Solving puzzles or other difficulties is the main gameplay mechanic in the puzzle game genre of video games. To advance through stages or get past barriers, these games often involve players to apply logic, problem-solving techniques, and occasionally ingenuity. Players are given with a particular issue or task to solve in puzzle games. This can entail putting things in the right sequence, figuring out patterns, cracking codes, interpreting riddles, modifying the game’s environment, or finishing challenging brainteasers. The difficulty in puzzle games frequently resides in figuring out the best answer or progression strategy.
Puzzle games are awesome and they are with us since the beginning of PC gaming and gaming in general. What makes the puzzles special is that they can be squeezed everywhere in the games. For example, you can have puzzles in platformer games, some great role-playing games, and even shooter games nowadays. Puzzle games are great for relaxing yourself after a long day of work, but they are also challenging for our brain, making them an excellent anti-depressant. If you’re up for a brain challenge, below is the list of 22 Best Puzzle Games for PC.
1. Portal 2
Let’s kick off the list with Portal 2, shall we? Portal 2 is an amazing puzzle game for challenging both your reflexes and brain. It’s not a typical puzzle game as it includes some beautiful level design, amazing voice acting and a solid story for this type of game. As you’ve probably known, Portal 2 relies on using your Portal Gun in order to advance through the levels. You can shoot orange and blue ports and pass through each one to traverse the obstacle. Valve once again proved why they are so awesome, and just so you know, I’m still waiting for Half-Life 3, Newell!
Features
- Challenging puzzle gameplay
- Beautiful level design
- Amazing voice acting
- Solid storyline
2. Limbo
Limbo is a very authentic game that you’ll recognize the moment you see it. Why? Well, because of its atmosphere, gameplay, and graphics. This is a 2D game for PC that combines platformer genre with some puzzle-solving. Essentially, Limbo is a game for all of you who like the dark and misanthropic atmosphere in the game. Everything is colorless here, so the game is monochromatic, leaving you with a sense of dread and despair. Furthermore, Limbo uses some cool tricks to make your gameplay harder and even introduces that huge, scary spider which you’ll need to evade. Simply, an amazing effort!
Features
- Atmospheric and authentic
- 2D platformer with puzzles
- Dark and colorless visuals
- Introduces challenging obstacles
3. The Witness
The Witness is one of the best puzzle games I’ve ever played. I mean, those visuals, that sound design, the huge landscape, amazing visual fidelity… just WOW! Although The Witness isn’t an action-filled puzzle game, its story and interesting puzzles will catch your attention. The game speaks about an unknown protagonist who wakes up on a strange island filled with various puzzles. It offers a huge island to explore and puzzles to solve, so what are you waiting for? Grab this game!
Features
- Stunning visuals and sound design
- Intriguing puzzles and story
- Offers a large island to explore
4. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is probably the best indie game available for PC that you can play at the moment. The game looks gorgeous from head to toe. As the developer said, the game is “independent AAA” title which means that it looks and feels like a true AAA game, but with some features cut down. For example, the game isn’t that long and will a few hours to finish it. However, Hellblade offers an unforgettable experience, putting you in a role of Senua, a woman with nothing to lose as she experiences a severe case of psychosis. I would recommend headphones with this one and playing it in one go!
Features
- Gorgeous visuals and sound design
- Immersive storytelling
- Focuses on mental health and psychosis
5. Superhot
Superhot isn’t just for super hot people, but those who aren’t that hot… no offense! Jokes aside, Superhot is a first-person PC shooter game that plays and feels like a true puzzle game. If you ask me, Superhot is Matrix on steroids! This game allows you to manipulate time as you go and stop the time if you aren’t moving. This may sound simple, but it isn’t when you play it. You need to carefully calculate your moves in order to watch your badass replay of slaughtering and slashing your enemies. Oh, that feels so good!
Features
- First-person shooter with puzzle elements
- Unique time manipulation mechanics
- Calculated moves for satisfying gameplay
6. Puzzle Quest 2
Puzzle Quest 2 was released in 2010, and back then, it was a pretty good game. Eight years later, Puzzle Quest 2 is one of my favorite puzzle games for PC. The thing here is that it isn’t a straightforward puzzle game. Instead, it melds some role-playing elements with it, and being a PC fantasy game, Puzzle Quest 2 is a great way to start your next epic adventure. Play it alone or in multiplayer and enjoy its sweet fruit!
Features
- Puzzle game with role-playing elements
- Fantasy setting for an epic adventure
- Single-player and multiplayer modes
7. The Talos Principle
Do you remember Croteam, a developer that once created a legendary Serious Sem game? If you do, then I will present you The Talos Principle, a beautiful and satisfying first-person puzzle game. Forget about everything you know about these games, The Talos Principle is a whole new realm! Explore the vast, open world of the game, ranging from the beautiful snowy mountains and sunny valleys to deserts and castles. I’ve never seen a puzzle game looking so good! The Talos Principle is a nice refresh and a great game for relaxation.
