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Mind-bending puzzles and match-3 adventures
Another Sokoban, great. My expectations were buried under a mountain of forgotten puzzle games, but Sassybot, you almost, almost, made me crack a smile.
Another 'critically acclaimed' indie game lands on my desk, and frankly, my expectations were scraping the bottom of the barrel, as usual. But then I actually played Chants of Sennaar, and for once, I was mildly surprised.
Just when I thought indie puzzle games had settled into a comfortable, brain-dead stupor, Snakebird waddles along to remind me that genuine challenge still exists. Unfortunately for my blood pressure, it's genuinely good.
I sat down to roast another mobile block puzzle and walked away three hours later with a sore thumb and zero regrets. HyperBlocks is the real deal.
Honestly, another Sudoku clone, but with hexagons? My eyes rolled so hard they almost detached. But then I sat down with Hexologic, and... well, it's not awful.
Dear Draknek & Friends, I came here to scoff at your tree-pushing antics, but then something strange happened. I actually, grudgingly, enjoyed myself. Don't let it go to your heads.
Dear Patrick Traynor, your game is a clever little torment. It's the kind of puzzle that makes me wish I was still 12 and had unlimited brain cells to burn, but even then, it would have been a headache.
Look, I hate admitting it, but Color Gray Games actually made something worth playing. Yes, *I* said it. Get over it.
Another day, another indie puzzle game begging for my attention. 'Family' promises detective work in musical genealogy, which sounds either brilliant or like homework. Guess which way I'm leaning?
Dear Spicaze, I've played approximately 47,000 RPG Maker horror-puzzle games in my lifetime, and yours managed to keep me awake through the entire 90-minute runtime. That's either a compliment to you or an indictment of my life choices.
Someone made a Bejeweled 3 mod that adds more blue. That's it. That's the whole game. I spent twenty minutes with this and now you're going to read about it.
I've played enough 'game collections' to know they're usually filler masquerading as value. CorgiSpace is different—Adam Saltsman crammed a year's worth of legitimately clever ideas into bite-sized experiences, and I'm annoyed at how much I enjoyed it.
I've played hundreds of solo TTRPGs that promise 'quick play' and deliver three hours of dice rolling misery. Caltrop Kaiju delivers on its ten-minute promise while somehow not feeling shallow. I'm as surprised as you are.
I don't review Scratch games. I have standards. But Shifty Sam—a four-day game jam entry with a mustache-sporting protagonist—somehow earned my begrudging respect. Mostly because it's free and I can't complain about the price.
I've played approximately seven thousand cat-themed indie games at this point, and I was ready to dismiss this one before I even clicked. But Team Bean Loop made something here that actually works, and now I'm sitting here like some kind of fool, charmed by a game jam project.
Levi Kornelsen's Sokoban Dragon is exactly what it says on the tin: Sokoban puzzles with a dragon sprite. If you've played literally any block-pushing game in the last 40 years, congratulations—you've already played this one.
I sat down expecting another generic tile puzzler. An hour later, I was still here, voluntarily watching water drain through hexagons. I don't know who I am anymore.
I've played approximately seven thousand puzzle games where the 'twist' is just moving blocks in a slightly different direction. Sizeable's object-resizing mechanic actually made me look up from my second monitor, which is the highest praise I can offer in 2024.
I've played enough 'mind-bending' puzzle games to know most are just corridors with portals. Fragments of Euclid is different—it's 45 minutes of genuine spatial confusion that reminded me why I fell in love with first-person puzzlers back when Myst didn't hold your hand.
Someone looked at Tetris and Minesweeper—two perfectly good ways to waste time at work—and thought, 'What if we made this significantly more stressful?' I hate that it actually works.
I've played detective in hundreds of games, but this is the first time I've been forced to roleplay as the poor IT guy who has to reset Karen from Accounting's password because she used her cat's name again. Spoiler: it's not as thrilling as it sounds.
I came for puzzles, stayed because a dead dog made me confront my own mortality. This free browser game weaponizes grief in ways I wasn't prepared for at 2 PM on a Tuesday.
David King Made Some Games took the roll-and-write genre, threw dice out the window, and gave us cards instead. I sat down expecting another forgettable puzzle game and ended up actually finishing my islands. Twice.
I've played approximately 847 'atmospheric puzzle games' this month, and most of them mistake 'ambient soundtrack' for 'having a personality.' Runic doesn't reinvent anything, but at least it knows what it is and doesn't waste my time pretending otherwise.
