• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
  • We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.

What are the best 3D puzzle games?

Feep

Feep

Lead Designer, Iridium Studios
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
4,603
Stephen's Sausage Roll, English Country Tune, the Witness, the Talos Principle, Portal, and Portal 2 all come to mind.

For 2-D games, I suggest Jelly no Puzzle, Snakebird, Recursed, and Baba is You.

Recursed is probably the hardest of all above games, followed by Jelly no Puzzle, Baba is You, then Stephen's Sausage Roll.
 
pswii60

pswii60

Member
Oct 27, 2017
26,673
The Milky Way
Portal 1/2
Manifold Garden
The Talos Principle
QUBE 1/2
The Sojourn
The Turing Test
Superliminal
Lightmatter
The Witness

Also Maquette coming later this year from Annapurna.
 
Last edited:
Creamium

Creamium

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,701
Belgium
After just replaying it, definitely The Witness. It shot up from my goty in 2016 to now being one of my all-time favorites. The design in that game is just out of this world. Runner-ups are The Swapper (but that's 2D), Talos Principle, Portal games and Antichamber. I don't remember much from The Turing Test, definitely not as strong as the other ones. I couldn't get into Stephen's Sausage Roll because of its brutal difficulty. There's no easing you into things there, it's just really hard right off the bat.

My Steam review I just wrote after Witness replay

I already beat The Witness at release and no game has grabbed me as much since. After replaying it I love it even more. Pretty sure I'd put this in my all-time top 5 now, it's a masterclass in game design. The game uses the unique language of the medium to teach you the rules to every puzzle. These are still the smartest 'tutorials' I've encountered and it's a disservice to label them as such. I love the variety in the riddles too, since every section on the Island you explore has its own theme and taps into a different skillset.

The tool you use to solve the puzzles is the same all the way through (drawing lines), but the mechanics and skillsets required to get there change all the time. Every area has twists and curveballs to their unique concept as well, there's no area that gets predictable. The puzzles are so good that I never wanted to resort to using a guide, it's the one way you can ruin this game. It's a mind metroidvania, as some gates or areas are locked behind 'mental upgrades' as it were, as you understand what different symbols and concepts mean.

Lighting all the lasers and finding secrets on the island doesn't get old, I had just as much fun as my original run. The sense of discovery, the satisfaction you get after finally solving a devious puzzle... I still haven't experienced that in another game since.

As a bonus this game is also a confidence booster, because one of the essential messages of the game is that you already have every skill required to beat the puzzles, everything is already inside of you. But if you do get stuck, take some distance and go somewhere else on the island.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
 
Lord Azrael

Lord Azrael

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,976
Pushmo kind of? Technically on a 2D plane but involves pulling and pushing blocks into and out of the foreground, and it's fucking amazing

Also echoing The Witness
 
joeblow

joeblow

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,930
Laker Nation
I have to answer the question in two parts...

- For 2D games in 3D, I vote for the puzzle game play of The Witness. However, I think the story elements of the game are problematic as I described here.

Honorable mention: Portal.


- For 3D games in 3D, I really, REALLY enjoyed Statik on my PSVR headset. If someone is looking for an innovative twist on the puzzle genre, check that out.

Honorable mention: I Expect You to Die.
 
Creamium

Creamium

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,701
Belgium
I forgot: since The Witness mas mentioned I had to drop a recommendation of this playthrough of it. He has a playstyle perfectly suited for the game and picks up on a lot of details. I was watching it as I was replaying the game and didn't skip a single episode. I don't watch Let's Plays often but this was my favorite since Kay Plays Dark Souls. I feel like it could be entertaining even if you never intend to play through the game yourself.
 
Nabbit

Nabbit

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,422
Feep based on the games you listed, I think you (and others ITT) would really enjoy Kyub. I tried it on Xbox Game Pass a little over a year ago and got addicted. I don't think it's there anymore but I bought it and was glad that I did. I still have a few levels to complete in the main game but it is tough as nails. There's also a hard mode and just a ton of content in the game in general. You play as the titular cube and wind your way through complex 3D puzzle courses, some require wit to determine the solution and some require quickness. There are a lot of interesting types of levels with elements like lasers, rising/falling water, and much more. I suppose it probably doesn't sound very exciting on paper but it's incredibly fun and challenging to play. Here's an example of an early level.



Apparently it's also on Switch (and Windows store). I didn't realize that. I hope more people discover it.
 

bell_hooks

Banned
Nov 23, 2019
275
Hitman series is a stealth/ puzzle mix
You have to figure out how all the pieces come toghether to assasinate someone and complete objective. You also have multiple ways of doing that.
But executing assasination is a stealth aspect and you may not necessarily like that
 

Deleted member 51539

Banned
Jan 3, 2019
3,219
The GOAT:

203637-looney-tunes-sheep-raider-playstation-front-cover.png
 

Just Great

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,994
Lode Runner 2 is woefully under the radar and kind of sort of 3D (Isometric 2D, but with verticality).
 
Stronginthearm

Stronginthearm

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,565
Ireland
Strings said:
Lol, I know it's not how you mean it, but 3D Picross :P!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Olinad said:
Ding ding ding! We have a right answer.
If you have a DS or 3DS, Picross 3D is great.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Loud Wrong said:
Picross 3D 1 and 2. Also Mole Mania.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
jesterkap2 said:
Picross 3D Round 2
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
lordy16 said:
Zack and Wiki
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Came here to say these.
 
'3y Kingdom

'3y Kingdom

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,494
No one's mentioned Riven yet?

The Witness tries (and totally fails, for all its other successes) to ape the Myst games' presentation and world-building, but no puzzle game has married these elements to puzzle-solving so seamlessly as Riven.
 
pronk

pronk

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,645
I really like Kine, it's very well made and the puzzles are quite interestingly put together. Also Stephens sausage roll.
 
JustinH

JustinH

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,399
Wow, I bought that Tron Bonne game on PSN simply because it had just become available. I don't think I've ever actually played it.

The Witness and Talos Principle were what I had in mind, but they've already been mentioned.

I've never played it, but would Captain Todd Toad fit here?
 
xyla

xyla

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,386
Germany
Another recommendation for the Witness. Didn't care too much about the story/videos but the world and the puzzles and systems are one of a kind.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.