25 Best PlayStation 4 Puzzle Games

There are so many games out there that it’s hard not to find something to play. In this list, we’re going to highlight some of the best puzzle games you can pick up and play right now for the PlayStation 4. From new installments to past classics or brand new IPs, there’s something for just about everyone on this list.

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#25 We Were Here Expeditions: The Friendship

Platform: PC PS4 Xbox One PS5 XSX|S
Release Date: September 14, 2023

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox

Who doesn’t love going to an amusement park on a deserted island where the “boat ride” is actually an intense challenge to you and your friendship with the person next to you? Oh, that doesn’t sound like a blast?

Well, then, you won’t want to try out We Were Here Expeditions: The Friendship!

In the game, you and your partner have found themselves on a boat ride that is full of puzzles. The only way to solve them is to work together, and we mean that in the literal sense. If you fail, the boat ride ends, as does your friendship!

So be the team you always say you are and get the job done!

#24 HUMANITY

Platform: PC, PS4, PS5
Release Date: May 16, 2023

Steam | Playstation

If you were told to lead humanity to safety, how do you think it would be handled? You’d expect it to be a fellow human guiding them to safety. But in Humanity, the hope of all now rests within a dog, a dog controlled by you. Furthermore, this dog has to instruct people what to do so they can overcome the puzzles and trials ahead.

The title isn’t just a puzzle game that requires precision. You’ll have to use the people following you to fight against bosses who want to stop the group in its tracks.

When you’re done with the game, you can put your creativity to the test by making your own puzzles and uploading them online!

#23 Hogwarts Legacy

Platform: PC PS5 XSX|S – February 10, 2023
Release Date: (PS4 Xbox One – May 05, 2023) (Switch – July 25, 2023)

Steam | Playstation | Xbox

Many people would say that the most important thing about being a witch or wizard is being able to use powerful spells and curses. But the wise ones among you will state that it’s about how you use those spells and whether you can use them to your advantage in multiple scenarios. As you travel throughout the world of Hogwarts Legacy, you’ll have to face trials, not dangerous in nature but puzzling. So think like the educated student you are and use spells to move objects or erase obstacles from your path. The more puzzles you solve, the further you’ll get to explore!

#22 We Were Here Forever

Platform: PC PS4 Xbox One XSX|S PS5
Release Date: January 21, 2023

Welcome to Castle Rock. We hope you enjoy your stay. Hint: you won’t enjoy your stay. In fact, you can’t even remember how you got to Castle Rock in the first place! That’s not a good sign.

You find yourself alongside another player and must work together to learn the truth about this realm, its prison, and how to get out.

A deep and complex journey awaits you and your partner, one you’ll have to do together and decide the fate of many things. Just when you think something ends, something else will begin. Can you make it through the mysteries and dangers to get out alive? Or will you indeed be there forever?

#21 Gorogoa

Gorogoa is a pretty unique puzzle game where players are interacting with images. Players here are given different panels of images and it’s up to players in moving them around so that they interact together. You’re essentially manipulating each scene so that they look like they belong together in a more cohesive image. This is a very relaxing game and it’s a bit like a visual novel when you complete the image and a scene plays out.

#20 Stray

Stray, at first, won’t seem like a puzzle game, but it is in a very feline way. You play as a cat in a future where humans are gone, and robots have taken their place. You’ve been separated from your feline family and must work your way through the city, and help some robots out, to get back to them. The puzzles come in as you traverse the city and try to get to certain areas or help robots in exchange for items. As a cat, you’ll climb, scratch, jump, and knock things over to do what you need. Or because you just want to be cat-like and wreck everything in sight. Don’t sleep or cat nap on this game. It’s deeper and more immersive than you realize.

#19 The Talos Principle

The Talos Principle is quite a bit like The Witness. Here you’re trapped in some unusual place as an android. You’re not entirely sure what’s going on but the goal is to reach the top of a large mountain. To do so, there are a ton of puzzles to complete along the way, however, they vary quite a bit on the style of puzzle you’ll have to complete. This means you’re getting some more diverse puzzles than just line puzzles from The Witness and there are multiple endings to unlock as well so there is some replay value here.

#18 Tetris Effect

Tetris is an iconic game and one that everyone has played at some point or another. It’s a bit difficult to make Tetris appealing in a new way but at the same time, it’s such an enjoyable game that it doesn’t necessarily need anything new to gain some interest from fans to sit back and play the game or its many variations of it. However, there was a bit of a surprise release with the Tetris Effect. Originally, this game started as a VR title where players would get an immersive environment to play through Tetris while also having some beats to listen in on as well. If you have a PSVR for your PlayStation 4 then this is easily one of the better puzzle games you can play through today.

