We Need More Easy Puzzle Games! 

working on it bro

actually we need more snoman gaming videos

An experience that a huge number of school children have is that early in life they internalise the limiting thought "I am not good at sports", "I have a bad memory" and most common of all "I am not good at mathematics" and this sticks with them their entire lives, and the latter in particular means anytime maths comes up in their lives their brain immediately consigns it to the too hard basket. I think this also happens with puzzles, the problem is less whether you can or can't solve them, but that at some point you start to self-identify as someone who is bad at solving puzzles, and thus don't engage with them, you become puzzle-phobic. I'm glad you had this experience with a "gateway" puzzle game as there is a lot of joy in a good puzzle game, but without developing that problem-solving skillset they won't be very enjoyable. I think a big part of why puzzle games can seem inaccessible is that puzzle solving is a generic skill that allows you to teach yourself to play puzzle games with very little guidance. The puzzle game genre however is very for enthusiast by enthusiast, and as such it's reputation for not being approachable is arguably deserved, it is somewhat reminiscent of fighting games where there are all these fundamental skills but almost no fighting games actually teach you these skills directly, they just expect you to pick them up. But it is a skill anyone can learn, and I'd say the biggest hurdle is that internal limiting belief that you are "bad at puzzles".

Give yourself some credit, if you’re getting far in Isles of Sea and Sky, then your brain has leveled up! I would definitely add Patrick’s Parabox to this list, as it’s surprisingly good at teaching its concepts, despite how intimidating they seem.

Cocoon was such a pleasant surprise for me. I was really intimidated to start it since I thought I'd end up needing to hold like 4 different metroidvanias in my head. But it was actually just a linear, smooth, and enjoyable ride from start to finish. I really liked the way it blocked you from back-tracking with various one-way paths, so it's always clear what areas are relevant to the current puzzle or not. The first time it closed a door behind me and prevented me from getting back to an orb I placed, I thought I had just messed up, but once I understood it was just the game's way of telling me that I wouldn't need that orb for the next puzzle, everything went smoothly.

I do understand what you mean and it's probably great advice to draw in a more general audience, but if you are making a puzzle game you should also think about appealing to the niche puzzle community. I think a good compromise is making the main game easy, but having a harder set of optional puzzles for those who really want to sink their teeth deep into the game and its mechanics.

Baba is you is probably the best puzzle game I've ever played. Nothing so far has topped that. It constantly broke my brain on how deep a game kept going I've never had so many WTF moments in a puzzle game. My next favorite puzzler this year is a game called Ugly. I feel like this puzzle platformer flew under the radar but it is outstanding and also has a great story. Honorable mentions: Can of Wormholes and Patrick's Parabox

I think "A Monster's Expedition" is a truly superlative puzzle game because it can be easy OR difficult, depending on your playstyle. If you're just trying to beat the game, then the main path isn't that difficult. However, the game also has a lot of much harder optional puzzles for players who really want a challenge.

Babe, wake up! Snoman uploaded!

Good to have you back, Snoman. You have one of the best gaming channels on RU-vid.

"Working backwards from the solution" is my favourite part of puzzles. I enjoy playing small puzzle games on my phone and identifying the win condition and how to get there feels very rewarding.

1:03 Dang that 140 speedrun footage, displaying mad skills at the dream crusher! 💜 Sorry again for snatching that record away from you - it has been out of my hands for a while as well!

The return! Also, Isles of Sea & Sky is my game of the year until now. It's a 10 out of 10. Just recently 100%-ed it yesterday. It was FANTASTIC! Three years of waiting were super worth it.

I feel like animal well was another good example of this sort of thing for me. I also struggle a lot with puzzle games but the way animal well marries metoridvania exploration and drip feeding new items for puzzles made me unable to put it down even when the game got to the more difficult stuff with collecting all the eggs. Everything felt achievable for me. (Until you get to the post game secrets but those are cool in their own way)

A puzzle in essence is: 1. THE WHAT: a goal to obtain. 2. THE HOW(process): an invitation from developer for player to experience certain something that the dev felt to be interesting (see/interact/explore a certain mechanic) - at the end of this you are rewarded with a piece towards a goal, or maybe arrive to the goal itself.

Isles of Sea and Sky is probably my puzzle game of the year. I saw Aliensrock's video titled "I waited 2 years for this game" and immediately went to buy it (as I blindly trust him to know what a good puzzle game is). The many resulting hours of playing this game delivered super high-quality and very rewarding puzzles, fun progression and backtracking, and did I already mention how good the puzzles are? Truly a gem! Not something I would consider an easy puzzle game though, so props for pushing through!

