The Best Xbox Puzzle Games You Should Be Playing Right Now
Summary
- Puzzle games provide a rewarding experience, and there are quite a few available for Xbox console owners.
- For instance, Cocoon offers a unique concept of a recursive world, where you use orbs to navigate different maps, making for challenging yet manageable gameplay.
- Superliminal and We Were Here are also great puzzle games, the former requiring thinking outside the box and the latter offering a cooperative experience for two players.
Complexity doesn't have to require hundreds of hours within a game. Beautiful visuals don't have to mean the latest graphics engine with the largest development team. And engaging gameplay doesn't necessitate online multiplayer with constant updates. Sometimes, you can get all of that in a smaller package that still packs a punch.
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PostsPuzzle games exist that meet all of those criteria, and they're a blast to play. Xbox currently has access to some of the best puzzle games in the genre. Our favorites are ones that you can easily pick up but can only put down with difficulty.
Updated May 15, 2025, by Ben Jessey: There are a bunch of excellent puzzle games on Xbox consoles, and we made this list of the best ones. Now, with the release of Blue Prince, we've got another incredible one to add to the collection. We've added it and another gem in this update.
Blue Prince
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Puzzle Adventure Exploration Strategy Systems 9.3/10 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 90/100 Critics Rec: 95% Released April 10, 2025 ESRB E For Everyone // Alcohol Reference Developer(s) Dogubomb Publisher(s) Raw Fury Engine UnityWHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONIn Blue Prince, the goal is to find the 46th room of a mansion. That is harder than it sounds, as the building has an ever-changing layout, partially dictated by you. Every time you open a door, you get a choice of what room appears on the other side. The rooms contain different things to find and occasionally puzzles to solve. These will help you figure out how to reach the 46th room and give you more details about the backstory behind everything.
There is a certain number of doors you can open in one run. Once you've reached that limit, you then start again using what you learned previously. The whole premise is unique and fascinating.
Call Of The Sea
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Puzzle Systems OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 77/100 Critics Rec: 68% Released December 8, 2020 ESRB T For Teen due to Blood, Use of Tobacco, Violence Developer(s) Out of the Blue Publisher(s) Raw Fury Engine Unreal Engine 4WHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONYou're taken back to the 1930s in Call of the Sea and put into the shoes of a woman named Norah. She ventures to a South Pacific island to find her missing husband. The Island is beautiful to look at as the scenery is bright and vibrant.
However, you can't spend all your time there appreciating your surroundings. You have a husband to save. This means exploring the place and solving the litany of puzzles that you encounter. There are various different types of puzzles, which help keep the experience fresh throughout.
Split Fiction
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Action Adventure Sci-Fi Fantasy Systems 4.0/5 8.4/10 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 90/100 Critics Rec: 97% Released March 6, 2025 ESRB T For Teen // Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Language, Violence Developer(s) Hazelight Studios Publisher(s) Electronic Arts Engine Unreal Engine 5WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALSplit Fiction is a combination of several different genres, including puzzle games. After all, you have to solve plenty of puzzles during the adventure. You don't do so alone, as this is an enforced co-op experience. One player controls Mio, while the other plays as Zoe.
Both of the characters are struggling writers who attempt to work for a big publisher. Yet, that publisher attempts to stick them in a special machine and steal their ideas. The protagonists end up in the same one and have to play out different stories they've written. This means a varied selection of levels, each with slightly different gameplay mechanics.
The Case Of The Golden Idol
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Puzzle Systems OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 88/100 Critics Rec: 97% Released October 13, 2022 ESRB T For Teen Due To Blood, Violence, Use of Alcohol, Sexual Themes, Partial Nudity Developer(s) Color Gray Games Publisher(s) Playstack Engine godot, proprietary engineWHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONIn The Case of the Golden Idol, you're a detective who has to solve a series of murders. This means looking for clues and piecing things together. The game doesn't hold your hand, so it really feels like it's up to you to solve the murders.
The gameplay largely consists of clicking through menus and crime scenes. Therefore, your reactions and video game skills aren't being tested in this one, but your brain is. It's a clever and in-depth game that also boasts a beautiful art style.