Features
- Beautiful first-person puzzle game
- Diverse and visually stunning environments
- Refreshing and relaxing gameplay
8. SpaceChem
If you love chemistry, then I have a very good news for you. What if I told you that you can now play as a real Reactor Engineer and construct chemistry factories? That sounds so cool! Well, you can do that in SpaceChem, a few-year-old puzzle game that will blow you away. Graphically, the game looks old-school and… you know, nothing special. However, the gameplay is where you’ll need to show your true quality as a gamer. Construct your factory and start manufacturing some chemical products- that’s what it’s all about.
Features
- Puzzle game with chemistry theme
- Old-school graphics with challenging gameplay
- Requires strategic thinking and problem-solving
9. Infinifactory
Coming from the developer of SpaceChem, Infinifactory is promising some fun in the game. Thankfully, Zachtronics knows their business and they once again created an amazing puzzle game for the lovers of this genre. I actually think that they are a little obsessed with factories as we still have to build a new factory in this game. Factory, factory, factory, and factories everywhere! Infinifactory is a building game for PC, where you need to construct a factory to manufacture products for alien overlords. Be careful, though… those green bastards are not to be messed with.
Features
- Puzzle game focused on building factories
- Construct factories to manufacture products
- Unique gameplay with alien overlords
10. Inside
Being a more beautiful-looking and colorful, Inside is a game that is painfully similar to Limbo, mainly because the same developers are behind both games. Basically, Inside is a Limbo plus better graphics- you got it. Once again you’ll be in the shoes of a young boy and kickstart your dark and haunted adventure through the game’s world. The game does a pretty good job of storytelling and dragging the player into its immersive atmosphere and world, so don’t get addicted that easily!
Features
- Beautiful and colorful puzzle platformer
- Immersive storytelling and atmosphere
- Similar to Limbo with improved graphics
11. Marvel Puzzle Quest
Marvel heroes are great and no, I’m not saying that because I love Marvel more than Capcom! If you are tired of playing action games which can sometimes be pretty uninspired, then you can play a puzzle game featuring your favorite Marvel heroes. If you ask me, I’ll take it very gladly. So, this game is similar to Puzzle Quest 2. In fact, they both share the almost identical names. You’ll solve various puzzles, use your heroes to fight against the other enemies and even be able to play cross-platform, which is a nice feature for this free game. You’ve read it well, it’s goddamn free!
Features
- A puzzle game featuring Marvel heroes
- Solve puzzles and fight enemies with heroes
- Cross-platform play available
12. Bridge Constructor Portal
Bridge Constructor Portal is just what you think it is. A game based on Portal, but with a slightly different gameplay. The game ditched an old first-person gameplay and introduced a new 2D gameplay with beautiful graphics. I’m confident enough to say that the game looks almost better than Portal 2. However, as this is a bridge-construction game, you’ll do a lot of thinking and puzzle to get things right. It may be hard to get used to in the beginning, but once you get into it, the real fun starts!
Features
- Puzzle game based on Portal series
- 2D gameplay with bridge construction
- Requires thinking and puzzle-solving skills
13. Home Sweet Home
Home Sweet Home is by no means a sweet game. This is a first-person horror game that will freeze the blood in your veins as you explore its secrets. Being released in 2017, the game looks stunning, the atmosphere is intense and the game is seriously scary. Home Sweet Home requires you to sneak past the spirits hunting you and solve the puzzles at the same time, creating an intense and heart-pounding experience. Are you brave enough for this game? Try it now, don’t be silly!
Features
- First-person horror game
- Intense atmosphere and scary gameplay
- Involves sneaking past spirits and solving puzzles
14. Life Goes On: Done to Death
Life Goes On: Done to Death is an amazing platformer game with lots of interesting stuff in it. The game is about knights, and as such, it usually makes you go through some serious shit in order to beat it. There isn’t that much fighting, but overcoming various obstacles and KILLING your knights, so you can solve the confusing in-game levels. You’ll be surprised if I tell you that the only way to progress here is to die. You know how they say; you must die to be reborn. This is a perfect one-liner for this amazing game.
Features
- Platformer game with unique concept
- Overcome obstacles and kill knights
- Progress by dying and being reborn
15. Rise of the Tomb Raider
Rise of the Tomb Raider is a game that you often see as a benchmarking tool for GPUs, and to be honest, this game can pretty much drop your GPU to its knees. The beautiful graphics are the main thing about the game. Aside from that, Tomb Raider series is known to combine shooting with relatively great puzzling to give that adventurous touch to their games. The same goes with this one; Rise of the Tomb Raider is the best game in the series by far, melding a great storytelling and cover-based shooting. Still, you’ll need a beefy PC to play it.
