Top Puzzle Games Worth Playing In 2026

Published Jul 20, 2026, 8:30 PM EDT Gabrielle is a staff writer for TheGamer who began working in gaming journalism in May 2022, immediately after graduating cum laude with her Bachelors in English. A lifelong lover of in-depth RPGs and cozy simulation games alike, she enjoys having married her passions for both writing and video games in her work. She's spent her life chasing Platinum trophies and completionist collections, even before a company started paying her to do it on the internet. Sometimes there's just nothing better than putting your smarts to the test and trying to solve puzzles in your video games, but what a puzzle game looks like might vary from person to person! You'll work out riddles, solve escape rooms, work with a friend, and maybe even dabble in the supernatural in the best puzzle games. No matter what kind of puzzle games you like to play when it's time to break out a video game, we've got suggestions for the ten puzzle games you should definitely check out when looking for your next big time sink puzzle title. Portal Available On PC PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 Nintendo Switch macOS Android Developer Valve Corporation Launch Date October 10, 2007 One of the original puzzle games that took the gaming world by storm is still one of the very best in the genre, with the love for the Portal titles still enduring well into 2026. We've gotten plenty of cake in that time, and we've also had those years to fall in love with this sci-fi puzzle platformer Grab your portal gun and hop into the shoes of Chell, the character you'll need to carefully move between areas of the world using only a gun that fires two portals, through which you'll move to solve all kinds of puzzles. There's even a sequel, too, if you'd like to teleport into a second helping of fun once you've rolled credits (and heard the ear worm of a song that plays as they roll). The Talos Principle Available On PC PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Xbox One Xbox Series X/S Nintendo Switch Developers Croteam, Devolver Digital Launch Date December 11, 2014 If philosophical puzzle titles are more your speed, then you might already recognize the name of this narrative title from Croteam exploring the idea that humans are naught but biological machines through the titular Talos Principle, a Greek philosophical idea of Talos the bronze mechanical man. Solving puzzles will give you the sigils you need to make it through increasingly difficult levels in this first-person science fiction title about androids and what it actually means to be alive. There's also a 2023 sequel if you find yourself wanting more at the end. Blue Prince Tonda Ros Available On PC PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X/S Nintendo Switch 2 macOS Developer Dogubomb Launch Date April 10, 2025 Fans of puzzle games seem to feel pretty strongly one way or the other about Blue Prince, a 2025 adventure game that focuses heavily on puzzle-solving as you explore a terrifying mansion that always seems to change its layover when you think you've got it figured out. You'll do this through a series of card puzzles to add new rooms to the layout and seeing what they have to offer, eventually going through 45 rooms in total with the goal of reaching room 46, which nobody really seems to know much about. The layout changes every day, so you've got time puzzles to contend with here as well. No Sleep For Kaname Date Available On PC PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X/S Nintendo Switch Nintendo Switch 2 Developer Spike Chunsoft Launch Date July 25, 2025 If you ever got caught up in the excitement of an escape room in real life, then you might enjoy solving them for fun in the newest in an iconic series of mystery games,No Sleep for Kaname Date - From AI: The Somnium Files. This 2025 title brings us back together with an iconic group to solve another series of confounding, sci-fi mysteries. You'll be playing as the titular Date for the most part as he and his cohorts work together to solve a series of increasingly challenging escape rooms before time runs out, relying on your puzzle-solving and deduction skills all at once to put together some of the convoluted clues. If visual novel escape room puzzle games are your style, this one is sure to please. Chants Of Sennaar Available On PC PlayStation 4 Xbox One Nintendo Switch iOS Android Developer Rundisc Launch Date September 5, 2023 It sounds scary to be dropped into a world where you don't speak the language at all, but Chants of Sennaar is here to bring you into this language puzzle experience and allow you to try your hand at learning a logographic languages without any formal training so you can survive in this confounding new world. You'll learn quickly how to use context clues like signs outside buildings or the body language or non-verbal cues given by the folks you chat with, and you'll have an in-game notebook to use to keep track of everything you've learned so far until you're proficient in these languages. The Roottrees Are Dead Available On PC Developers Evil Trout Inc., Jjohnsongames, Robin Ward Launch Date November 8, 2023 The plot of the game is pretty apparent from the title: members of the extremely well-off and fairly prolific Roottree family have all perished in a terrifying plane crash, and relatives are coming out of the woodwork to try to get their slice of the pie when it comes to the inheritance. It's up to you, the detective, to figure out who's legit and who's just trying to worm their way into cash. Deduce clues and place names or occupations onto the Roottree family tree's evidence board, and use your in-game web browser to hunt for the truth of who gets the cash. Animal Well Available On PC PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X/S Nintendo Switch Developers Biklly Basso, Shared Memory LLC Launch Date May 9, 2024 If horror games are your speed when it comes to the best puzzle games, then you may have already heard of Animal Well, a smash-hit indie game the perfected the minimalistic vibe that lends itself so well to creepy titles. You play as a small character in a dark platforming world, using the various tools you find across the map to access the variety of puzzles you can find to solve between boss fights. There are collectibles and combat puzzles as well, so there's truly a bit of something for every horror lover here. It Takes Two Available On PC PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Xbox One Xbox Series X/S Nintendo Switch Developer Hazelight Studios Launch Date March 26, 2021 If you're interested in a solid two-player co-op game that you can play either as a cozy couch co-op experience or online at a distance and you're looking for some fairly narrative-driven collaborative puzzles, then you'd do well to give It Takes Two a shot. The game follows the tale of two parents going through a messy divorce and seeing how it impacts their daughter as they're turned into dolls and made to solve a series of puzzles through a miniaturized world that exists within their home if they'd like to become human again, learning to work together once more in the process, as hard as it might be. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker Available On Nintendo Switch Wii U Nintendo 3DS Developer Nintendo Launch Date November 13, 2014 If you love the Mario games and their eternal promise of platforming fun, then you may already be familiar with Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, the title that follows everyone's favorite Captain Toad and his assistant Toadette as they head through diarama-like levels of puzzles. Did you play Super Mario 3D World? Then you might recognize the influence on Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, since Captain Toad was the host of all kinds of puzzles. Toad and Toadette will work together using their unique traversal abilities in this colorful cartoonish universe to solve platforming puzzles and save one another from the game's villain, Wingo. Escape The Backrooms Available On PC PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X/S Nintendo Switch 2 Developer(s) Fancy Games, Blackbird Interactive, and Scaretech Studios LLC Launch Date August 11, 2022 If you've been on the internet at all this year, then you've probably been unable to avoid the hype around the movie Backrooms, an A24 blockbuster inspired by a series of liminal space YouTube videos that actually brought the creator of said videos into the project to ensure the vibe was just right. Now, you can play Escape the Backrooms, a game also inspired by these creepy videos, to get even more Backrooms universe. It's a horror game for one to four players that see you and your friends in the iconic yellow biohazard suits, giving it your best at trying to handle the liminal anomaly yourselves.