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WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE PUZZLE GAMES THAT YOU OFTEN LIKE TO PLAY?
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Damn blocks.
So the last couple of weeks lately I’ve been finding myself playing a bunch of old puzzle games to not only help kickstart the ol’ brain here but to also give myself a bit of a break away from working on my own projects for once and writing reviews for other people around here. (I’m sorry...)
And it made me think: what are some of your favorite puzzle games that you often like to play, RMN?
Now, you don’t necessarily have to be a master or insanely good to put a puzzle game on your list - no, no, just something that you like to personally bust out every once and a while and just have a good ol’ fashion time.
For me, I’d put:
Tetris
- Of course Tetris is gonna be on the list! It was the very first puzzle game that I’ve ever played back on the original Gameboy, and it’s still a favorite of mine ever since… You just can’t enough of those falling blocks and putting them all into rows and trying not to screw up, especially in V.S. mode or when the falling speed starts to get faster. I’m alright in V.S. mode depending on what type of settings we’re playing on and the particular version that we’re playing, but I still enjoy playing the game, either way.
Panel De Pon / Tetris Attack (2D Version)
Oh, I like playing this, especially on the Super Nintendo. Panel De Pon (or Tetris Attack, or whatever its called) felt more like an action game to me more than a puzzle game. Things can definitely get really hectic really quickly, especially on the harder difficulties and against the CPU - and it’s just so much damn fun! The only real downside is that if you’re playing against somebody really, really, really good in V.S. mode that the matches can last well over a half an hour sometimes, which is the ultimate test of endurance. I also don’t particular like the 3D versions of the game, myself – but whatever. Panel De Pon is still the shit!
Dr. Mario
Ah, this game… I used to be pretty bad at it as a kid, but it’s kind of grown on me after a while. Dr. Mario is definitely more fun to me more as a single player sort of game more than a multiplayer one, but either way the game is still loads of fun. Clearing all those viruses as fast as you can without screwing up your pill placements, especially when you have to clear almost half the bottle full of these f*cking b*tards, is definitely a worthwhile challenge, indeed. And the music… Oh my god – the music!
Bust-A-Move
I used to play this game a lot as a kid back then in the arcades and remember enjoying it quite a lot. At the time I’d usually just wait for some other poor sap to start playing the game or just join in - and totally waste their asses (and also all of their quarters, lol). It was a lot of fun! Bust-A-Move just didn’t feel like a traditional puzzler at all at the time. Instead of falling blocks and falling pills, you basically shoot bubbles from the bottom of the screen towards the top of it. (What the f**k type of madness is this!?) The game was so simple and so much fun that even my little brother enjoyed playing this alongside me once in a while - and he hates puzzle games.
Those are usually the ones that I like to play the most, but I’m pretty much fond of all them.
- So which ones do you guys like to play?
Tetris, obviously. Anyone who says they don't like Tetris is a fucking liar. I don't feel I need to clarify why I like it, because... It's Tetris.
I like to bust out Dr. Mario/Dr. Luigi every once in a while, when I want a good arcade style puzzle game with a little more excitement or variation than Tetris. Gotta love that music too.
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is a really good co-op puzzle game. It's probably one of the only multiplayer puzzle games I particularly like, to be honest. It also accomplishes the impressive feat of making reading the manual just as fun as defusing the bomb. I'm looking forward to trying it "for real" with a VR headset and a printed off manual someday.
The Professor Layton games are pretty excellent all around as far as puzzle design goes, IMO. However, I always felt the original trilogy were the only really, really stellar ones, largely due to how well they're written and how great the cast in each one is. 4 & 5 fall off a little bit, and 6 is downright terrible due to its nonsensical plot (and the humongous knockoff of Castle in the Sky it pulls).
Portal sits in the same space as Tetris pretty much. I don't think I need to say more about why I like it.
Portal 2 is also wonderful, both in its single player campaign and its co-op mode. One of the most fun multiplayer games out there.
EDGE is a really fun little indie puzzle game with some interesting mechanics. It's a little hard to stay interested in it, but whenever I decide to pick it up it's pretty fun to mess around with.
Q.U.B.E., although I've never finished it, is very reminiscent of an adventure game take on Portal, and it's pretty neat. I think it suffers a bit from a harsh/unpredictable difficulty curve (largely the reason I never finished it), but I'm looking forward to going back to it someday.
