfying indie platformer.
UNRAVEL DILOGY
Unravel is a physical 2D platformer with a 3D environment, the hero of the cat (?) Yarni, woven from a red thread. He will use his body in adventures, overcoming various obstacles.
The game tells a touching story, touching upon the themes of finding oneself, hope, and love. Simultaneously, the puzzles make you think a lot, and the graphics, no doubt, will please the eye. In the first part, you will enjoy a solo adventure, and in the second, you can share this fate with a friend in cooperative mode.
TRINE SERIES
Trine is a co-op puzzle platformer that includes both fun challenges and easy battles against opponents. Three main characters – a magician, a knight, and a thief – repeatedly save their fantasy world from various dangers. In their wanderings, they force to overcome obstacles, and without the abilities of each other’s abilities, they will not pass a hundred meters.
It is impossible not to note the impressive visual style and fabulous atmosphere that does not disappear from the beginning to the end credits. The gameplay does not suffer from monotony – you will break your head and take part in epic action scenes. And since there are three main characters, this is a great reason to write to one or two friends.
DILOGY TOKI TORI
The cute platformer Toki Tori is deceiving – behind a beautiful picture hides a ruthless puzzle that makes you think and experiment. The point is simple – here are the levels (80+), and on them – the eggs that you need to collect. If you find everything, then welcome to the next stage, and so on.
However, to achieve this goal, you need to think over every step, use the hero’s abilities (for example, know how to build bridges) and avoid encounters with dangerous enemies. The game will appeal to both children who, without thinking about all this, calmly go through the levels and adults who decide to challenge themselves and complete the game 100%.
BABA IS YOU
If you do not know English, at least at a basic level, then Baba is You may not like you. It is again a puzzle, and again an unusual one – for the passage, the player will interact with the rules of the level, written in English, and change them to achieve the goal. For example, in a locked room, it is written that its walls are impassable. It is enough to remove the “not” prefix, and then the gamer will overcome this obstacle without any problems.
The idea was twisted to the maximum and warmly received by critics and gamers – as a result, Baba is You is deservedly one of the brightest representatives of its genre. But the Russian language, unfortunately, was never delivered.
SUPERLIMINAL
Superliminal will shake up your brain and imagination because here, the gameplay tie to optical illusions. The player will be able to change the objects’ size in his hand, depending on the distance from which he looks at them. And this, of course, is needed to solve problems.
It sounds, of course, strange, but once you see it, you will understand everything. Superliminal deserves a place in our selection, and we highly recommend playing.
ZOMBIE NIGHT TERROR
The zombie apocalypse has arrived. I imagine how you would, together with a handful of survivors, like in a movie, fight off hordes of undead, then it was not there. You have to lead these hordes.
The player’s task in Zombie Night Terror is to infect humanity with a zombie virus and wipe it off the face of the earth. But your charges are dumb, even by zombie standards, so you will have to pause the game often to give them commands. The further you go, the more difficult it will be to move towards your goal. But pleasure will bring not only bloody massacres of people but also excellent humor.