Randomly played Cocoon because it was on PC gamepass and it ended up being one of my favourite puzzle games. Overall I think its the perfect length for people who play a lot of games and maybe have a huge backlog of games that they already own. The game ended just before it would have gotten tedious. Props to the developer(s) for making something so great.

Cocoon was a bit unique compared to the other two games here in that its not really a puzzler. Honestly, not getting stuck at all in that game caused me to get very bored of it, unfortunately. Intrinsically, there’s nothing wrong with the game - it’s a neat little adventure game with great presentation. It’s just not really a puzzle game.

"So that players can experience the true epiphany that puzzle games can provide" He says while showing a picture of a certain special page on Tunic HECK TO THE YES. Solving that with my wife was one of me top gaming achievements ever. SUCH JOY

As a consumer, I need more Snoman As a content creator who edits their own videos, take your time man

Favourite puzzle game recently has been Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. Not exactly easy, but nonetheless brilliant. If you like Resident Evil, escape rooms, mystery, style, thoughtful exploration of games as a medium, and also vibes, it's got it all. A truly monumental experience that got woefully overlooked.

Patrick's Parabox! It starts easy, gets mind bending for a bit, but then it's actually quite approachable.

Glad to see you back for the Summer!

Snakebird Primer, which released after Snakebird, was the on-ramp I needed. After 100%ing Snakebird Primer, I was able to grok Snakebird. The final challenge in Snakebird Primer was such a rush, realizing a seemingly impossible gap can be surmounted with such limited resources.

Those are the three titles I was hoping you'd mention! I really enjoyed my time with the first two. And loved the spectacle towards the end of Cocoon going in and out of all those world orbs. But with those first two, I think both did a great job at pacing and knowing when to end. Still working my way thru Isles of Sea & Sky, but it is a great take on the Sokoban-style of puzzle and thought the incorporation of the open world worked quite nicely so you never truly feel locked out/finding a way to progress since you can just tackle other puzzles.

I’m surprised to see Isles of sea and sky in an "easy puzzle games" video. It’s not the hardest puzzle game out there, but it does have some decent teeth to it, way more than the other two imo.

i feel you, i love puzzle games but most of the good ones are so hard that i never finished them. now I'm always cautious about buying a new puzzle games because i dont know if ill ever beat it

I remember reading some comment like a decade ago now that videogames need an equivalent of "reading levels" to indicate which audience a game is for as well as cater to all levels of familiarity with a genre and games in general. Like I remember playing Costume Quest back in the day and thinking to myself that it's a really neat and simple JRPG style game which would be a good introduction to the genre for people pretty new to gaming. It wasn't dumbed down, nor did it have very handholdy tutorial, it was just a straightforward implementation of the game without any superfluous bells and whistles.

That game about translating the languages is such an interesting and unique concept! I also occasionally struggle with puzzle games so knowing this one is a bit simpler while still being engaging? Yeah I’m def checking that one out

I really like puzzle games but I'm also not interested in them being challenging. What interests me is to have a game introduce a set of mechanics and effectively teach me the consequences of them. For that the puzzle needs to be complex enough you can't accidentally stumble into the solution, but beyond that pretty much as easy as possible. Every puzzle essentially becomes a question and an explanation, and if you manage to answer that question, it means you understood. Playing through a puzzle game can effectively you ways of abstract thought, and I love that.

"Easy Puzzle Games" >Shows Cocoon in the thumbnail 😆😆😆 In reality though, Cocoon was surprisingly easy and straightforward despite its main concept. It did an excellent job of teaching the player new mechanics and restricting what they do at any time meaning there was only so much guesswork until they'd eventually get the solution. The only thing I actually struggled with were like the last few puzzles which took the main concept and ran with it. I actually solved one of the last puzzles without really understanding how I solved it, just kind of went through the motions and when I solved it I was like, "Oh! How did I do that?"

Sokoban was a really old japanese game that invented the block pushing puzzle game. I love them so much. Isles of Sea and Sky might be my favorite yet.

Bro what. You got the world record for 140?! That was such as fun game. I still haven’t been able to do the levels that require no deaths, but I’d love to revisit the game some time. Great video! For me, the biggest challenge with puzzle games is that it’s hard to pick them back up if you stepped away from them for a long time.

Sometimes I like to chill with a puzzle game that isn't superhard but makes me feel clever.

A Little to the Left is a very satisfying "easy" puzzle game that I think a lot of people can enjoy and appreciate.

Always glad to see you in my feed, man! Hope your life is going great, I love your content.

