Games like The Witness. Try these fantastic titles if you’re into puzzles and problem-solving

Puzzle games have long held a unique place in the gaming world. They challenge players not just with reflexes or combat skills, but with logic, observation, and creativity.

Among modern puzzle titles, The Witness has become a benchmark for design, atmosphere, and intellectual engagement.

Its influence is evident in a growing number of games that blend exploration, environmental storytelling, and mind-bending puzzles.

Best puzzle games like The Witness

Here are the best examples of games that offer something similar to it.

1. Talos Principle and Talos Principle 2

Talos principle is a first-person philosophical puzzle game where you control an android exploring a simulation of ancient ruins filled with advanced technology.

Tasked by a voice named Elohim to solve over 120 puzzles to achieve immortality, the player must navigate moral, free will, and consciousness questions, ultimately deciding whether to obey or rebel.

2. Obduction

Obduction is a first-person, sci-fi puzzle-adventure game developed by Cyan, Inc. (the creators of Myst and Riven). Released in 2016, it is considered a spiritual successor to Myst, focusing on deep environmental storytelling, intricate puzzles, and exploration.

You play as an unnamed human who is inexplicably abducted from Earth by a strange, organic alien “seed”.

3. Return of the Obra Dinn

Return of the Obra Dinn is a first-person, 1-bit monochrome mystery game where you act as an insurance inspector for the East India Company in 1807.

The goal is to determine the fate – name and cause of death – of all 60 passengers and crew aboard a ghost ship that reappeared after being missing for five years.

4. RiME

RiME is a third-person puzzle-adventure game where you control a young boy in a red cape and explore a beautiful, mysterious Mediterranean island.

Guided by a fox spirit, you solve environmental puzzles using light, sound, and perspective to uncover the story behind the ruin.

5. Gorogoa

Gorogoa is an acclaimed, hand-drawn puzzle game lauded for its unique, artistic approach to game design. You navigate a 2×2 grid of panels, manipulating, layering, and zooming into detailed, hand-drawn illustrations to solve puzzles.

6. Antichamber

Antichamber is a mind-bending first-person puzzle game that plays with your perception, space, and logic.

Set in a stark, minimalist world of shifting walls and impossible geometry, it challenges you to think unconventionally, often breaking the rules of physics and traditional game design.

7. Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds is an open-world exploration and mystery game where you explore a miniature solar system trapped in a 22-minute loop.

The game emphasizes discovery, with each planet offering unique physics, puzzles, and environmental storytelling, where patience and careful attention unlock the universe’s hidden truths.

8. Blue Prince

Blue Prince is a first‑person puzzle‑adventure game set inside a mysterious manor whose rooms constantly shift and rearrange themselves each day, turning every run into a fresh challenge.

The game blends strategy, roguelike elements, and environmental storytelling, rewarding careful planning and observation as you gradually piece together the mansion’s deeper mysteries.

9. Myst

You play as “The Stranger,” who finds a mysterious, weathered book that transports them to the surreal, desolate island of Myst.

Explore at your own pace, solving environmental puzzles that gradually reveal the story of the island and its enigmatic inhabitants.

10. The Swapper

The Swapper is a puzzle-platformer set in a lonely, atmospheric space station where you manipulate clones of yourself to solve intricate puzzles.

Using a mysterious cloning device, you can create copies and swap consciousness between them, requiring careful planning and experimentation to navigate the station’s shifting environments.