Tetris Effect (2018)
Tetris is the mighty sovereign of puzzle video games, and this decade showed us that it is far from finished with its reign. With Tetris Effect, Tetsuya Mizuguchi and his team breathed new life into the game’s classic formula, bringing music and visuals to the fore in a zen-like experience that any puzzle fan would do wrong to miss. Tetris Effect is a great game in its own right, but the entire experience reaches fruition when played in VR. The symphony of electronic visuals and notes bursting into life around you as you place blocks and clear lines is nothing short of beautiful. Read our review, here.
Portal 2 (2011)
© Valve
Portal 2 might just be the greatest co-op game ever made. The return to Aperture Science under Glados and introduction of Stephen Merchant’s Wheatley made for a fantastic solo adventure, but it was the teamwork of P-Body and Atlus that really made Valve’s second outing in the puzzle genre.
The co-op portion got right to the point with inventive puzzles that tested both players’ heads while adding plenty of comical chances to kill each other over and over. It had all the smart challenges and humorous writing that made Portal so brilliant, and let you bring a pal along for the ride. Any chance of a few more levels, Valve?
Infinifactory (2015)
Zachtronics has made a name for itself in the world of puzzles thanks to the likes of SpaceChem, Infinifactory and Opus Magnum. Built around the satisfaction of planning, creating and improving upon a mechanical design, each could arguably score a place on this list, but it’s the 3D planning of 2015 Infinifactory that really stole our hearts.
Organizing an efficient factory of conveyor belts and components for dictatorial alien overlords has never been so much fun, especially when you compare your efforts to your friends and discover just how different their approach was. If you enjoy this, be sure to check out Zachtronics's other titles for more sandbox task refinement.
