The Best Puzzle Games On Steam

Key Takeaways

• Steam offers a collection of the best puzzle games, including innovative titles and more traditional experiences.
• Thanks to the genre’s versatility, puzzle games often have a sub-genre, such as platforming or horror.
• Steam has a wide variety of fun multiplayer puzzle games and more story-based single-player experiences.

There’s an ideal genre of games out there for everyone. If you love a challenge based on mystery and puzzles, you will most certainly enjoy the puzzle game genre. Not only does it consist of very traditional brain teasers involving numbers and riddles, but also some graphically impressive first-person shooters.

However, it’s increasingly harder to find good puzzle games in a market where the majority of titles are either RPGs or adventure games. So, here is a collection of the best puzzlers that Steam has to offer, all of which will keep you glued to your screen.

Updated on November 24, 2024, by PJ Molloy: Looking to test your puzzle-solving skills? We’ve added some new recommendations for must-play indie titles to get your gears turning.

Mind Over Magnet

Quite The Attractive Puzzler

Mind Over Magnet is a charming puzzle platformer developed by Mark Brown from the YouTube channel Game Maker’s Toolkit. Take control of a robot with a little magnet buddy named Magnus. The objective is to use magnetism to move objects and yourself around single-screen puzzle rooms to open doors, collect keys, and eventually reach the goal.

The excellent controls, clever brain teasers, and delightfully silly tone are just some examples of the game’s wonderfully polished design. You can even listen to the director’s commentary after beating it. Don’t sleep on this indie gem.

Snakebird

Solve Silly Physics-Based Puzzles

Snakebird’s premise is right there in the title. You’re a half-serpent-half-bird who must gobble up all the fruit in the level before reaching the goal. The catch? The more you eat, the longer you become, making it more difficult to fit in tiny crevasses and slither around obstacles.

The strategy comes from maneuvering the Snakebird toward each collectible without getting stuck or running into yourself. Despite its colorful visuals, it’s a surprisingly challenging game with plenty of head-scratchers to keep you immersed for a while.

Stephen’s Sausage Roll

Try Not To Get Hungry

Stephen’s Sausage Roll is a quirky grid-based puzzler about making breakfast. Each stage has at least one sausage, which you must push onto the grill and cook on both sides. If you cook it twice on one side, it’ll burn. The goal is to get the sausages on and off the grill without ruining them.

This game is a prime example of easy to learn but difficult to master. The controls and premise are a breeze to grasp, yet the puzzles are some of the toughest in the genre. Give it a try if you want a good challenge.

Limbo

A Classic Horror Puzzle Platformer

Looking for something spooky? Limbo is an eerie puzzle platformer that’ll test your wits and courage. You control a boy who explores a dark, monochromatic forest in search of his missing sister. Using a mix of logic and platforming, you must solve a series of clever puzzles to escape the nightmarish creatures lurking in the shadows.

There’s bound to be something here that chills you, including a giant spider, a brain-eating parasite, and plenty of devilishly placed death traps. Atmospheric, immersive, and creepy beyond belief, Limbo is the perfect puzzler to give you goosebumps.

A Castle Full Of Cats

An Adorable Hidden Object Metroidvania

Hidden object games are some of the coziest out there, and it doesn’t get more relaxing than A Castle Full of Cats. As a self-proclaimed “Catvania,” this game combines point-and-click puzzle-solving with an open-ended Metroidvania world.

You explore a Gothic castle brimming with hidden cats. The goal is to investigate each room and find each concealed kitten. The more cats you collect, the more areas become unlocked. It’s a stress-free puzzler that’s sure to help you unwind after a long day.

Cosmic Express

Design Train Routes In Outer Space

Cosmic Express is a delightful hidden gem about building a railway in space. Each stage has a group of aliens trying to get home. You must design a train route that will pick them up, take them to their destinations, and finish at the end goal. The catch? The train can only carry one passenger at a time, and you can’t overlap tracks.