#17 Fez

Fez was a big indie title hit when it launched in 2012 and while the sequel was abruptly killed off, the original title still holds up incredibly well today. It’s been released on multiple modern platforms such as the PlayStation 4. This title starts in a 2D realm where players take the role of a little character seeking to collect special cubes to restore the universe. However, you’ll find that some areas are just impossible to get through. That’s when the game teaches you that you could manipulate the world showing that we’re not just playing a 2D game but a 3D one as well. By rotating the world around, players could see passages that were normally hidden but as you progress, this puzzle-platformer becomes more and more difficult.

#16 The Turing Test

When a crew seemingly vanishes from their station on a moon, Ava Turing is sent in to investigate. It’s clear something is amiss and it’s up to Ava to use her cunning to figure out just what had happened. Players are armed with a gun that can absorb energy and transport it to different terminals. This will open up areas up around the station but it’s a big puzzle to figure out just how to progress through these different areas. Not only are you having to determine just when and where to store the energy, but you’ll need to use the different monitoring systems to see certain areas of the station.

#15 Life is Strange

Life is Strange is a modern adventure game filled with puzzles. In this title, players take the role of a young female named Max who is attending the last year of high school which happens to be at a prestigious academy from her old hometown. It’s here that we discover Max has a supernatural gift which is to manipulate time. Through this power and after catching up with her childhood best friend, Max sets off to bend time as a means to uncover something sinister from the town. It’s an emotional journey with plenty of choice and consequences throughout the narrative. Meanwhile, players will have to use their power to solve a wide variety of puzzles.

#14 The Walking Dead

Telltale Games is quite the iconic video game development studio that was known for bringing out some modern-day adventure games. One of their biggest hits was The Walking Dead. In this series you are mainly following a young girl named Clementine as she attempts to find a way to survive in a world that quickly turned upside down. It’s an emotional journey where again choices have consequences. Likewise, there is an assortment of puzzles that players will need to solve to get around the world with some being more time sensitive. If you haven’t played this collection of games yet then it’s well worth picking them up. Best of all, you don’t need to watch the television series or read the comic books to understand what’s going on as this game series is standalone.

#13 The Wolf Among Us

Speaking of Telltale Games we also have The Wolf Among Us. This game only has the first season so far but we do know that the new incarnation of Telltale Games is bringing out a sequel. Overall, this is an adaptation of the Fables comic book series where players are following a group of fairy tale characters that have left their homeworld and begun living in a human world. While these characters are not capable of being killed off by normal circumstances, these characters attempt to keep a low profile, in general, to not cause any unwanted attention to their town. Players take the role of Bigby, who was formerly known as the Big Bad Wolf. When a fairy tale character is killed off, Bigby begins an investigation to figure out who was responsible. Just like The Walking Dead, there are a series of environmental puzzles to solve here along the way.

#12 Return of the Obra Dinn

Return of the Obra Dinn is a fun little game where you play a detective of sorts. In this game, players take the role of an insurance investigator who gets the job of assessing all the damage of a ship called the Obra Dinn. However, what makes this game a bit different is the fact that Obra Dinn went missing several years ago. No one knew what happened to the ship and when it mysteriously found its way back to the dock, all the passengers were dead. As the insurance investigator, you have to figure out what happened to all the passengers and attempt to sort the whole event out. As you dive deeper into the different characters on the ship and see just how they were killed, you’ll slowly uncover the reason for all the mayhem.

#11 Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is a fun little party game that you can play with friends along with the use of the PSVR. In this game, the player with the PSVR unit is trapped in a room with a ticking time bomb. Scattered all over the bomb is a slew of puzzles that you don’t have any answers to. You will need to communicate with your team on what you’re seeing as they have a large set of instructions on how to properly disarm each module. Meanwhile, if you don’t enter the steps correctly or run out of time, the bomb will explode. It’s an intense game and one that can be quite hectic as the time quickly counts down.

#10 The Last Guardian

The Last Guardian was quite the anticipated video game for fans as it first entered development back in 2007 from director Fumito Ueda who had made some major hits for Sony with the likes of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Meanwhile, The Last Guardian finally found its way out into the marketplace back in 2016 where players take on the role of a young boy who befriends a large mythical beast as they attempt to find a way to escape from a horrible land full of dangers. Players are having to use both the young boy along calling out to the large beast in hopes of escaping as the duo grows closer together with a new friendship bond.

