Most of the best PS5 games include puzzle elements, but they aren’t typically the main focus. These usually amount to a simple logic or physics obstacle used to break up the pacing and not actually cause you to sit and think for a few minutes to solve. Those of us who love a good head-scratcher are forced to find games where puzzle solving is the focus, and thankfully the PS5 has some of the most creative and challenging puzzle games ever made. These games play with space, language, perspective, and logic in ways that will force you to really flex your brain muscles to solve. In many ways, puzzle games are among the hardest video games ever made, but overcoming them comes down to pure intelligence rather than skill. If you need a new mental challenge, here are the best puzzle games on PS5.
If you have already managed to outsmart all of our picks, check to see what new puzzle games are coming in our list of upcoming PS5 games.
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Outer Wilds
91%
Platforms
Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Puzzle, Simulator, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Mobius Digital
Publisher
Annapurna Interactive
Release
May 28, 2019
There is a lot of exploration and some janky ship piloting involved in Outer Wilds, but that is all included to make the puzzle-solving feel more organic. Without spoiling too much, you need to visit various planets within a solar system to find clues and information that inform where you need to be, when, and what to do when you’re there to unlock more pieces of information. All your progress comes from learning and putting pieces together without a single upgrade or new item unlocking anything for you. You’re free to go in whatever direction you want, meaning the path to the solution for you can look completely different from someone else. There’s always at least one thread to tug on and the sense of revelation you get when figuring something out for yourself is euphoric.
The Witness
83%
Platforms
PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Mac, Xbox One
Genre
Puzzle, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Thekla, Inc
Publisher
Thekla, Inc
Release
January 26, 2016
Before you play The Witness, make sure you buy a notebook and some pens or pencils because you will be obsessively drawing line puzzles for the next few days. A lot like Outer Worlds, The Witness does not directly tell you anything. Instead, you will learn the rules of these line puzzles by doing them and figuring out the rules for yourself. Once things click, you will start to see the entire world a little differently. Most puzzles are presented on panels, but there are some that require you to apply the same logic to the world itself. The game is open so you can branch off and follow different paths as long as you are able to solve the puzzles. If not, you can try a different path that uses slightly different rules or mechanics.
Cocoon
84%
Platforms
Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Puzzle, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Geometric Interactive
Publisher
Annapurna Interactive
Release
September 29, 2023
Only a video game could properly present puzzles in the way Cocoon does. You play as a little insect creature who can dive into various orbs that contain worlds to solve puzzles or carry and use them as abilities once unlocked to solve more puzzles. Things start to fry your brain a bit once you start bringing one orb inside of others and then hop between multiple planes. It only has this one real gimmick, but Cocoon explores it fully before wrapping up in just a few hours. Once you can wrap your mind around the systems and how they fit together with the puzzles, it becomes a joy to flow through the game’s challenges.
Chants of Sennaar
91%
Platforms
Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Point-and-click, Puzzle, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Rundisc
Publisher
Focus Entertainment
Release
September 05, 2023
Puzzle games are usually about understanding the rules of a situation, decoding some rules, or thinking laterally with space, but hardly ever ask you to learn a new language. Chants of Sennaar is focused almost entirely on decoding a fictional language over time. You play as a character who navigates between several levels filled with people who each speak their own language. You need to use context clues and accompanying illustrations to figure out what different words mean and write in the correct definition to slowly piece together that language. The game will eventually test you on various words so that you know if you’re on the right track or not, so don’t worry about going completely off the rails.
The Rise of the Golden Idol
72%
Platforms
Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, PlayStation 5, Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Point-and-click, Puzzle, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Color Gray Games
Publisher
Netflix, Playstack
Release
November 12, 2024
Detective work is the perfect backdrop for puzzle games, but there’s always the struggle of making things either too easy or too difficult depending on the mechanics. The Rise of the Golden Idol nails the feeling of feeling like a situation is unsolvable at first, but lets you reach a breakthrough moment as you explore and start to make a timeline of events. There are several different levels where you need to figure out the who, what, and why by walking through the environment where it all took place frozen in time. Unlike the first game, which is still worth playing, this sequel also has a larger plot connecting all the individual cases to give a more cohesive feeling to the game.
Manifold Garden
75%
Platforms
Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, PlayStation 5, Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Puzzle, Adventure, Indie
Developer
William Chyr Studio
Publisher
William Chyr Studio
Release
October 18, 2019
Originally a PC and mobile game, Manifold Garden is right at home on the PS5. You are placed into a world ripped right out of an M. C. Esher painting where you have the ability to alter gravity to walk on any surface. It requires you to look at levels and geometry in a way that only works in a video game to navigate. Because of how it plays with perspective and orientation you will need to rewire your natural sensibilities a bit. Once you do, you will feel ingenious when you manage to see the path that was always right in front of you.
Patrick's Parabox
87%
Platforms
Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Mac, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Puzzle, Strategy, Adventure, Indie, Arcade
Developer
Patrick Traynor
Publisher
Patrick Traynor
Release
March 29, 2022
Patrick’s Parabox is probably the most simple puzzle game on our list in terms of mechanics and goals. You are a little cube that needs to push other cubes into the correct places within a maze. Where things get interesting is not just that you need to move yourself and the box in such a way that you don’t get stuck and need to restart, but that there are also other cubes that contain smaller segments of levels that you can move and enter to create different paths one layer within the overall level. It sounds complicated written out, but makes perfect sense in action. With 364 levels, this is a great one if you want a puzzle game you can chip away at for weeks or months.