I like to bust out Dr. Mario/Dr. Luigi every once in a while, when I want a good arcade style puzzle game with a little more excitement or variation than Tetris. Gotta love that music too.
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is a really good co-op puzzle game. It's probably one of the only multiplayer puzzle games I particularly like, to be honest. It also accomplishes the impressive feat of making reading the manual just as fun as defusing the bomb. I'm looking forward to trying it "for real" with a VR headset and a printed off manual someday.
The Professor Layton games are pretty excellent all around as far as puzzle design goes, IMO. However, I always felt the original trilogy were the only really, really stellar ones, largely due to how well they're written and how great the cast in each one is. 4 & 5 fall off a little bit, and 6 is downright terrible due to its nonsensical plot (and the humongous knockoff of Castle in the Sky it pulls).
Portal sits in the same space as Tetris pretty much. I don't think I need to say more about why I like it.
Portal 2 is also wonderful, both in its single player campaign and its co-op mode. One of the most fun multiplayer games out there.
EDGE is a really fun little indie puzzle game with some interesting mechanics. It's a little hard to stay interested in it, but whenever I decide to pick it up it's pretty fun to mess around with.
Q.U.B.E., although I've never finished it, is very reminiscent of an adventure game take on Portal, and it's pretty neat. I think it suffers a bit from a harsh/unpredictable difficulty curve (largely the reason I never finished it), but I'm looking forward to going back to it someday.
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
Tetris/Dr Mario, Bust a Move, Hatris, Puyo Puyo, Klotski-style slidey block puzzles, Bejeweled
I am casual filth. :V
I like the Layton series, though I don't think of them as puzzle games as much as "games stringing puzzles together with terrible plots that make no goddam sense." I do like playing them for the variety, despite the fact that some puzzle types I am just abysmal at, and the last one I played had some occasional communication issues. :/
I am casual filth. :V
I like the Layton series, though I don't think of them as puzzle games as much as "games stringing puzzles together with terrible plots that make no goddam sense." I do like playing them for the variety, despite the fact that some puzzle types I am just abysmal at, and the last one I played had some occasional communication issues. :/
I love Tetris! Although it always strikes me as funny that Tetris and similar games (Dr. Mario, Panel de Pon, Bubble Bobble) are considered puzzle games, since they are really similar to arcade-action games like Super Hexagon, bullet hells, etc... they're all about finding the best solution to a problem as quickly as possible as things get increasingly more hectic. The puzzle aspect of arcade puzzle games has a totally different feel than, like, a Myst puzzle. But I digress!
The last couple of calm puzzle games I played were Machinarium and Monument Valley. Both are beautiful visually and have some pretty neat puzzles. Both gave me a couple moments of total loss and frustration too, which seems like a natural part of the genre. I'm looking forward to trying The Witness eventually, although I'm not sure I have the mental patience for a bunch of miscellaneous logic things :P
Also, uh, I dig Chess too, sometimes!
The last couple of calm puzzle games I played were Machinarium and Monument Valley. Both are beautiful visually and have some pretty neat puzzles. Both gave me a couple moments of total loss and frustration too, which seems like a natural part of the genre. I'm looking forward to trying The Witness eventually, although I'm not sure I have the mental patience for a bunch of miscellaneous logic things :P
Also, uh, I dig Chess too, sometimes!
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
OH FUCK I FORGOT YOSHI'S COOKIE
Yoshi's Cookie, y'all. It's the best.
Yoshi's Cookie, y'all. It's the best.
Jeroen_Sol
Nothing reveals Humanity so well as the games it plays. A game of betrayal, where the most suspicious person is brutally murdered? How savage.
3885
Well, seeing most puzzle games are only interesting the first time you play them (with exception of the randomly generated ones, which don't interest me at all, for different reasons), I can't say there are any puzzle games I often like to play. But of course there is:
-Portal
-Portal 2 (Actually a game I still sometimes play because of the awesome custom maps and mods made by the community. Lots of replay value because of the general awesomeness of the portal community.)
-The Layton series
-Antichamber
-The Witness (recent)
and quite a few point-and-click adventure games. (I consider those puzzle games, even if the puzzles in said games often make no sense whatsoever.)
