Puzzles and platformers tend to go hand-in-hand in a lot of cases, so you’ll see a few on this list along with games that are primarily puzzle-based. Those looking to test their intelligence, problem solving, reflexes, and wit will find some of the best mind benders on PlayStation 4 below.
★ Featured favorite
Tetris Effect
Staff pick
You can teach an old dog new tricks! Or, you can still innovate on a decades old classic like Tetris. It might be hard to imagine how to keep such a simple premise fresh for all this time, but Tetris Effect does so with a spectacular blast of colors and music. Everything on the screen—from the background and special effects to the Tetris pieces themselves—reacts with your input as you progress through its dozens of stages.
$40 at Amazon
Morbid obstacles
INSIDE/Limbo Double Pack
Whereas many of the aforementioned games are full of color (even going as far as utilizing color in their puzzles), INSIDE and Limbo are the exact opposite. These sidescrollers are almost entirely monochromatic, save for a few specifically placed drops of colors, giving them both a morose atmosphere. If that isn’t enough to get your spirits down, the puzzles in these games are absolutely unforgiving. One false move and you’ll quickly suffer a gruesome death.
$18 at Amazon
Connect the dots
The Witness
The sheer scale of The Witness in terms of a puzzle game is immense. Featuring several hundred puzzles across a sprawling island, you’ll be occupied for quite some time trying to solve them all. Some of these mind benders, which are usually found in the form of grids and mazes around the environment, even caused a lot of players to bust out the old pen and paper to try and help figure them out.
$40 at PlayStation
While you wait for Portal 3…
Q.U.B.E. 2
To scratch that itch in the long (likely indefinite) wait for a possible new Portal game, try Q.U.B.E. 2. It doesn’t quite have that same dark humor and charm that Portal does, but Q.U.B.E.2 is a fantastic substitute when it comes to its physics-based puzzles. With only a pair of gloves, you’ll be restructuring and manipulating the environment to work your way towards the center of the complex you’re in.
$25 at PlayStation
Grief and loss
RiME
RiME is one-part puzzler, one-part 3D platformer, and another part depressing as you metaphorically work through the five stages of grief by solving various kinds of puzzles around an uninhabited island with a spirit guiding your path. The ups and downs of this emotional journey are well worth any frustrations the environmental puzzles give you.
$20 at Amazon
Artificial intelligence
The Turing Test
As its name suggests, The Turing Test plays with themes of artificial intelligence and humanity. Set on the base of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, The Turing Test challenges you to redistribute power throughout the facility with the use of a special device to unlock doors and other machines. Don’t always trust what the AI tells you, though.
$20 at PlayStation
Not your typical hotel
The Spectrum Retreat
The Penrose Hotel is full of mysteries, and the only way to solve them is by working your way to the top. To do so, you’ll be tasked with completing dozens of levels of color-based puzzles all the while learning the truth behind your unfortunate stay. Not everything is as it first seems, and The Spectrum Retreat has a lot to say about today’s politics and our health care system.
$13 at PlayStation
Match the colors
Hue
In a world devoid of color, anything other than black and white is a breath of fresh air. To save your missing mother, you’ll need to collect several color fragments and bring color back into the world. The more colors you unlock, the harder the puzzles get. And you’ll need to switch between them on-the-go to progress.
$15 at PlayStation
Mythological influences
The Talos Principle
The Talos Principle is there for all you history buffs and philosophy nerds. Puzzles integrated within the ruins of ancient civilizations await you along with a thought-provoking story taking cues from various mythologies. Turrets and roaming bombs are just some of the obstacles blocking your path to enlightenment.
$21 on Amazon
Pick your puzzle
Puzzles come in all shapes and sizes, but a well-polished title like Tetris Effect proves that sometimes what seems to be the simplest of tasks are the most challenging (and fun). There’s a reason the series has withstood the test of time and is even popular today, decades after its initial inception.
If that doesn’t do it for you, try out the INSIDE/Limbo Double Pack to test your skills. They’re both nearly-perfect platformers full of diabolical puzzles that’ll require quick thinking lest you befall a gruesome death. No pressure or anything.