I went into ElecHead expecting another forgettable pixel-art puzzler to add to the pile. What I got was a genuinely clever game that forced me to use my brain instead of my reflexes, and I'm still not sure how I feel about that.
I never thought I'd boot up my Spectrum Next for a word puzzle game in 2025, but here we are. The Scholar is exactly what it says on the tin: timed anagrams with retro charm, and I'm annoyed that I actually enjoyed it.
Make New Way isn't actually a game you can play—it's a Unity project you're supposed to build yourself. I paid a dollar to do someone else's job, and I'm still annoyed about it three days later.
I've played approximately ten thousand typing games that think 'challenging' means 'inducing stress fractures in my fingers.' This one had the audacity to be calm about it, and honestly, I'm annoyed at how much I didn't hate it.
I've spent decades perfecting the art of Tetris, and now some developer thinks they can turn the anxiety of real-world packing into entertainment. Spoiler: They tried, and it's about as thrilling as folding laundry.
I've played enough 'cozy pixel art puzzle games' to last three lifetimes, but Raide somehow managed to keep me clicking for two hours straight. It's just train tracks. How did this happen.
I've played enough hidden object games to fill a landfill, and most of them feel like busy work designed by committee. Nippets, with its hand-drawn charm and window-opening gimmick, actually made me forget I was supposed to be grumpy for about twenty minutes.
I've played approximately 47,000 'short RPG horror' games on itch.io, and most make me want to uninstall my browser. Project Kat? I actually finished it. Twice. Don't make a big deal out of this.
I went into this expecting another amateur RPG Maker horror game with jump scares and obtuse puzzles. What I got was a surprisingly competent mystery that knows when to shut up and let me think—a dying art in modern indie games.
I sat down expecting another pretentious 'type commands to feel smart' indie game, but Type Help actually made me think. Fine, William Rous, you win this round—your text-based detective work is the most engaged I've been with a mystery game since I had actual patience.
ComputerJames made a stealth game where you solve crossword puzzles instead of sneaking past guards, and somehow this six-minute experiment works better than most indie games I've suffered through this month. I'm as surprised as you are.
I downloaded this expecting another cheap jumpscare fest masquerading as 'psychological horror.' What I got instead was a genuinely unsettling dig through someone's digital ghost—and I'm annoyed that I have to admit it's good.
I went in expecting another forgettable puzzle platformer. I came out having experienced a seven-minute emotional gut-punch about dementia, delivered through the lens of a rat mom. Free. Made in a week. What is happening to my standards?
Another day, another block puzzle game that thinks drag-and-drop is a personality. I've played this exact game approximately 847 times, but sure, let's do it again.
Voyager Games throws you into a Saturn space station with a rogue AI, a voxel aesthetic I didn't ask for, and enough atmosphere to make me actually care about escaping. It's free, which explains everything and somehow excuses nothing.
I downloaded this expecting another lazy "waifu bait" puzzle game. Instead, I got sharp-suited demon girls, brutally fair Sokoban mechanics, and a 45-minute experience that respects my time more than most $60 AAA games. I hate that I loved it.
I've played enough browser-based escape rooms to know they're usually lazy point-and-click exercises with nonsensical puzzles. TRACE? It actually made me reach for the in-game notepad. I'm still processing my feelings about that.
I've spent two decades wandering yellow hallways in games, and AlgebraFalcon wants me to do it again—this time with a floating head spouting nonsense about monster trucks. At least the spirits need help, which is more than I can say for my sanity.
I spent six hours on a free itch.io game about filling in a family tree. At 2 AM, I was cross-referencing wedding photos with obituaries. This is either a brilliant detective puzzle or I need better hobbies.
I've spent decades watching indie devs slap "roguelike" on everything with a pulse. Then Daniel Benmergui made Minesweeper interesting again, and now I'm angry it took this long for someone to do it right.
I've reviewed approximately 8,000 match-3 games at this point (slight exaggeration, but it feels accurate), and HyperHollow Games just handed me another one. This time with dinosaurs AND robots, because why choose one tired theme when you can have six?
After twenty years of pushing blocks around puzzle games, I thought I'd seen it all. Then Baba Is You showed up and made me feel like I'd been playing with crayons this whole time while everyone else had actual tools.