-Portal
-Portal 2 (Actually a game I still sometimes play because of the awesome custom maps and mods made by the community. Lots of replay value because of the general awesomeness of the portal community.)
-The Layton series
-Antichamber
-The Witness (recent)
and quite a few point-and-click adventure games. (I consider those puzzle games, even if the puzzles in said games often make no sense whatsoever.)
Pizza
EDGEis a really fun little indie puzzle game with some interesting mechanics. It's a little hard to stay interested in it, but whenever I decide to pick it up it's pretty fun to mess around with.
The last couple of calm puzzle games I played were Machinarium and Monument Valley.
Isn't Machinarium a Sierra-style adventure game more than a puzzle game?
EDGE is pretty good! I prefer RUSH by them, which is similar but way more chaotic. It's like Hakox from Xenosaga 3, for anybody who's played that. Basically, you have to get all the cubes to get to the right space in sorta-realtime. It's good.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/38720/
That said, Two Tribes has produced Toki Tori, which is probably one of my most cherished games on Steam for how adorable and puzzley it is.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/38700/
The sequel is also fantastic, but it's a VERY different game. It's more of a metroidvania.
So, uh, I absolutely love puzzle games. I play a LOT of puzzle games. Here're some of my favorites:
Puzzle Retreat is a sliding-block game that slowly builds your skills before throwing in a new twist. It's a very well-designed game, and the puzzle pack is pretty cheap (I think I got like 200 puzzles for $5 or something). It's also very aesthetically pleasing -- it's basically designed to look like a game you'd play in a spa waiting room.
http://www.puzzleretreat.com/
CrossMe is the best $5 I've ever spent on my phone. It's picross, but it's a LOT of picross. Like, well over a thousand puzzles I think? Nonograms are one of my favorite puzzle types, and CrossMe does it the best. You can even turn off the "buy a hint?" button!!!! User-friendly and very lightweight. I play it a lot in the mornings before work starts.
here
(yes you can zoom in)
Desktop Dungeons is a roguelike, but it's also very very very much a puzzle game. Since it's randomly generated, the possibilites are endless ~ ! I go into phases of playing nothing but this game for a week or so. It's funny, the music is terrific, and it has an incredible sense of design that has inspired my own work.
http://www.desktopdungeons.net/
Tower of Saviors takes a lot of time to get into heavily, but it's far more "puzzle rpg" than something like Puzzle and Dragon (which is shit, don't play that game). Once you hit the midgame, there's a lot of interesting rune types and enemy powers to deal with that make it a joy to die in. It's fairly f2p-friendly, but not incredibly so. Only for people who have mobile gaming addictions like me. Not gonna link it, find it yourself if you like gacha games and puzzles... because it IS a gacha game, so beware
Contraption Maker is the spiritual successor to The Incredible Machine. Yes, THAT Incredible Machine. But seriously, do I have to explain why this is great? (I have an extra copy in my steam account, so if anybody wants to trade for it or do 1-2 guest enemies for my game or something in exchange, feel free.)
(kinda cut off, sorry, the UI isn't bad at the edges like that in-game)
turkeyDawg
195
Call me nuts but I don't consider puzzle games like Toki Tori/Portal/Etc to be the same genre as Tetris-likes... anyways, for puzzle games of the "just solve puzzles" variety:
- Sutte Hakkun: Cute platform-puzzle game about a drinking-bird thing that can suck up objects and place them elsewhere, or inhale colored juices and inject them into objects to change their behavior. You can view the whole room using the pause menu, all of the mechanics are explained visually through interactive tutorials (it's not an issue that it's all in Japanese), and you can even make a save-state from the pause menu during a level! Even with all those conveniences, this is still the hardest puzzle game I've ever played.
It started off as a series of games for the Nintendo Satellaview thing, but got an SFC Cart release that's now stupidly expensive. It's also on the Wii and Wii U VC... but only in Japan. So, you'll need an emulator for this one.
- Lup*Salad: A cute little girl pushes jello-cubes around. When three or more of the same color touch each other, they dissipate, and the level only ends when all the colored cubes are gone. Extremely simple to play, with gridded left and right walking/pushing and a fixed-trajectory jump as your only actions, but still some really puzzles in there - especially once you get to Hard mode.
