Do you like puzzles in non-puzzle games?

[Glio]

So, I've been thinking about it lately. In games like Portal, Antichamber, Zelda or Inside, I like puzzles. However, in games like God of War, Pokémon or Final Fantasy X, games where puzzles are not the central part of the game, I have always found them frustrating and killing the pace of the game. I am only able to see them as something that stands between me and the real fun of the game and for that reason their absence in most of the current JRPGs is something that I appreciate. I don't even care if they are easy or hard, they just seem annoying.

My last experience in this regard was with Hellblade, where the narrative caught me immediately, the combat was helpful but I quickly got tired of the perspective puzzles. And yet I like those same puzzles in something like The Witness.

What is your opinion of the inclusion of mandatory puzzles in games in which they are not a main mechanic?

 

[nsilvias]

i like them when they are actually part of the lore and story.

 

[banter]

When they make sense and add to the experience, 100% yes. When they are just mind numbing bullshit to pad the game, no. (I liked the puzzles in Hellblade and many of them definitely added to the experience.)

 

[SteelBeast6Beets]

I dislike them in the original God of War games as I felt they made the game came to a screeching halt so we could solve a very basic block pushing puzzle.

 

[Deleted member 9486]

No. But I don't much enjoy puzzles in general. I mostly want to turn my brain off when gaming as I need a break from all the critical thinking my job requires. They don't kill games for me, but I'm pretty quick to look up solutions.

 

[Video Games Are Dumb]

Most puzzles in non puzzle games suck ass. Breath of the Wild somehow thread the needle.

But most of the time it just fucks up the flow. And I really dig puzzle games like Baba Is You or Quantum Conundrum.

 

[Rangerx]

I like them when they're engaging no matter what game they're in.

 

[Ferrio]

Don't mind them at all, puzzles are a basic component of video games regardless of genre.

 

[Big G]

I like them when they're engaging no matter what game they're in.

Click to shrink...

This. If they're good, I'll take as many puzzles as I can get.

 

[AudioEppa]

Hell no, I hated that shit in Uncharted. I'd rather walk around a beautiful video game house for two hours then to deal with puzzles.

 

[Flevance]

Usually do, Hellblade wasn't good in that regard tho

 

[Glio]

i like them when they are actually part of the lore and story.

Click to shrink...

Normally they are things like "Oh, there are some rocks in this path" or "You have to activate these levers because reasons".

 

[monmagman]

Yea,I always like a puzzle in an action game just to give me some downtime....the old GOW games had a great puzzle to action ratio,in the new one the puzzles were too simple.

 

[Deleted member 679]

I'm more into them when they're actually using the game's main mechanics, instead of just flipping switches or connecting some bullshit for electricity to go through, or whatever. I don't know.

 

[DerpHause]

I liked them in Hellblade personally. A nice chunk of what Hellblade was involved various forms of puzzles and perspective manipulation was a pretty core aspect or so it felt to me.

GoW had some good ones too IMO. The axe mechanics were worked into them quite nicely.

 

[LiK]

HATE it. I give it 5 min before i end up using a guide.

 

[riq]

In basically every single video game progression is gated either by reflex tests or puzzle solving.
I'm more partial to the former but pretty much most games have both in some form.

 

[Chivalry]

If sparse and well done? Maybe. Mostly don't.

 

[RochHoch]

Depends how good the puzzles are.

 

[Mirage]

I like puzzles in games.

 

[Deleted member 4262]

Sure, as long as they aren't annoying. Unfortunately they usually are.

 

[Suburban Thug]

HATE it. I give it 5 min before i end up using a guide.

Click to shrink...

Lol this is me

 

[EarlGreyHot]

NO

 

[Trickster]

I like good puzzles in all games

 

[Bartis]

Screw puzzles in non-puzzle games. It's the time I pass my controller to my wife for a few moments. We understand each other so

 

[shinobi602]

Not generally.

I'm not a fan of puzzle games to begin with. They're tolerable in other genres if they're straightforward but they usually end up just frustrating me for 5-10 min.

