What are the best puzzle games on PS4? It’s a big question; there are so many of the darned things that it can be hard to narrow it down. If you enjoy a game that tests your grey matter, you’re certainly well served on PS4.
Puzzle games can take a few different forms. The classic examples of puzzlers are things like Tetris Effect or Lumines Remastered — more arcade-like experiences that are all about racking up points. There are still a few of these kicking around, and they’re just as addictive and satisfying to play today.
However, puzzles aren’t always about falling blocks and matching tiles. They’re often interwoven with other genres, particularly adventure games or platformers. The result is a wide selection of games like Inside, Return of the Obra Dinn, and The Witness that incorporate puzzles into their worlds. There are some truly great examples of puzzle games on PS4, and we need your help to sort the wheat from the chaff.
All the games featured here are ranked and rated by Push Square readers like you. By finding and rating your favourite puzzle games, you will directly impact the shape of this list. Clicking the star icon next to each game will allow you to pick a rating, and you can do the same by visiting individual game pages.
The below search bar will allow you to easily locate PS4 puzzle games you want to rate:
Note: Games need a minimum of 15 individual ratings to be included in this guide. If a favourite of yours is missing from the page, odds are it just needs more ratings before it shows up.
Below is a list of the best puzzle games on PS4, as ranked and rated by the Push Square community.
Trine: Enchanted Edition is a nice visual update of a classic puzzle platformer. Featuring consistently clever challenges, jaw-droppingly gorgeous visuals, and a smart script, it’ll likely charm your pants right off. A lack of variety and slightly shonky combat certainly mars the experience, but not enough to ruin the game’s solid core mechanics.
This game hardly needs an introduction; it spread like wildfire online, and remains a beloved little experience. Untitled Goose Game is about embodying the chaotic life of an antagonistic goose, living near a quaint English village. Each location has a selection of objectives to meet, and working those all out using a wide range of interactive objects is a constant delight. It may only be a few hours long, but few games are able to keep you grinning constantly from start to finish, and this is one of them.
To celebrate Tomb Raider’s 20th anniversary, we have Lara Croft Go, an entirely different stance on the franchise. This clever game swaps out full 3D action for turn-based, strategic movement and puzzle solving. Enemies can’t be attacked from the front, and obstacles will shift around as you go, meaning you need to stay aware of your surroundings if you’re to clear each level. This is a short but sweet game that does a lot with a little.
Donut County is the name of this game’s sleepy locale, but it’s less about the place and more about raccoons than you might first think. Telling a silly story about a lazy raccoon and his friends, you play as a hole in the ground, slowly expanding each time you let something fall inside. It’s sort of like Katamari Damacy, but instead of creating giant balls of stuff, you’re wiping the surface clean by sending things into a void. It sounds mad, but it’s a surprisingly compelling little adventure.
The hype surrounding the unveiling of Peggle 2 was kind of tongue-in-cheek, but the thing is, it’s a legitimately great game. Like the first game, it’s all about sending little balls down each level, hitting pegs to score points as they fall. The unpredictable physics combine with all sorts of ways to increase your score, and the result is a potently compelling mix that’ll keep you playing for hours. The one more go effect is in full force here, and it’s incredibly satisfying when you pull off a great move.
One of EA’s first “indie” games was Unravel, a cutesy puzzle platformer that quickly became a cult hit. Unravel Two offers more of that same charm and whimsy, only this time with optional two-player co-op. The result is a lovely, straightforward game with some nifty co-op puzzles to overcome. It doesn’t offer up much of a challenge, but the sweet Yarny characters and well-rendered natural environments make this a good one to play with younger family.
One of PSVR’s first great games is Moss. Utilising virtual reality to great effect, you control the titular mouse in the traditional way, but it’s all framed from your perspective, looking down at the tiny kingdom she’s traversing. It’s a beautifully animated game that combines light combat with solid puzzles, the result being a really charming, if short, platformer.
Tarsier Studios, using its experience making LittleBigPlanet Vita, returns with something much more sinister. Little Nightmares might share some of that physics-driven platforming DNA with Sackboy, but tonally it’s the other side of the spectrum. This is a creepy, atmospheric, horror-tinged puzzle platformer about a child trapped in a strange facility. Escaping will mean solving some intense puzzles and outrunning some horrible nasties.
It’s hard to be original these days, but along comes Superhot with a genius twist on the first person shooter. Time only moves when you do in this clever indie game, meaning you can dodge bullets and land some crazy kills in slow-mo. It plays out almost like a puzzle game as you plan your movements and anticipate your enemies. Don’t let the simplistic visual style fool you, this is one of the most creative shooters on PS4.
Announced alongside the PS4 itself, Jonathan Blow’s latest head-scratching puzzler is a modern classic. The Witness plops you down on a mysterious island dotted with hundreds of panels, each with a grid-based conundrum for you to solve. The non-linear design means you’re free to tackle them in any order, but the real genius of the game is the way it subliminally teaches you its unique language. Masterfully designed, gorgeous, and totally original, this isn’t just one of PS4’s best indies, it’s one of its best games full stop.