The strategy comes from deciding which order to pick the aliens up and how to get them to their homes while leaving enough room to reach the end of the level. It’s a charming game with a satisfying difficulty curve and an adorable art style that’ll keep you smiling.

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection

Two Murder Mystery Adventures In One Bundle

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection remasters both Miles Edgeworth games, the second of which is officially localized in English for the first time. Take control of the genius prosecutor Edgeworth as he investigates ten murders, ranging from a fatal bludgeoning on an airplane to a presidential assassination attempt.

The gameplay involves examining crime scenes, collecting evidence, and using logic to piece together the clues and deduce the killer’s identity. You’ll also need to cross-examine witnesses, compare their testimony to the evidence, and pinpoint contradictions in their statements. Featuring thrilling mysteries and plenty of endearing characters, Ace Attorney Investigations Collection is a must-play for fans of detective games.

Handshakes

A Free Sokoban Puzzle Game

If you want something free to play, Handshakes is a delightful yet challenging Sokoban puzzle game. You control two yellow men with rubber-like arms, which you can stretch to various lengths across grid-based levels. The goal is to get them to shake hands within a limited number of moves.

You’ll need to think outside the box to maneuver the hands around a myriad of locked doors and other obstacles. You can even sever one of the hands and push it around. While the campaign is short, it’s well worth it for the cleverly designed puzzles, some of which are real head-scratchers.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

A Paranormal Murder Mystery

From the creator of Ace Attorney, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a supernatural whodunit about trying to solve your own murder. Take control of Sissel, a recently killed spirit who has until sunrise to find the culprit. As he explores the city, he discovers his death is just one of many bizarre, connected murders.

Each chapter is a race against the clock as you try to prevent more killings by possessing inanimate objects to either save the would-be victim or get rid of the culprit. When you’re not solving brain teasers, you’ll be questioning witnesses and progressing the narrative through visual novel segments. Check it out if you want a more story-driven puzzle game.

Killer Frequency

A First-Person Puzzler Based On ’80s Horror Movies

Inspired by ’80s slasher films, Killer Frequency follows late-night radio DJ Forrest Nash, who must help his listeners survive a ruthless serial killer after the town sheriff goes missing. Every caller is a potential victim whose fate is entirely in your hands.

Throughout the game, you explore the radio station, look for clues to help your callers, and advise them on what to do. Get it right, and they’ll live to see another day. Get it wrong, and they’ll fall into the murderer’s clutches. Short, suspenseful, and full of clever puzzles, Killer Frequency will simultaneously make you think and give you goosebumps.

Paper Trail

All The World’s A Page

Paper Trail places you in a stunning top-down adventure brimming with origami-inspired puzzles. The entire world is an illustration on a page, which you can contort and fold to create new paths and reveal secrets. You’ll need to look at things from different angles to decide which edges to crease to open the way forward.

The story follows Paige, who runs away from home to escape her controlling parents and pursue her dream of attending university. What follows is an emotional journey of loss and finding your way in life. Challenging yet uplifting, Paper Trail will get the gears turning in your head and tug at the heartstrings.

Moonleap

A Cute Pixel Puzzler

Moonleap is an adorable indie puzzle platformer whose obstacles change every time you jump. The goal is to collect all the stars in each stage, keeping in mind that jumping causes enemies to either attack or stop, spikes to appear or vanish, etc.

The strategy comes from timing your jumps to create a path forward. It’s a simple concept yet difficult to master, creating a nice balance between accessibility and challenge. While the game is short, the brain teasers are well-designed and enhanced by a cute pixel art style.

Humanity

An Abstract Puzzle Game About Community And Purgatory

In Humanity, you play as a Shiba Inu who guides a crowd of mindlessly walking people to a ray of light at the end of purgatory. To do so, you must place command panels on the ground so that the humans can perform actions such as jumping, turning, hovering, etc.