 

[SeriousGoku]

No, I skip them whenever possible. Imagine if something like TLOU 2 has puzzles, yikes.

The WORST shit though is ... "the door is locked, gotta find another way in".

Why does EVERY game do this?

 

[dancingphlower]

Nah. They're usually not enough to make me hate the game or anything but most of the time they feel like busywork.

 

[LiK]

I should clarify that I love environmental puzzles where stuff makes sense. Not the abstract stuff that shows up like changing colors or using math or whatever else that is very puzzle-like.

 

[DJ_Lae]

Sometimes, when they're done well.

A recent example teetered the line for me - Crosscode. There are a LOT of puzzles in the main dungeons in that game. An overwhelming number, even. And when you think you've finished all of them, nope, there's more again.

The game bills itself as an action RPG - which it is - but there is as heavy, heavy puzzle focus and some of them border on frustrating, especially when they combine precision with time limits.

 

[Master Chuuster]

I like them when they're engaging no matter what game they're in.

Click to shrink...

Yep

 

[Shudouken]

I generally enjoy puzzles but I'm with you OP, same goes for minigames in general.
I buy the game because I want to play it, not a totally different genre for 5 minutes.
Doesn't really improve the main aspect of the game and often ends up feeling like a chore.

 

[Transistor]

It really depends on the game and what mindset I'm in at the moment.

 

[Oneself]

If it's part of the game à la Uncharted, I'm fine with them.
If it's tackled, boring and repetitive like in Spiderman, I'd prefer no puzzles or "mini games".

 

[Vincent Grayson]

I'm mostly neutral. It slips into dislike when they're just killing the pacing, or the solution is weird, or just generally when it makes no sense in the context of the world presented. Too often, I feel like puzzles, especially in JRPGs, have no logical place in the game world and are just there because it's a game and they want to add puzzles.

 

[the32BitPlayers]

I do.

 

[Nameless]

Depends on the game and how they're executed. Hated them in GoW, but I liked them in Uncharted 4 as they were better designed and tied in to the narrative/ locations/lore in cool ways.

 

[Carassius Auratus]

If they are good puzzles, then yes, I like them. They were especially welcome in otherwise dull, mindless games such as Pokemon. Ah well.

 

[Gelf]

If they're good puzzles I like them, can be a good change of pace in an action game. Just don't make them boringly basic push a block here, move a plank there stuff.

 

[MrH]

No, I absolutely hate puzzles.

 

[Deleted member 48813]

Yes, I love them. Give me as many puzzles as you want as long as it makes sense in the game, it keeps things interesting and challenging to me.

 

[tiebreaker]

Well, I like them in Persona 5. Having dungeons being more than corridors maze is great.

 

[Datajoy]

I like them when they find a balance between too easy and too hard. They should make you pause and think a little but. But just a little bit.

 

[Aranjah]

I like them when they're engaging no matter what game they're in.

Click to shrink...

Don't mind them at all, puzzles are a basic component of video games regardless of genre.

Click to shrink...

This. Puzzles are a gameplay element I really like, because they're usually more thought-based and less timing/twitch-based, so I like them anywhere.

 

[hydruxo]

If they're well made puzzles then yeah. Sometimes it feels like filler though.

 

[Vulcano's Assistant]

I agree with the people saying that puzzles are sometimes intrinsic to video game design, regardless of genre. Boss battles are sometimes puzzles, turn based encounters in games like Xcom are also sometimes puzzles, finding the proper route in a platformer like Super Meat Boy, etc

 

[808s & Villainy]

If puzzles are prevalant in a game, then they're a central part of that game. It doesn't need to be a puzzle game for that to be the case

 

[Haze]

If they're actually good, make sense within the context of the game, and aren't just there to waste my time.

I.E., i felt like most of the puzzles in Fallen Order were there to artificially extend to length of the game.

 

[Rats]

I like a good puzzle in any game. I don't like a "puzzle" with an obvious but tediously-executed solution.

 

[Neko_No_Naku]

I like them as long as they are not "teleporting" puzzles. Fuck those.