Best Puzzle Game of 2023 - Article

by Lee Mehr , posted on 10 January 2024 / 6,558 Views

2023 was a stupid year for smart puzzle games. While 2022's final voting round presented more options, thus implying a wider net of favorite puzzle games from the community, I'd argue those didn't consistently reach the sheer quality seen in 2023. That's not to take away from those finalists' superlative achievements either; hell, making engaging brainteasers is hard enough on its own. But it really says something when even some choices that didn't make this list could still go on to be considered "classics" in due time. So, it says something impressive about the final four that did.

The Shortlist:

The Talos Principle 2

Cocoon

Humanity

Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy

The Runner-Up:

Humanity

Who knew the heralded return of Lemmings would come from The Spirit of Doge? While 2023 had no shortage of visually splendid titles, such as Alan Wake II, Final Fantasy XVI, and more, one of the year's most visually satisfying sights was successfully processing thousands of human drones to their destination. Something about a mass procession following your orders in unison never felt old, thanks in large part to smart puzzle-crafting and wildly fun shifts in design. And despite spoiling with its beefy campaign that touches on the idea of human existence, untold hours can be spent enjoying or sharing player-made levels too.

The Winner:

Cocoon

In a year of puzzlers with impressive amounts of volume, in standard runtime and/or secondary extras, Cocoon ranks far more modestly by comparison. Sure, there are some supplementary trinkets off the beaten path, but roughly 90% of all its 'content' lies on the golden path; anyone who's completed it has more or less experienced the same thing. It's also one of the most limiting in mechanical flexibility; your only controls are the directional control stick and pressing or holding the interact button (depending on the appropriate context). What nets Geometric Interactive the top prize is how every instance builds upon the game's recursive worlds-within-worlds concept, constantly presenting new tricks and wonderful new vistas all the while.

Cocoon is a stellar achievement for a studio's debut title.

5 Comments

coolbeans (on 10 January 2024)

Personal snubs:

-Chants of Sennaar
-Viewfinder

Another potentially fantastic release that flew under everyone's radar:

-Can of Wormholes

It'd be unfair to say if any of these games ought to be swapped (haven't played Trine 5 nor TP II yet), but it would be cool to see more slots for the special occasions with stacked years. I'm willing to go so far as to say Best Puzzle 2023 directly competes with Best Action/Adventure 2023 for consistent quality. Just absurdly filled lineups.

UnderwaterFunktown (on 10 January 2024)

I've yet to play winner or runner-up but for now The Talos Principle 2 is the best puzzle game I've played in damn near a decade

coolbeans UnderwaterFunktown (on 10 January 2024)

I'm excited to get into that one as well. Talos Principle II was putting up a great fight though. As Machina detailed in the GOTY thread, each of these top 4 secured close to or above 20% of the total vote.