You're so right!!! I LOVE the concept of Toodee and Topdee, but by world 4 my brain exploded and I had to abandon it. Baba is you? I got to, like, level 3. More easy puzzles please!!!! We're not all geniuses here!

I think it's important for designers to remember that there are so many people who don't want games to be challenging, we want them to be fun. I think it should be possible to have extreme challenge for some and also accessability for others. I think super mario wonder does a great job of having a balance. I don't really like hard games, but I can enjoy some difficult sections of games that are otherwise easy to average. The five star levels are just my cup of tea in their frequency and level of challenge. I've cleared all of them that i have come across and have two worlds left to unopen. I don't want that level ov difficulty all the time and I don't want progress to be hindered by it, I want it to be optional because I want to have fun and I'm not always at that level of focus and mental agility. I think the same is true on other aspects of gameplay, such as puzzles. I think it's also important to have consistency, and that game you talked about seems to succeed in a way that Tunic really failed at. In Tunic I was immensely disappointed by how the secret language was handled. It was a continued presence in the game from beginning to end, but there was no real development of that mystery and only came to the forefront right at the very end, where the player was tasked with translating the entire thing, manually, for very little tangible reward.

On the contrary, I'm a sucker for a good puzzle game. Just as long as it's not a real brain teaser and it's actually fair. But I also have a soft spot for the more casual type games, so I welcome the addition of more casual puzzle games.

Ilomilo from way back when was the game that made me consider puzzle games a genre I enjoyed. Charming, fun alone, fun with a friend. It seems to be pretty forgotten nowadays. I haven't seen many 3D puzzle games like it either. A lot of it is fairly simple, and you can get stuck in some stages or find an occasional bug, but it's stimulating to think about 3D space. And it's just so cute. Both the art and the music are just so pleasant and soothing. Even the DLC levels in the XBLA version and the exclusive levels in the Windows version are great.

Chants of Senaar is the most unique game i've ever played and has such a siimple but poignant message at its core

Isles of Sea and Sky is quite hard to master, similar to the Witness, I'd say. Also if you want a simple and beautiful game, look up Amanita's "Creaks". It's kind of more mainstream than their more popular games and is an incredible example of a puzzle+art.

I played Cocoon just last week. I really loved how the game clearly told you that you were done with a section when it closes a path behind you. Of course, my inner optional collectable completionist side screams in horror, but that's beside the point. The game kept your access pretty locked down, so you knew petty well exactly where you were meant to progress.

I started videogaming with text adventures, a genre that's been described as "a narrative at war with a crossword" (it's totally irrelevant, but my favourite description of them is "a database with a really obscure interface") so there have been strong puzzle elements in my gaming since the beginning. More recently, I've been enjoying the Professor Layton games (I'm just finishing a replay of the series). And the Zero Escape trilogy are also long-time favourites. Neither series are pure puzzle games, though both have gameplay that revolves around solving puzzles.

Literally just checked your channel for the first time in years and this video came out

I played Chants of Sennar last year and LOVED it. I'm normally not into puzzle games but that one was more of an old school adventure.

YAY SNOMAN UPLOAD WELCOME BACK

Oh man I missed your videos, good to see you back!

Thank you for covering (and uncovering) so many hidden gems. Too many of them get buried under so much shovelware. Hoping Isles of the Sea and Sky gets a Switch release! You should try Baba Is You if you haven't already. It can get pretty complicated, but it introduces new mechanics gradually and it's a lot of fun.

Sokoban is a really old block pushing puzzle game(all the way from '81 apparently, so only slightly younger than Rogue), so any other games thereafter based around pushing blocks around are sometimes still referred to as sokoban games. That saidm as a fan of puzzle games and general puzzle elements, I definitely agree that teaching the player all the mechanics before throwing insane puzzles at them is important. One bad example of this not being done is in Ittle Dew, a zelda-like style game, with its optional master cave. It uses a bunch of mechanics the game not only never tells you about directly, but just gives no way for the player to know about them without rigorous experimentation, leading to a feeling of "How was I supposed to know that?" rather than it being a satisfying puzzle-solving experience.

Was on a Second Wind binge and I literally thought yesterday, "Hmm... what's Snoman been up to" WELCOME BACK

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SNO! So good to see you uploading again my dude! As a fellow smebble man, I usually skirt away from them puzzlers too. Excited to try out these games if you can find your way through! Loved Cocoon btw, that game is so fun.

So all three of these are on my list. Thank you for pointing out the developer on Cacoon. Even given its popularity, I hadn't heard that it was the same person from Limbo!

I was looking for some recomendations but I've played all these already and loved them all.

"Accessible" would be a better word, I think. Easy often implies boredom in case of puzzles.