Features
- Action-adventure game with puzzles
- Beautiful graphics and great storytelling
- Cover-based shooting and exploration
16. The Room
The Room series is a group of moody puzzle games that will draw you into a perplexing and fascinating environment. You are given a beautifully made and meticulously detailed puzzle box to investigate and solve in each game in the series. You’ll run into a variety of mechanical riddles, secret chambers, and cryptic hints as you try to figure out the mysteries buried inside these boxes. For puzzle fans seeking a gripping and immersive experience, The Room series is a must-play because of its eerie graphics, unsettling audio, and difficult riddles.
Features
- Moody puzzle games with intricate boxes
- Detailed and challenging mechanical riddles
- Eerie graphics and difficult puzzles
17. Angry Birds Star Wars 2
Angry Birds is a franchise that doesn’t need any kind of special introductions. You’ve seen Angry Birds on the shirts, caps, pants, cups and of course, in games. Angry Birds Star Wars 2 is the best game in the franchise in my opinion, due to a very balanced and satisfying, buttery-smooth gameplay. Sure, the graphics aren’t jaw-dropping but the sheer fun that this game offer is unmatchable. Get some badass angry birds and give those pigs a hell of a battle!
Features
- Fun and satisfying Angry Birds gameplay
- Balanced and smooth gameplay mechanics
- Battle against pigs with your angry birds
18. Tetris Ultimate
Oh, the memories. Back in the time. Tetris was a revolutionary game and you could play it on your GameBoy console. Bricks, bricks, bricks and more bricks! Give me some bricks to lay so I could maybe get a high score and be the man. That’s what’s Tetris Ultimate is all about. Furthermore, it offers several modes like Endless, Ultra, Sprint, Battle, Marathon and much more. The Battle mode is one of my favorites, as it allows you to go head-to-head against the opponents online. If you don’t believe me, check it below.TTetrisUltimate is a damn fine multiplayer game for PC!
Features
- Classic and addictive puzzle game
- Various modes for endless gameplay
- Multiplayer battles available
19. Hex-Up
Hex-Up is a classic example of a puzzle game done right. I mean, the game could look more beautiful, introduce a few graphical details here and there, but no… Hex-Up decided to be a full-fledged puzzle experience for the true fans of this genre. With no fancy graphics at its disposal, Hex-Up relies on the gameplay which is about activating all the Hexagons until you get to the last one. It’s hard to explain and you must really play it in order to get a feeling of the game. Why not give it a shot? It’s just a couple of bucks.
Features
- Classic puzzle game experience
- Focuses on activating hexagons
- Gameplay-driven with minimalistic graphics
20. Kyklos Code
Kyklos Code is another puzzle game that’s hard to explain. It’s a beautiful first-person puzzle game that will reset your starting location every ten seconds. Indeed, this is the only way to advance through the game. By toggling the reset state of the objects in the world, the game resets you to different locations and you slowly advance towards the end. You’ll simply need to unlock the new locations for resetting to be able to finish the levels. There’s no multiplayer here, however, so you can enjoy the game alone, with a cup of tea.
Features
- First-person puzzle game with a twist
- Resetting locations every ten seconds
- Unlock new locations and solve levels
21. Return of the Obra Dinn
An intriguing puzzle game called Return of the Obra Dinn is set on a spooky ghost ship from the nineteenth century. As an insurance adjuster, it is your job to delve into frozen moments of time to discover the destiny of the ship’s crew. With the aid of a magical pocket watch, you may observe the precise minute that each crew member passes away and acquire information about who they were and how they died. The game’s distinctive aesthetic, which is evocative of classic Macintosh games, enhances its atmosphere and immersion. Return of the Obra Dinn provides a captivating and unforgettable gaming experience with its engaging narrative and difficult deduction puzzles.
Features
- Intriguing puzzle game on a ghost ship
- Investigate frozen moments in time
- Deduction puzzles and immersive atmosphere
22. Sudoku Universe
I know that Sudoku doesn’t need an introduction, so I will not say anything about it. However, I can’t help but praise the game’s design. With 100 randomly-generated Sudoku puzzles and beautiful sound design, Sudoku Universe is an interesting and relaxing puzzle game for late night evenings. As this is a game for solo entertainment, Sudoku Universe has no multiplayer. Besides, who needs a multiplayer in such game? Sit back and enjoy the great levels and puzzles in Sudoku Universe. This is a game for the true sudoku enthusiasts.
Features
- Sudoku puzzle game for enthusiasts
- 100 randomly-generated puzzles
- Relaxing gameplay with beautiful sound design