Steam is having a sale on puzzle games!
Figured I would recommend a few of my favorites for you all.
1: Riven
Technically, the second Myst game, but perfectly playable on its own. This is my favorite game of all time. You will not regret playing it, and once you do, it may or may not haunt you for the rest of your life.
The plot: An imperialist megalomaniac has imprisoned the reluctant leader of the indigenous rebellion against him. Your job is to free her. Oh, and also, the planet is destabilizing around you and your foe has created a godlike cult around himself as the world's "creator"...
The gameplay: Some of the most seamless and immersive puzzling you'll ever do. Environmental storytelling mastery. Riven has puzzles but doesn't feel like solving puzzles. They are naturally integrated into the world. One highlight involves learning a whole new numeral system.
2: Myst
The one, the only, the OG. Myst basically created an entire genre of "Myst-likes" and is very famous for a reason. This is its most recent version, upgraded for modern computers with some new content.
The plot: You, the Stranger, have picked up a mysterious book in the deserts of mid-19th-C. New Mexico and been transported to a strange island. As you explore, you uncover a family drama involving torture, murder, colonialism, true love, and rebellion. ... I'm sorry, wait, did you think Myst was just about "being alone on an island"?
(I'm only half-joking. I'm so tired of the news cycle making jokes about Myst 'not having a plot' when TV show rumors happen. Tell me you never got past the opening of the game without-- OK moving on.)
The gameplay: I accidentally skipped this in my first draft because Myst's gameplay is so iconic. It's a click and point adventure game where you solve environmental puzzles. Much of the gameplay comes from reading. It is more "puzzle-y" than Riven, but still environmental.
3: Chants of Senaar
Another 'favorite games of all time' experience I am yearning to replicate. It has almost everything going for it: great Moebius-style art, intriguing gameplay and worldbuilding, and THE BEST ENDING OF ALL TIME. SERIOUSLY. I CANNOT SAY MORE WITHOUT SPOILING.
The plot: Certain elements of the plot are hard to talk about without spoiling the experience, but essentially, this game is about the Tower of Babel. Every level of the tower is its own insular society, speaking their own language, and your goal is to get everyone communicating again.
The gameplay: You have a journal in which to match the words you learn with images of their meanings. As you figure out more words, you will be able to have better conversations, read more signs, and solve more puzzles. There are also a few stealth puzzles that are very fun!
If you like this gameplay, Heaven's Vault is similar, but since I have yet to finish that game, I can't give it a full review yet. Still, check it out!
4: Monument Valley / Two / Three
I played this series during one of the worst times of my life, and I can honestly say that it saved my life. It means a lot to me. That said... It is a very abstract little game, and your mileage will probably vary.
The plot: The people of Monument Valley have mastered the Art and Science of sacred geometry. Themes revolve around forgiving yourself, coming of age, letting go, and learning to stand alone with confidence. And, uh, being closer to God and nature maybe? But that's my read. Yours might be different! Like I said, it's a very abstract little game.
The gameplay: You move your little people through nonlinear spaces, manipulating those spaces in nonlinear ways. Rotate buildings, walk up and down walls, push and pull parts of the world, and marvel at the results. These tiny little worlds fascinate me so, so much.
If you like the art style and vibes, especially in II, I recommend Knytt Stories, a freeware platformer with an open source community.
5: URU: Complete Chronicles / Myst Online: Uru Live
Uru's an odd thing. Part of me wants to say 'Don't play this unless you've played through Myst I-IV' except that, right, OK... I played Uru for a surprising amount of time before realizing it was a Myst game. So it may actually be a fine entry point just on its own. I recommend playing the offline game (URU:CC) first, then MOULa second for the last few ages. The story is easier to understand this way.
The plot: Centuries after the initial Myst games, people are called to the New Mexico desert to take part in the excavation and reawakening of an underground city which once held an Empire. You are tasked by a time-traveling fallen messiah-figure with bringing light to its dark and shameful secrets and freeing the interdimensional space bugs whose backs it was built on. Myst lore is weird, I won't pretend otherwise.
The gameplay: Like all Myst games, the puzzling is well-integrated into the worlds, story, and evironment. Unlike other Myst games, it is a third person entry and--in MOULa's case--online and cooperative. URU:CC has the nice addition of an in-game journal and photo imager so you don't need to keep pen and paper at your desk while you play.
6: ABZU
If you've never heard of ABZU, you might be living under a rock. But that's okay! Because I'm going to lift up that rock and free you. The game design is tear-inducingly beautiful at all times. I love it so much.
The plot: You are a robotic diver, seemingly the last trace of civilization in an underwater world. You work to restore the oceans, help your fishy friends, and come up against the mechanized pollution poisoning the seas. Along the way, you gradually learn more about your own past.
The gameplay: ABZU's gameplay is pretty simple. You swim around, you pet fish, you avoid obstacles, and you occasionally push and pull things to unlock doors to the next level. Don't let that simplicity turn you off of playing it! The levels use these simple tools very creatively.
7: The Witness
This is the only Myst-alike that I think really deserves the name. I've played a lot of Myst-alikes, and this on does it best. It has a colorful art style that (if you've made it this far in the list you can see) I enjoy a lot.
The plot: I'm going to be honest, I don't... understand the plot... So I did an online search and discovered that everyone else is also confused. Ideas range from "it's about the impermanence of history" to "there was a cult on an island" to "it's a simulation of the human experience," and if that diversity is not an endorsement of this game IDK what is.
The gameplay: The Witness has a really simple single mechanic: you are playing 'connect the line' tile shift puzzles. However, it does this in so many different creative ways that it feels like solving many different kinds of puzzles, including on macro (power lines, bridges) and micro (screens, mirrors) levels. It does some very, very cool things with scale.
8: The Longest Journey
First of the Dreamfall / Longest Journey series (I'm honestly not sure what we're calling the entire series) but deserves its own entry. Kind of like Myst, I feel like this doesn't need an introduction to genre fans, but might if you're not familiar with it. This thing broke ground.
The plot: April Ryan is able to cross between worlds. In her 'mundane' life, she lives in a lightly cyberpunk/solarpunk-ish urban environment, where she deals with mundane problems like roommate drama and the artist's creative struggle. But there's also a magical, natural world, and these two worlds will become increasingly entwined over the series.
Gameplay: Another point-and-click adventure, but this time you have a little person walking around. It has some variety that genre fans will expect: picking up items, talking to people, puzzles which involve using inventory items, etc. One stand-out feature is just how many things in the game can be examined, more like a text game than a 3D one.
If you like it, it's part of a whole series including Dreamfall: The Longest Journey and Dreamfall Chapters. The series is super notable for the fact that once you play it, you will not be able to unsee its influence like... everywhere. Its silent fingerprints are messy.
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There are lots and lots of games I'm leaving out! But this list was getting long. Go check out the Steam Sale while it's still on!
