Best 26 PlayStation 5 Puzzle Games

Do you have a PS4/PS5? Do you want to play some games that’ll test your mind in a puzzling way? Then check out these 22 titles!

#26 The Talos Principle 2

Platform: PC PS4 PS5 Xbox One XSX|S
Release Date: November 09, 2023

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox

Nearly a decade after the release of The Talos Principle, developers Croteam brought out a sequel. This puzzle adventure game takes place years after the first installment. It’s hard to offer the premise of this game without spoiling the first installment. So, if you haven’t played the first game, you might want to skip ahead of this point. However, the game takes place after the first game, where we see the first android to be awakened, Athena. You’re stepping into another android who is slowly unraveling the mystery behind a world humanity left behind, and now androids take control. But a large part of this game is all about puzzles. You’ll continue getting harder puzzles, some stumping you for hours until it finally all comes together. If you enjoyed The Talos Principle, then you’re going to get very much the same type of game in its sequel. But will you be able to avoid making the same mistakes that humankind made, or will a new, more prosperous world come from the choices you make?

#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

 

Release Date: 10 Feb 2023 | Platform: PC PS5 Xbox Series X|S
(PS4 Xbox One April 4, 2023) Switch (July 25, 2023)
Camera: Third Person
Multiplayer: No
Co-op: (Local: No | Online: No)
Genre: Open World, RPG, Fantasy, Action RPG

Steam | PlayStation | Xbox

When it comes to puzzle games, you want ones that will test you but not weigh you down as you try to work your way from one challenge to the next. There’s such a thing as “too much difficulty.” With Hogwarts Legacy, you won’t have to worry about that problem.

The game perfectly balances puzzles that will test your magical ability while making you think outside the box.

You enter Hogwarts as a “special case” and get to craft the adventure you desire. That includes whether you want to be a Dark Witch/Wizard. So perhaps the biggest puzzle to solve is where you’ll take your character!

#22 LEGO Builder’s Journey

Let’s start with a LEGO game because those are almost always fun to play. But what might surprise you is that LEGO Builder’s Journey takes an atmospheric approach to puzzle-solving.

In the game, you’ll be a “Builder,” and it’s your job to go to various levels and solve the puzzles that lie within them by placing blocks in the right spot. Sometimes you’ll do it so you can move your character. Other times you’ll do it because it’ll “activate” a part of the puzzle and open up new options. You won’t know until you start your adventure.

Then, head into creative mode and see what LEGO wonders you can create.

#21 Return of the Obra Dinn

The Return of the Obra Dinn is a beloved puzzle game that puts you in a unique setting and challenges you to figure out a profound mystery.

Simply put, in 1802, a ship called the Obra Dinn was sent off on a journey to deliver 200 pounds of cargo. The voyage would be hard but not impossible. However, the ship never arrived at its destination and was declared lost.

Fast forward five years, the ship landed on a beach with clear damage. However, there was no crew.

As an insurance investigator, you’ll board the ship and search it for clues about what happened.

#20 Chicory: A Colorful Tale

What’s a more straightforward puzzle game than trying to fill in a black & white world with color? That’s the aim of Chicory: A Colorful Tale. In the land you’re set in, a legendary artist named Chicory is renowned for her artistry. But one day, she vanishes. With her goes all the colors of the world.

You are Chicory’s #1 fan! You stumble upon the brush and must use it to give the world back the colors it needs to live! Through your coloring, you’ll affect the environment, gain new abilities, help save animals, and more!

You might think the game wouldn’t have much content due to its coloring book nature. But it’s full of sidequests, collectibles, and more!

#19 Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

How about a game you can play with friends that’ll test your communication skills?

In Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, one of you will play a “defuser.” You are trapped in a room with a bomb, and you have minutes to disarm it. The good news is that your other friends have the instructions to diffuse it!

But the rules are the game state they can’t look at the bomb. So you must describe it to them so you can get the instructions you need to turn it off.

Each round gives you a different bomb. So be specific with your words and get out alive!

#18 The Gardens Between

Sometimes puzzle games tell more profound stories than you would expect. The Gardens Between is an excellent example of that. The story follows Arina and Frendt, two friends who end up in a world that feels like a dream.

