Summary
- Puzzle games are evolving from solo play to competitive multiplayer, drawing inspiration from arcade machines focused on multiplayer experiences.
- Unique titles like ChuChu Rocket! And EXAPUNKS offer fresh takes on the genre, combining puzzle-solving with elements like hacking and programming.
- Multiplayer puzzle games like Tetris 99 and Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 add a new dimension to classic gameplay, with PvP modes that challenge players.
Puzzle games are often thought of as a solo activity, but the online community behind those games is so large that it was only a matter of time before the competitive scene made its way into the genre. In fact, while it is often considered a lonely experience, Tetris was turned into a competitive multiplayer game only a few years after its inception.
Many other staples of the genre, like Puzzle Bobble and Puyo Puyo, are direct descendants of arcade machines, which are typically focused on multiplayer. Now that multiplayer has moved to the online world and beyond the local play of living room consoles, most puzzle games are designed for just one player. But sheer numbers, together with the resilience of some classic series, make sure there is no shortage of PvP multiplayer puzzle games for all tastes.
10 ChuChu Rocket!
Metacritic Score: 84
- Platforms: Dreamcast, Game Boy
- Release Date: November 11, 1999
- Developer: Sonic Team
ChuChu Rocket! Is a competitive puzzle party game with a strong arcade feel and a unique premise. Dozens of mice per second spawn from their little hideouts and scatter throughout the map in weird but predictable patterns. Players move their color-coded cursor on the map and place arrows to direct the mice to their base and score points.
The 15 Best Dreamcast Games of All Time, Ranked
The best Dreamcast games found ways to push the hardware to its limits, not to mention the boundaries of what many thought possible at the time.
The original game from 1999 received the remake treatment in September 2019 as an Apple Arcade exclusive, only to be removed from the platform three years later, in September 2022. It’s unclear if ChuChu Rocket! Universe, the remastered game, will ever receive a full release, or if it will ever be playable again.
9 EXAPUNKS
Metacritic Score: N/A
- Platforms: PC, macOS, Linux
- Release Date: August 9, 2018
- Developer: Zachtronics
EXAPUNKS is often considered the most approachable game by Zachtronics. Most puzzle games from this developer involve automating some kind of machine, and the satisfaction found in perfecting those systems is often likened to programming, all the while never becoming too abstract, as puzzle games often do.
EXAPUNKS is a game about hacking. Players write code in a simplified programming language to move a drone to the designated spot and back. The game has a campaign, a story, and real evolving stakes. Most importantly, it has a strong PvP multiplayer mode. That said, since the game is from 2018, playing multiplayer today might require bringing a friend over.
8 5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel
Metacritic Score: N/A
- Platforms: PC, macOS, Linux
- Release Date: July 22, 2020
- Developer: Thunkspace
5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel kind of stretches the definition of a puzzle game. One thing is for sure: it’s nothing like Chess. Besides the basic piece movement, knowing how to play this classic board game will not help new players succeed. Instead, 5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel requires thinking laterally.
In normal Chess, pieces can move on the vertical and horizontal axes. In 5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel, every piece gains the ability to move on two additional axes: forward and backward in time and up and down the various alternate timelines. Arguably, this makes 5D Chess only 4D, but those are just semantics.
7 Tetris 99
Metacritic Score: 83
Tetris 99
- Released
- February 13, 2019
- Developer(s)
- Arika
- Platform(s)
- Switch
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle
Tetris 99 has often been called "Battle Royale Tetris." This name might sound wrong, but it actually fits quite well. Players are dropped into a normal match of Tetris: they can rotate their pieces before they fall, and they know in advance what pieces will be available. However, all around the central playing board is every other player, competing to be the only survivor.
The 15 Best Tetris Video Games Of All Time
Tetris is one of the most well known games ever made. There are plenty of different spins on the classic formula, and these are the best.
Tetris 99 doesn’t have a good tutorial, but that’s fine. Pretty much the only thing new players need to know is that making large combos boosts both attack and defense. Defense, in this case, means shielding from incoming gray blocks that take up the space that could go to the Tetris blocks.