Originally a JP-Only PSX game, but it's available on US (and maybe PAL?) PSN for all of $6. It's completely untranslated, but it's still easy to figure out what to do. There's also a JP-Only DS version (The DS is a region-free system, though, so you can still run it on a US/PAL system), but I don't have any experience with it.
- Ilo Milo: Two thumb-puppet things have to navigate cube-based levels until they can meet up with each other. There are certain kinds of blocks you can pick up and place elsewhere. Simple game, but Ilo and Milo aren't limited to what side of the cube they can stand on, so levels can become pretty confusing. Also sports an unbearably adorable children's storybook aesthetic with charming dialogue and music that makes a lot of use of real but badly-played instruments (not as annoying as it sounds... usually). It's a bit short, though, even with the DLC.
The "action puzzle" genre isn't one I play a lot of, though my sister and I had some good fun with Cleopatra Fortune's 2-player (Arcade, PSX, Dreamcast, and PS2 via Taito Legends 2). I like the Puzzle Bobble games, too, but they crush my sister's soul.
- Sutte Hakkun: Cute platform-puzzle game about a drinking-bird thing that can suck up objects and place them elsewhere, or inhale colored juices and inject them into objects to change their behavior. You can view the whole room using the pause menu, all of the mechanics are explained visually through interactive tutorials (it's not an issue that it's all in Japanese), and you can even make a save-state from the pause menu during a level! Even with all those conveniences, this is still the hardest puzzle game I've ever played.
It started off as a series of games for the Nintendo Satellaview thing, but got an SFC Cart release that's now stupidly expensive. It's also on the Wii and Wii U VC... but only in Japan. So, you'll need an emulator for this one.
- Lup*Salad: A cute little girl pushes jello-cubes around. When three or more of the same color touch each other, they dissipate, and the level only ends when all the colored cubes are gone. Extremely simple to play, with gridded left and right walking/pushing and a fixed-trajectory jump as your only actions, but still some really puzzles in there - especially once you get to Hard mode.
Originally a JP-Only PSX game, but it's available on US (and maybe PAL?) PSN for all of $6. It's completely untranslated, but it's still easy to figure out what to do. There's also a JP-Only DS version (The DS is a region-free system, though, so you can still run it on a US/PAL system), but I don't have any experience with it.
- Ilo Milo: Two thumb-puppet things have to navigate cube-based levels until they can meet up with each other. There are certain kinds of blocks you can pick up and place elsewhere. Simple game, but Ilo and Milo aren't limited to what side of the cube they can stand on, so levels can become pretty confusing. Also sports an unbearably adorable children's storybook aesthetic with charming dialogue and music that makes a lot of use of real but badly-played instruments (not as annoying as it sounds... usually). It's a bit short, though, even with the DLC.
The "action puzzle" genre isn't one I play a lot of, though my sister and I had some good fun with Cleopatra Fortune's 2-player (Arcade, PSX, Dreamcast, and PS2 via Taito Legends 2). I like the Puzzle Bobble games, too, but they crush my sister's soul.
Tetris. The only version I enjoy is the original Gameboy version, so of course, I always have the cart and the GB on hand if I want to play a game. Every other version of Tetris feels like a poor imitation. Maybe it's the controls. Keyboard controls, mouse controls, and even regular game controllers just don't feel the same.
I have a confession to make. I'm also totally addicted to Candy Crush Soda Saga, but I'm not handing in my gamer card, so there!
Then there's my all time favorite puzzle, Rubik's Cube. I even solved it once when I was a kid.
I have a confession to make. I'm also totally addicted to Candy Crush Soda Saga, but I'm not handing in my gamer card, so there!
Then there's my all time favorite puzzle, Rubik's Cube. I even solved it once when I was a kid.
i don't understand how toki tori 1 (not 2, 2 is definitely a metroidvania) isn't a puzzle game. just because you move a bird around doesn't mean it's not entirely about pushing blocks and using your limited items within a confined level =P
...and on that same aspect, portal/p2 are TOTALLY puzzle games, just with a narrative explained between each level. yeah they're not 2d single-screen, but they're still most definitely puzzle games.
...and on that same aspect, portal/p2 are TOTALLY puzzle games, just with a narrative explained between each level. yeah they're not 2d single-screen, but they're still most definitely puzzle games.
turkeyDawg
195
I was putting Toki Tori in the same boat as Portal, i.e. puzzle games where you solve predetermined puzzles, usually without any time pressure.