But as they explore the islands they’re on; they notice that it’s full of items from their lives. More specifically, items that are directly tied to their friendship. So as they venture forward, they’ll solve puzzles, manipulate time, and learn how much their friendship has meant to one another.

So if you’re looking for a puzzle game with a touching story, here you go!

#17 Statik

We put Statik a bit lower on the list because it’s a VR title, and we know some of you don’t own one.

In the game, you’re put in a puzzle-solving scenario that is anything but ordinary. Why is that? Because you don’t recognize anything around you! You’re helping a doctor you don’t know while stuck in a place you don’t remember nor can leave, and the hands you use to solve the puzzles aren’t technically yours!

You’ll have to push through to solve the new puzzles that are born each day. Of course, your senses will help you solve everything. But in a place where your senses are constantly tricked, what are you supposed to believe?

#16 Ghost Giant

Here’s another VR title to try out if you liked the last one.

You are the Ghost Giant, who is not only a ghost but a protector of a young boy named Louis. It’s your job to keep him safe and to help him when needed. Specifically, you’ll help him to overcome the puzzles and obstacles the world throws at him.

As you help Louis, you’ll slowly build trust with him. Then through him, you’ll learn more about the world Louis resides in. The game goes deeper than you might think. So dive into this VR world and see what wonders it has to show you.

#15 The Pedestrian

Given that there are so many puzzle games out there, it’s hard to find one that feels truly unique. The Pedestrian is one such game. We say that without hesitation, and you’ll understand why when you dive into the title.

The game features a unique mix of 2D and 3D worlds. Specifically, you’ll play as a 2D “person” that happens to be on signs littered across a 3D world. You must work your way through the signs to get to the next level.

It sounds easy, but there are some challenges along the way. All while you explore a robust world full of life.

#14 Carto

What if, to manipulate the world around you, you need only mess with the map the world is on?

Carto is a game that lets you do just that. You play as, well, Carto! They’ve been separated from their grandmother and are desperate to find her. To do so, they’ll wander around the land and use their unique abilities to warp the map to open up new paths.

Doing so will also unlock new story beats and help you find other people in the world. The more you travel, the more you discover and learn about the world. You’ll even get friends to help you along your journey.

#13 Hue

Are you ready for a color-coded adventure that will ensure you pay attention to the world around you? In Hue, you play a young boy on a quest to find his father. You’ll venture through a dangerous world full of color and must use that color to avoid its dangers.

How can color change the world? Simple, because by changing the background colors of the world, you’ll get the obstacles to merge with it and become invisible. So that purple platform you’re stuck on can vanish in a blink if you change the background to that same color!

So swap colors, and dive deep into the world to learn the truth!

#12 Superliminal

As we’ve already shown you, and you’ll see again soon, many puzzle games love to screw with your perception of the world. Superliminal is a title that does that under the context of you being in a dream you have to wake up from.

You are undergoing an “experimental program” within your dreams and must find a way out. But that’s hard to do when your mind is telling you one thing is there, but you can manipulate it to do something impossible.

Work your way through the levels of your mind, overcome the challenges an AI puts on you, and wake up!

#11 Gorogoa

Many will happily tell you that video games are art, and they are. But in Gorogoa, that concept is taken to a whole new level.

Because in this mix of puzzle and narrative title, you’ll witness the artistic works of Jason Roberts, who crafted thousands of paintings for the game.

Those paintings are the backdrop for everything you do in the title. You’ll work with the art to try and solve the puzzles that are inherently there. Such as getting a bird to go to a bowl of food. Or opening a doorway for a person to walk through.

Dive into the art, see how you can manipulate it, and witness the art unfold!

#10 The Last Campfire

In the world of The Last Campfire, you portray a being known as an Ember. Unfortunately, that Ember has become lost and must find its way home. All the while looking for meaning in its life.

You’ll travel through a strange yet beautiful world teeming with life to find the things you seek. You’ll encounter beings that are lost just like you, as well as creatures that give the land life.

The more you travel, the more you’ll build hope for yourself. You realize that you are a spark that can bring much to the world, and seek out a certain campfire to go light.

It’s time to start your journey!