Great video. I really wonder how many people have actually finished Baba is You without looking any guides. I loved the couple of the first worlds but then the game became too frustratingly difficult.

I did not know Cocoon was so NON-mindbending, everything I saw from it indicated it'd be mega-bog brain. Nice to know so I know what to expect from it! And as far as puzzles go... I think my latest honestly was "inside", but is that a puzzler or a platformer?

Yea, Cocoon was pretty nice. Wasn’t very hard, but I did appreciate how the game funnels you into where you need to go. In the beginning I was worried I’d get lost in the inception-like nature of the puzzles. My favorite puzzle game series is The Talos Principle. Especially the sequel. They’re not exactly short… but man are they good. Some of those puzzles can be so satisfying to solve. You think you’re stuck, but if you just give the puzzle a little more time, the answer should come to you. Best way I can describe them are that they feel layered. And the story in the two games are super interesting as well.

If I'm not misremembering the near infinite options in obra dinn is a bit of an illusion. You have to get the killed and the killer right when applicable ofc but when the cause of death is more ambiguous multiple similar words can be "the" correct answer. For the record I also found Obra Dinn very challenging (and I paused your video to write this) but that technique has potential to make puzzle games a lot smoother if applied with finesse.

The early Tomb Raider games were pretty good at this. It was more about exploring a level but there was a logic that made sense. Occasionally things would get obtuse, but the best levels always made me feel brilliant. Soul Reaver 1 and 2 were a step up in challenge on the puzzle end, but similar feelings there.

Thank you for the recommendations :) and I agree, the Portal games are pretty easy but they're my favourite puzzle games by far.

Woo! Summer of Snoman!

My favourite Puzzle game is one of the ones in this video actually, 'Isles of Sea and Sky'. The game that got me into the genre? Portal 2 probably. I really liked how the game required me to look around and take in all the elements around me in order to solve the puzzle, before then I'd played a fair few 3D Platformers and my favourite part of those games is mentally piecing together the levels to keep track of what I have/haven't gotten and where I had/hadn't gone to. A specific brand of exploration I'd explain as 'understanding space'.

Yes, I'm watching this video not worried at all that Baba is on my Walls pointing an Empty gun at me.

Just finished American Arcadia yesterday and although it has other stuff going on than puzzles, I'd say it is an 'easy puzzle game' for sure. Easiest puzzles I've done in a while, and smart choices considering the game's goals

Wow seeing you again took me back, hi!

I missed you ❤️ another amazing video

Snoman! Good to hear your voice again, great video.

Welcome back

I'm a big fan of The Swapper as a great mix of simple puzzles and great story and aesthetics. I am surprised the 1st-Person puzzle platformer genre isn't more popular after the massive hit of Portal. There have been a lot of 1st person puzzle games (The Witness, Talos Principle) that have very difficult puzzles, but I find very few games with that magical mix of easy puzzle and platforming combo that Portal had. Quantum Conundrum is the only true "portal spiritual successor" that I can recall.

These games are perfect for my peanut size brain

Always a good day when Snoman blesses us with a video!

Catrap is mtly favorite puzzle game. It is a single screen 2d puzzle where you have to ko all the monsters on screen to advance. All the monsters don't move unless you destroy something they are standing on. It is the first game I know of that used a rewind mechanic to undo mistakes. Ita a fun game that is simple to understand but hard to master.

Chants of Senhaar was awesome, and it really surprised me. Best puzzle game I have played since Outer Wilds! I think they did a way better job with decoding languages than the slow Heaven's Vault.

Tunic +Portal 2 = GOATS!!!

I'm not sure if I have a favourite puzzle game, so much as there are favourite puzzles. I'm pretty sure I discovered Cocoon through Snoman's social media [hello] and I really liked it. Yet other games like the Zelda games have good puzzles within them. And I also know the feeling of what it's like to be stuck at a puzzle - there were a few times in Limbo and Inside even where I was like 'I have no idea of how to progress'. Cocoon, save for one puzzle, seemed to have none of that to me. And Chants of Senaar - I've only played the demo; you may have convinced me to try the full game.

Super pleased to see someone mention 140 as one of Carlsen's previous games for once. Don't sleep on THOTH, either!

Cocoon has been on my list for a while, but it feels like everyone has been talking about it this week, so maybe that'll be the incentive I need to start... As for favorite puzzle games: The Last Campfire has really cute art and also is one where I never got stuck but also never found it so simple it bored me. Heaven's Vault has a major language-decoding element like Chants of Sennaar and I really loved it (it also has new game plus with more text to decode)

I really like the Room series puzzle games. I prefer the first one since it was a good length IMO, and the mechanics felt satisfying and simple. The 4th one is also pretty good, but honestly they're all kinda different enough that you might like one of them depending on what you're into.

the room puzzle games are brilliant! also stuck into agent a atm

Baba is You is not only my favorite puzzler but my all-time favorite indie game as well!