It's the Tetris-likes that I don't normally call "puzzle games", instead just considering them a certain type of action game. For the sake of the thread I just called them "action puzzle" games.
It's the Tetris-likes that I don't normally call "puzzle games", instead just considering them a certain type of action game. For the sake of the thread I just called them "action puzzle" games.
must just be late because i didn't see that you did indeed call them puzzle games before... i thought you were dismissing them all as inferior trash or w/e. whoops!
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
I just remembered a bunch I loved on the NES emulator!
Lotlot
Move balls! Don't let the crab have any!
Solomon's Key
Make blocks happen a lot and don't die!
Fire 'n' Ice
Make ice blocks happen and kill fire monsters!
Moai Kun
Rescue your moai head buddies by jumping and headbutting things!
Lotlot
Move balls! Don't let the crab have any!
Solomon's Key
Make blocks happen a lot and don't die!
Fire 'n' Ice
Make ice blocks happen and kill fire monsters!
Moai Kun
Rescue your moai head buddies by jumping and headbutting things!
Tetris is a given in this thread.
Eggerland/Adventures of Lolo was fantastic and I adores it. I wish HAL would bring this back instead of being a constant Kirby machine.
Solomon's Club the gameboy port of the NES game Sooz mentioned, just because I remember playing it a looooong time ago on my cousin's gameboy. It's loads of fun, but the later levels kind of get reliant on obtuse strategies and super-precise platforming.
Puyo-Puyo was the shit, especially the sequel, Puyo Puyo 2. My first foray into a competitive puzzle game.
Columns 3 was another competitive puzzle game that I enjoyed.
Chip's Challenge
Minesweeper (that counts, right?)
Bust-a-Move
Portal
Bejeweled
... Yeah screw it I'm a fan of the genre!
Eggerland/Adventures of Lolo was fantastic and I adores it. I wish HAL would bring this back instead of being a constant Kirby machine.
Solomon's Club the gameboy port of the NES game Sooz mentioned, just because I remember playing it a looooong time ago on my cousin's gameboy. It's loads of fun, but the later levels kind of get reliant on obtuse strategies and super-precise platforming.
Puyo-Puyo was the shit, especially the sequel, Puyo Puyo 2. My first foray into a competitive puzzle game.
Columns 3 was another competitive puzzle game that I enjoyed.
Chip's Challenge
Minesweeper (that counts, right?)
Bust-a-Move
Portal
Bejeweled
... Yeah screw it I'm a fan of the genre!
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
Hunie Pop looks like a fun puzzle game unfortunately anchored to a terrible dating game.
author=Liberty
... I'll cop to liking Hunie Pop.
I figured as much since you seem to play it often on Steam.
author=Sooz
Hunie Pop looks like a fun puzzle game unfortunately anchored to a terrible dating game.
When I saw it I was thinking "Bejeweled with animu boobs."
I am presently 30 hours deep into The Witness and I don't think I'll ever be able to play another puzzle game again. It has distilled puzzle gameplay to such a pure form that it's hard to imagine anything else coming close.
I grew up on Myst, though, and Riven is one of my all-time favorite games.
I grew up on Myst, though, and Riven is one of my all-time favorite games.
Huniepop is very polished and 100% a puzzle game. There's nothing "dating" about it -- the talking to girls is a memory and sociopathy game, and the bejeweled-but-more-axis-movement game is, well, a match-3. I've been playing it recently despite naked girls not really being my thing (the photos are more hilarious than anything), because the sociopathy part of it is pretty amusing. The match-3 is way too heavily focused on grinding out Hunie, but oh well. Worth the $5 or whatever I got it for on sale a while back.
(Beli's the best, although Lola's an easy #2.)
all yall being like "i love the genre i've played tetris and chip's challenge" puh-leeeze
saileraugs: the witness is like an even more obscure myst, isn't it? it's very pretty, i know that much. there were some mixed opinions on it in the last podquisition... not sure if i'll pick it up.
(Beli's the best, although Lola's an easy #2.)
all yall being like "i love the genre i've played tetris and chip's challenge" puh-leeeze
saileraugs: the witness is like an even more obscure myst, isn't it? it's very pretty, i know that much. there were some mixed opinions on it in the last podquisition... not sure if i'll pick it up.