6 Puyo Puyo Tetris 2
Metacritic Score: 80
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2
- Developer(s)
- Sega
- Publisher(s)
- Sega
- Platform(s)
- Xbox One, PS4, Xbox Series X, Switch, PC, Xbox One X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One S
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is exactly what it sounds like: a mix of Tetris and Puyo Puyo. The latter series, Puyo Puyo, is significantly less well known (so are most series when they're compared to Tetris), but it’s been around since the early 1990s. Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is just like the first, but it includes various PvP modes, including some more gimmicky levels to even out the playing field, even though the main attraction is still Tetris vs Puyo Puyo.
If Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 has one issue, it’s that the two games it contains aren’t always compatible. If both players are very familiar with the two games, the Tetris player often seems to have an advantage. In casual play, the second mode can be more forgiving and significantly help the Puyo Puyo player.
5 Railroad Ink Challenge
Metacritic Score: N/A
- Platforms: PC, macOS, Android
- Release Date: June 9, 2021
- Developer: Horrible Guild
Railroad Ink Challenge is a luxurious port of the roll-and-write board game of the same name. The Challenge version of the Railroad Ink series adds a few more rules to the game, making it especially fun to play solo and try to get a new record, which gives the game a ton of replayability.
Of course, Railroad Ink Challenge has various multiplayer modes, including asynchronous play. It also divides its leaderboard between daily, monthly, and all-time, making it easier to see one’s name appear near the top. While perhaps a bit silly, it’s hard to overstate how much this can encourage players to constantly improve.
4 Danghost
Metacritic Score: N/A
- Platforms: PC, macOS
- Release Date: September 27, 2023
- Developer: Umeshu Lovers
Danghost is a beautifully animated puzzle game in the vein of Tetris or Puyo Puyo. Pieces fall from the top and can be scored when they are bundled together and removed. While there are significant differences, it could be (perhaps simplistically) defined as hexagonal Tetris. Danghost also has a story though, as well as varied characters, and unlockable playable protagonists.
PvP multiplayer is where Danghost really shines. As the game’s own Steam Store page puts it, Danghost is inspired by arcade puzzlers and fighting games, and the developers seem to be especially proud of the local multiplayer mode.
3 Tricky Towers
Metacritic Score: 72
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, macOS
- Release Date: August 2, 2016
- Developer: WeirdBeard
Tricky Towers is quite literally Tetris with wonky physics, except the blocks don’t explode. But don’t worry, those imperfections are there on purpose. As a result, the game is a lot more approachable than regular Tetris. Not everyone will like those changes, as advanced tactics aren’t really possible, but as far as block-stacking party games go, Tricky Towers is one of the best.
10 Games With Fun Ragdoll Physics
Ragdoll physics might or might not be intentional. They are hilarious, regardless.
The game is extremely simple: blocks fall from the top, and players must move and rotate them to place them in the best spot possible. So far, it’s just Tetris. But the objective is not to chain-explode those blocks for a big point stack. Instead, they must be balanced: if the tower falls, it can mean a sure loss.
2 Puzzle Bobble Everybubble!
Metacritic Score: 79
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch
- Release Date: May 23, 2023
- Developer: Taito
Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! Is the newest version of the classic game series Puzzle Bobble, also known as Bust-a-Move. Just like every game in the series, players launch colored spheres toward the ceiling as weight slowly reveals more and more bubbles. Match three bubbles of the same color together to make them explode, releasing everything attached to them.
While Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! Might look approachable, the new cartoony graphics hide the same ruthless arcade puzzle game as before. A game of Puzzle Bobble can be as one-sided as a pro vs beginner Tetris match.
1 Tetris Effect: Connected
Metacritic Score: 88
Tetris Effect: Connected
- Released
- November 10, 2020
- Developer(s)
- Monstars Inc, Resonair, Stage Games
- Platform(s)
- Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle
On the one hand, Tetris Effect: Connected is just a pretty version of Tetris. On the other hand, it looks really, really good. It also comes with an optional VR mode, an award-winning soundtrack, and multiplatform multiplayer. Challenging a friend in Tetris Effect: Connected or Tetr.io couldn’t be more different, even if it’s functionally the same game.
Tetris Effect: Connected has a few different multiplayer modes, including different PvP multiplayer modes, both local and online. Unlike a lot of puzzle games similar to it, Tetris Effect: Connected has a solid community that will probably stick around for years to come. As a result, joining an online match with strangers is easy enough.
7 Best Philosophical Puzzle Games
There are plenty of puzzle games out there for gamers to try, but not all of them embrace philosophical themes. Here are the best that do.