#9 RiME

In RiME, you play a young boy who awakens on a mysterious island. There are many things that populate the island, but the biggest is a tower that you’re inexplicably drawn to. As you journey to the tower’s peak, you’ll have to solve puzzles and overcome challenges that hinder your progress.

A fox also seems eager to help you, so take its advice when it provides it.

But you don’t have to focus solely on the overall goal. Instead, you can wander the island and discover some of its secrets. You can also interact with some of the other animals you find!

#8 Tricky Towers

Who doesn’t love a puzzle game that puts you on a clock and against your friends?

In Tricky Towers, you’re a wizard trying to construct a tower to live in. The problem is that other wizards are trying to build their towers at the same time as you. So you’ll stack blocks and try to keep them as balanced as possible so you can make a tower high enough to clear the goal!

But be warned! The other wizards are jealous of you, and will send dark magic your way to knock your tower down! So return the favor and clear the goal before they do so you can reign supreme!

#7 Manifold Garden

Have you ever played games that force you to change your perspective so you can see the puzzle as it truly is? Manifold Garden is another one of those titles, and you’ll need to keep changing your mindset to get the answers you need.

The key mechanic here is gravity. Through gravity manipulation, you’ll soar around the beautifully rendered world and attempt to gain the view you need to keep going. When you solve the puzzle, the world forms around you, and you’ll have something even prettier to look at.

The world is broken, and it’s up to you to set it right!

#6 The Talos Principle

Welcome to a place that makes no sense to you. You are a robot that awakens to find itself in an area where technology is ancient and futuristic simultaneously. The one who made you has given you a task. You must go throughout the land and solve puzzles.

At first, that doesn’t seem bad. But the more puzzles you solve, the more you’ll wonder why you are following orders when you know nothing about yourself. With over 120 puzzles to solve, you’ll have options on what to do with your time.
But the question remains, will you try to find out who you are in the meantime?

#5 The Forgotten City

What if we told you that there used to be a Roman city that was truly cursed? Said curse would kill everyone in the city should a single person die. How would you attempt to break such a curse?

That is the puzzle you must solve in The Forgotten City. The game lets you travel 2000 years back in time and undergo a time loop where you’ll need to save the city or literally die trying. The game is non-linear, and your choices will affect how things progress. With multiple endings available, don’t be afraid to try something new or unexpected.

The city’s fate is in your hands, so don’t blow it!

#4 Tetris Effect

Tetris Effect is one of those games that you can play alone, but you’ll love playing it with friends just as much.

The title takes the classic gameplay and gives it a visual and auditory overhaul. The beauty of the game lines in the backgrounds and music that happens as you do each round. There’s even a campaign that’ll take you across 30 stages full of visual wonders and great beats.

After that’s done, head to the multiplayer, where you can play against others, then suddenly find yourselves working on the same board with one another! The title is a game for the senses, and you must try it out.

#3 What Remains of Edith Finch

The last of the narrative puzzle dramas, What Remains of Edith Finch, puts you in a mansion with the last surviving member of a family line. But the mystery grows as you wonder why Edith is the only one alive.

You’ll wander the family home and find answers in memories to answer this. But these memories are tied to pictures of past family members. So you’ll relive the key moments of their lives all the way until their death.

The more you dive into the memories, the more the puzzle becomes clearer. A profound tale of life and death awaits you in this place. Are you ready to see where it leads?

#2 The Witness

Like certain others on this list, The Witness is a title that focuses on you going around and solving puzzles.

The twist is that you awaken on an island you have no recollection of and no memory of who you are, either. So the only way to find the truth about yourself and this place is to solve its numerous puzzles.

Oh, and we do mean numerous. The place has over 500 puzzles for you to solve. Each of them will test you differently. Add to that. You can do them in any order! So venture around the island and see where things take you.

#1 Inside

What is Inside? That is a far more disturbing question than you realize.

The game is one of the titles from PlayDead, which means you’re going to get a game that is far more in-depth and dark than you’d expect from a title with simple graphics.

You play as a young boy who is drawn to a certain place. That place is dangerous, yet you must go deeper into it to solve the mystery of what’s happening. Solve puzzles to get further in, and avoid getting caught by those that work there.

What is this place? What is its purpose? What does it have to do with you? Jump in and find out!