Puzzles are the old faithful of games, sticking with you throughout every stage of your life, from wordsearches at school to a page of Sudoku before work, they itch a spot in the brain like nothing else.
Luckily, I’m not the only one who feels like this, game developers have turned our love of solving even the toughest of puzzles and turned them into parts of immersive worlds and storylines.
If you are a proud Mac owner, don’t fret, you’ve not been left out of this development, this list runs down some of the best picks for a good brain-wracking challenge:
1. Portal
It’s a classic for a reason. Both iterations of the platformer feature headache-inducing levels alongside a star-studded cast of voice actors delivering some of the series’ iconic dialogue, J.K Simmons and Stephen Merchant to name just two.
2. The Witness
The Witness is a puzzler’s dream, an open-world, beautiful graphics, and over 500 puzzles to get your teeth into. The game sees the player traversing a mysterious island, with caves, winding paths and mountains to explore. Along your journey you are greeted with a huge variety of puzzles, but don’t worry if you get stuck, you’re always able to step away and keep on exploring even if you haven’t figured one out yet.
3. The Case of the Golden Idol
This 2022 release combines all the drama of Agatha Christie with the charming yet striking graphics of Papers, Please. The game’s interactive environment gives you everything you need to solve the mystery, but its also there to throw you off – can you step into the shoes of a detective and separate the lead from the red herring?
4. Inscryption
Have you ever looked at an escape room and thought it would be better with the lights off and accompanied with monstrous creatures? If so, Inscryption is the game for you. The card-based psychological thriller takes you through a series of escape-room style puzzles and sucks you into an unforgettable story.
5. The Talos Principle
If you’re looking for a brain wracking experience, look no further than the Talos Principle series. The two games combine futuristic technology with the architecture and philosophy of ancient Greece. It’s challenging, beautiful and thought provoking, and even better, there’s two of them.
6. OneShot
A list of puzzle games wouldn’t be complete without a cosy top-down adventure. Your mission to guide a young boy through an unknown world and restore the sun in its sky tales you on a path filled with endearing characters and leaves you wishing you could go back in time and play it through blind again.