The puzzles in CrossCode were quite something ahah, but the game is still so good. :)

I've been playing Void Stranger, and it's a great puzzle game.

We need Donkey Kong Month's return

For another fairly easy but still great puzzle game, I highly recommend The Talos Principle 2. The first game can kinda straddle that line between doable and kinda hard, but the sequel I feel is much more accessible to a broader audience. It also has one of the most smartly written stories in recent years, with a narrative that will genuinely make you question your principles and beliefs.

Topdee and Toodee, which is shown at the start of this video, is a great puzzle game.

If you found Superliminal too hard, Viewfinder has a lot of the same reality bending ideas in a different way, but the puzzles overall seem easier. It's a nice game too.

I mean portal is the first puzzle game i can think of that got me into the genere. Now im knee deep in Void Stranger getting my mind blow bit by bit

The graphics in that third game reminds me of the Oracle Zelda games

My favorite puzzle games: The first, is Contraption Maker. It is essentially a modern clone of the Incredible Machine series, in which you use assorted devices to Rube-Goldsberg your way to a solution. For example, using a cat to chase a rat into a bucket, which is attached to a balloon. The bucket is weighed down by the rat and hits a plank, in turn smacking a ball through a goalpost. Second, would be the Tower of Sorcerer subgenre. The essence of the puzzles is that you have an finite amount of resources to scavenge in each area, which must be optimally spent in order to progress. The puzzle is both local and global in nature, as you can bring conserved resources into later areas, or backtrack to collect resources as you get stronger. DROD RPG is a good place to start if you want to try this type of game. I personally prefer the 'Let's Get Married!' series by Galaxy Wars, as I am a perverse person. Objectively, I think the h-game series is better than DROD, since you can instantly teleport between levels. My third pick for favorite puzzle games...eh. La-Mulana 1 & 2 is excellent, which does start off fairly simple, but becomes more complex and definitely starts requiring a guide once you get too deep. I still love them, however, as they have excellent old-school music and interesting environments. They are metroidvanias, and the clues to puzzles in a given area often are meant for another level, which has you exploring to contextualize that information. It is very compelling for me. The puzzles are mostly riddles, involving mythological iconography. For example, waiting inside a male pyramid with a female statue to turn it into a fertility icon. La-Mulana 1 has an original freeware version, with a very distinct aesthetic style. A shame we couldn't have that ported into the remake... Oh, by the way: there is a freeware port of the Lemmings series, combining all the levels of Lemmings, Oh No, and the assorted bonus packs or platform exclusive levels. Plus, it allows you to rewind, so you could quickly correct your mistakes or finetune your operations. NeoLemmix is an awesome incarnation of this classic series.

Portal 2 is definitely my favorite. Also the Professor Layton series :) god tier games and nEver feel overwhelming.

Seeing Isles of Sea & Sky called an easy puzzle game feels weird. I almost feel like your point is not that we need "easy puzzle games" but the game/level design needs to make it approachable. And good game design often forsakes too much complexity and only introducing few elements. This isn't inherently the same as difficulty though. More things don't necessarily mean more difficulty, it just means it's more overwhelming to get into. I wonder what you think of Islands of Insight, which isn't the greatest in world design and so on, but it starts with some incredibly easy logic grids (we'll ignore the other puzzle types xD) and it even gives you insights (clues on what you can think about while solving), and the difficulty of the logic grids gradually increases. Other puzzle types are easily frustrating for the wrong reasons though. As for my first puzzle game, it's probably Supaplex 😂 I am feeling old.

Hey. I enjoyed the video, just wanted to give some feedback: It would be great if you had some form of written version of the games names. Be it as timestamped chapters, text in the description, or overlay during the video. I watched the video on my phone yesterday and came back on PC now to buy the games and it's kinda annoying to find the names of the games again. Would be cool if that's something you could consider in the future :)

I recommend Toki Tori 2+. Overall the games not mind blowing but i found it to be fun.

Welcome back, dude; been a while since you’ve made a full video. What’s been going on?

You should definetly try Toki-Tori 2. Avoid the Toki-Tori 1 though, that one is very hard

You should try Void Stranger! Another Sokoban game from the makers of Zero Ranger!

I only just started the video but I already agree.

3:17 might give that game a chance

I missed you!