Levels are designed like puzzle boxes, requiring you to rotate the camera, look at a stage from different angles, and find ways to maneuver the crowd around enemies and obstacles. You can even create your own puzzles and upload them for others to play.

A Little To The Left

A Cozy Puzzler Starring A Troublemaking Cat

A Little to the Left is an organizational puzzle game with plenty of coziness and charm. The gameplay involves stacking and sorting household items, including decorative glasses, books, disheveled desks, and fruit stickers. The catch? An adorable cat often gets in the way of your solution.

There are over 75 puzzles entailing various mechanics and methods, some of which can even have multiple ways of being done. The art style has a delightful and inviting hand-drawn look that’s especially pleasant to the eyes when dragging and turning objects.

Viewfinder

An Innovative First-Person Game Where Photos Come To Life

You can search the entire Steam store and never find anything like Viewfinder. The puzzles center around taking pictures of objects and the surrounding environment. You can then place these photos down to create paths and open routes around obstacles.

It might sound simple enough, but you’ll be completely mesmerized once you start playing and indulging in the mechanics. The gameplay encourages you to look at problems from new perspectives, creating an immersive and innovative experience unlike anything else in the genre.

Return Of The Obra Dinn

A Time-Bending Murder Mystery

Return of the Obra Dinn is a captivating puzzle adventure known for its innovative gameplay and intriguing narrative. As an insurance investigator in the early 19th century, you must unravel the murder mysteries surrounding the abandoned ship Obra Dinn by traveling back in time to the moments of the crew’s demise.

The game’s distinctive monochromatic art style and haunting soundtrack create an eerie atmosphere that enhances the experience. With a focus on deduction and logical reasoning, coupled with its engaging storytelling and challenging puzzles, it is a must-play for those seeking exceptional brain teasers.

Sherlock Holmes The Awakened

A Mystery Crossover Featuring Holmes And Cthulhu

In 2023, Sherlock Holmes the Awakened joined the fantastic lineup of video game remakes. In this puzzler, Ukrainian developer Frogwares takes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved character and combines his investigative adventure with H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.

When a string of mysterious kidnappings plagues the world, it’s up to Holmes and Watson to catch the vicious cult responsible. The supernatural riddle takes them across Europe and the United States to spooky abandoned buildings, eerie swamps, and more. This is an excellent choice if you like classic mystery stories or Lovecraftian horror.

The Past Within

A Spooky Co-Op Puzzle Game

The Past Within brings a more chilling psychological horror vibe into the puzzle realm. The gameplay is an intriguing co-op experience combined with Rusty Lake’s signature art style. You and a friend move between 2D and 3D environments to solve brain teasers. The catch is that one of you is in the past while the other is in the future.

Having two people help each other complete puzzles in different time periods provides a fresh twist to the genre. The result is a uniquely cohesive experience that is equally fun and delightfully bone-chilling.

Birth

What If Frankenstein Was A Puzzle Game?

Birth’s premise and visual style deliver a highly original, almost Tim Burton-like aesthetic. Your character is a figure made of bones who finds themselves alone and decides to build a new partner. This can be accomplished by collecting the necessary bones and organs throughout puzzle environments.

Even though you can customize your character, the gameplay is a first-person point-and-click style progression around a 2D environment. The world takes you to various locations like apothecaries, libraries, and flower shops with interactive spots containing puzzles that zoom in to fill your screen.

Escape Simulator

Solve Escape Rooms From The Comfort Of Your Home

Escape rooms are perfect puzzle environments, and Escape Simulator is precisely as it sounds. It’s a series of interactive puzzles within themed escape rooms, which you can solve solo or online with a group. There are 25 stages, each designed by actual escape room operators.

It’s a great way to have the experience without leaving your home or spending exorbitant amounts of money. Even better is the built-in room editor, where you can design your own stages and have the chance to play puzzle rooms others create.