#9 The Sexy Brutale

The Sexy Brutale is a bit of a detective game mixed with puzzle-solving. In this title, players are having to relive the same day on a loop where at a casino mansion, guests are being murdered. It’s up to you in figuring out how to successfully save everyone by making changes to the in-game world. As you progress, new areas will be unlocked which will give you other advantage points of what’s going on around the mansion. There are a total of ten murder scenarios for players to complete but again you’ll be working against the clock and have to save these individuals from their untimely doom.

#8 Untitled Goose Game

Untitled Goose Game is a wacky little that you might have already come across as it was a big hit when it first launched. Players in this game take the role of a goose who must complete a series of objectives which is usually stealing different objects around the town. However, you’ll need to think of how to obtain these objects quickly without gaining the attention of the different individuals. Not only are you having to use stealth to carefully go around the world but you’ll need to figure out just what you’ll need to do to grab the object and quickly make a getaway. Not to mention, the goose can simply go around and attempt to annoy everyone with their quacks.

#7 A Way Out

A Way Out comes from Hazelight Studios, founded by Josef Fares. This is a game that blew up online with the title being centered around two-player cooperative gameplay. If you didn’t have a second player then you couldn’t go through this game. It was a narrative-focused title that had players taking the role of a criminal that opts to break out and go through some unfinished business, but we’ll refrain from spoiling anything more than that. As mentioned, this is a cooperative game and it requires players to work together to create different distractions or complete some difficult maneuvers. Timing and communication are pretty key but the entire game is cut into two displays so no matter what your objective is, you can freely view what your secondary player is accomplishing on their end.

#6 It Takes Two

It Takes Two is another game from Hazelight Studios and it just released this year, 2021. The video game again has players going through a two-player cooperative game where this time around we’re following two parents that are going through a divorce. However, the couple is placed into two dolls and must complete a series of objectives were again to complete a series of goals and puzzles to progress forward. While the game is centered around rekindling a relationship, the gameplay is constantly switching things up so you’re always finding something new to do mechanically.

#5 The Swapper

The Swapper is a bit of a unique game where players take the role of an astronaut in an unusual world. To progress through this world, players will find that reaching certain heights or jumps is too far for man to accomplish alone. However, in this game players will have a unique tool that will allow the individual to clone himself and quickly transport him to the new body. This will allow players to fire off as many clones as possible to scale a tall obstacle or to make a jump across a large gap just by sacrificing their old bodies. It’s a small little puzzle title that won’t take you more than five hours to complete.

#4 Limbo

Limbo is a 2D platformer that grew in popularity rather quickly. From developers Playdead, Limbo brought players a 2D side-scroller where players take the role of a young child that’s trapped in a very hostile world. With a black and white aesthetic, Limbo mainly has players going through all kinds of dangerous environments as the young boy searches for his missing sister. This is a dark game as players will constantly find the young boy getting killed in a variety of gruesome ways. Whether it’s landing on spikes to being slaughtered by giant spiders, everything in this world is ready to end the player’s run. However, players will return to a checkpoint where they can learn from their past mistakes and attempt to complete the puzzle.

#3 Inside

Another game from Playdead is called Inside. Again, in this title players are given control of a young little boy who is in a weird dystopia world. All kinds of hostile humans are rallying up others and taking over their minds. However, our young boy manages to escape and begins a run for freedom. Reaching freedom is not easy and it’s very much like the gameplay from Limbo. There are plenty of areas where players are going to fail and end up being slaughtered off in gruesome ways. This is a game that’s worth picking up especially if you enjoyed Limbo.

#2 Little Nightmares Series

A game that’s not by Playdead but has a similar type of vibe is Little Nightmares. This is a game where players follow a young little girl named Six who is trapped in a weird resort controlled by monstrous beings. Here the goal for Six is to escape but being such a tiny little human in a world crafted for giants, it’s a difficult task. There’s plenty of puzzles to solve on reaching new heights or bypassing a certain creature. As a result, there’s quite a bit of stealth in this game along with puzzle-platforming. You’ll also find that this title has a sequel as well although both titles are a bit more toned towards the horror genre so you can expect some pretty unsettling moments.

#1 The Witness

The Witness is a great game to pick up and enjoy casually. This title puts players on an unusual island. You have no clue who you are or what you’re doing on this island, but the hope is to find some clues around the island that will help regain some of your memories. It’s a game all about exploration as you reach different bays with puzzles. There is a ton of different puzzles here with several hundred ready for players to tackle. These start rather simple line puzzles, but as you progress they get harder and harder. Soon, you’ll find that this game is quite difficult to get through but the fortunate thing about The Witness is the fact that you can drop a puzzle and go somewhere else to work on another puzzle for the time being.