The Pedestrian
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Indie Puzzle Systems 4.5/5 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 79/100 Critics Rec: 90% Released January 29, 2020 ESRB E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood Developer(s) Skookum Arts Publisher(s) Skookum Arts Engine UnityWHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALIn The Pedestrian, you play as a little stick man, not dissimilar to those that you see on road signs. As them, you must make your way through levels resembling signs. Within these signs are a bunch of hazards that you have to get past to reach the end. Sometimes, this requires moving signs around so you can cross from one to another.
The actual puzzle is in 2D, but the background is 3D. This creates a unique visual, which helps establish that the puzzles are meant to be road signs. It makes The Pedestrian stand out among others in the genre.
Return To Monkey Island
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Adventure Systems 4.5/5 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 87/100 Critics Rec: 97% Released September 19, 2022 ESRB E10+ For Everyone 10+ // Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language Developer(s) Terrible Toybox Publisher(s) Devolver Digital, Lucasfilm Games Engine DinkyWHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONReturn to Monkey Island is not only a love letter to the early Monkey Island games but also a tribute to old-school point-and-click adventure games in general.
One way it pays tribute is by including a bunch of puzzles. In fact, much of the game is one big puzzle, as you continually have to figure out how to proceed forward by doing the right thing or making the right choice. Much of this involves finding and combining the right items. It really tests your brain power at times.
Donut County
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Puzzle Systems OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 76/100 Critics Rec: 63% Released August 28, 2018 ESRB E For Everyone // Mild Fantasy Violence, Comic Mischief Developer(s) Ben Esposito Publisher(s) Annapurna Interactive Engine UnityWHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONDonut Country has a bit of a wild premise, as you play as a raccoon who’s able to control a hole in the ground. You use this hole to suck up everything in sight.
Figuring out how to get everything in the ever-expanding hole in the ground is the game’s main goal. It isn’t a challenging puzzle title, but it is very charming. Plus, the sight of things dropping into the hole is incredibly satisfying and remains that way throughout the whole adventure. What’s more, there is a neat little story to the game, too.
Moving Out 2
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Simulation Systems OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 81/100 Critics Rec: 88% Released August 15, 2023 ESRB E For Everyone due to Crude Humor Developer(s) SMG Studio, Devm Games Publisher(s) Team17 Engine Unity Multiplayer Local Co-Op, Online Co-OpWHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONMoving Out 2 contains elements of multiple genres, including puzzle, strategy, and simulation. It's also a cooperative game, as you can team up with others to move items out of a building to a designated location. Along the way, you have to dodge all sorts of obstacles and deal with the game's intentionally wacky physics.
It's a puzzle game because you have to always think of the most optimal way to remove things from the house. After all, you're encouraged to complete levels quickly, which is much easier if you take the right route.
Tetris Effect: Connected
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Puzzle Systems OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 89/100 Critics Rec: 95% Released November 10, 2020 ESRB E For Everyone Developer(s) Monstars Inc, Resonair, Stage Games Publisher(s) Enhance Engine unreal engine 5, unreal engine 4 Multiplayer Online MultiplayerWHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONTetris is one of the classic puzzle games that pre-dates even the original Xbox. Yet, there are newer versions of the game, including Tetris Effect: Connected. At its core, it's the classic Tetris game where you have to place blocks in the correct positions to fill out rows.
Along with it, though, there is a heart-pumping soundtrack and psychedelic visuals. The original Tetris distatic.aayyy.com/topic/dn/'t have those things. It also distatic.aayyy.com/topic/dn/'t have a multiplayer mode like Connected does. This means you can play different versions of Tetris with or against your buddies.
The Talos Principle 2
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Puzzle Adventure Systems OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 89/100 Critics Rec: 99% Released November 2, 2023 ESRB t Developer(s) Croteam Publisher(s) Croteam Engine Unreal Engine 5WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALLike the first game, The Talos Principle 2 mixes exciting puzzles with a psychological story. That story follows your character, 1K, who is the 1000th robot made in the game's fictional futuristic city. Early in the title, you go on an expedition to a place filled with puzzles.
These puzzles generally involve things like lasers, portals, and different items. There aren't an outrageous amount of mechanics in the game, but the puzzles are still complex and will test your brain power. As such, they feel very satisfying to complete, which is always a great thing for a puzzle title.
