What's the damn point of putting puzzles in a video game if you're not even going to give people the chance to figure it out for themselves?

[ImpPlushie]

i just always assume they are made for the same crowd that call 20-30 hour games too long

 

[UnDubious]

I was with ya all the way until you 100% until you put Chess and PuyoPuyo
in the same time zone. No offence meant, but Puyo is a Japanese video game
that really only the fans care about and Chess is... well fuckin Chess. People
have been playing it for around 1,500 years. Puyo is almost already forgotten.
Sorry but try again

That has literally nothing to do with the point they made. Whether Puyo Puyo is well-known or not doesn't mean it doesn't require real-time strategy, which is what they used it as an example of.

 

[Eduardo2010]

I gained access to the internet around 1998. This is the same year that Grim Fandango came out, pretty much the last 'big' adventure game. These types of puzzle games died with access to internet walkthroughs.

But Devs grew up playing those games so still include object and logic puzzles to games, as a different mechanic to speed / time / stat based gameplay.

 

[Yousef Yousef]

My one gripe with tomb Raider

 

[beefbowl]

Are producers really so damn scared that someone might not be able to solve baby's first puzzle

Yes, most developers are paid to create a streamlined experience instead of a game. They cant put that many upwards spikes in difficulty in their games because it may create player churn and badly affect their statistics. There are multiple GDC vids about this streamlining in AAA games, most famous one is the God of War 2018 one.
Basically, AAA companies are not making games anymore, they are making cinematic experiences that will not hinder progress at any point.

 

[dilsworth]

There was this one game called Chaos Break on the PS1 I played during high school and got stumped so bad on that number puzzle (which was actually Sudoku) I had to ask my sister's help to solve it. Eventually, she did.

 

[sogib]

There are multiple GDC vids about this streamlining in AAA games, most famous one is the God of War 2018 one.

I'll just add that the gameplay footage for God of War they chose was from Darksydephil.

Crazy that nowadays AAA studios design their games with people like DSP in mind.

 

[Onicat]

The biggest problem with puzzles in video games is that they’re designed on an “after-the-fact” basis: developers cram in cutting-edge shadow and reflection effects, and only then realize they need to add interactivity. Otherwise, with all that fancy bells and whistles, the game is essentially just an expensive picture book (and not even a very interesting one).

And the players often simply lacks both the motivation to solve them and the necessary “environmental logic”. So they go online (these days) or to a bookstore (back in the day) for the solution.

Basically, it’s the same story with mini-games (fishing, snowboarding, juggling, cards, racing, and so on). They just cram all this into the game to increase the “content,” without giving a second thought to how it will all look together, as a whole. And then it turns out that to save the princess/the world/a cat stuck in a tree, you have to skillfully juggle chainsaws while riding a chocobo.

DO. NOT. WANT.

You think that's bad? Try some of the puzzles in Point & Click Adventure games

I see you've been whacking the chicken over the head with a sausage too...

 

[Ikagura]

@polter99
I was with ya all the way until you 100% until you put Chess and PuyoPuyo
in the same time zone. No offence meant, but Puyo is a Japanese video game
that really only the fans care about and Chess is... well fuckin Chess. People
have been playing it for around 1,500 years. Puyo is almost already forgotten.
Sorry but try again

Chess is old but its currently known form (with King/Queen and Towers/Bishop...) is fairly recent.

But saying that Puyo Puyo is almost already forgotten is kinda disingenuous regarding and I don't see how it being a Japanese game has anything to do when Chess is also from Asia.

Sure puzzle games are more niche in videogaming (even Tetris which is a world success has a minority in the competitive scene) yet the series is still well alive, people are playing modern Sega and old Compile-era Puyo Puyo competitively even to this day.

Also it's unfair to compare a game older than a millennium with a video game that started in the 90's, let's see in around a century before we could make that sort of judgement...

 

[UnDubious]

There was this one game called Chaos Break on the PS1 I played during high school and got stumped so bad on that number puzzle (which was actually Sudoku) I had to ask my sister's help to solve it. Eventually, she did.

If you didn't know how Sudoku works that part would be really hard to figure out. The part I hated in Chaos Break was when you had a time limit and you had to run to a certain room (easy to get lost and waste time) and then do this dumb timing-based puzzle multiple times. Other than that the game is pretty good.

 

[BrawlMan]

I know many Sony titles still have this issue, aside from Astro Bot. This is why i appreciate Capcom, and most indie titles so much. They have puzzles that aren't usually too hard, nor too easy, but they expect you to pay attention to your environment. That said, i'm really not gonna throw a heart attack over these design decisions. I don't even bother with most AAA games, they can have at it as much as day one or think it will help them.

 

[Yousef Yousef]

But saying that Puyo Puyo is almost already forgotten is kinda disingenuous

Very true

 

[BrawlMan]

I'll just add that the gameplay footage for God of War they chose was from Darksydephil.

Crazy that nowadays AAA studios design their games with people like DSP in mind.

Phil still fucks up and get lost or blames the game for his own bad decisions. I'm not even mad at the devs/pubs for even trying, and not even worth the complaints. If I remember correctly, even most AAA sort of stop trying to appeal to him or at least do their own thing without him As an influence. Though, with so many on the live service train, people like DSP are far from the executive class's minds.

 

[Badseed Badseed]

That has literally nothing to do with the point they made. Whether Puyo Puyo is well-known or not doesn't mean it doesn't require real-time strategy, which is what they used it as an example of.

Sorry brother for the "angry", no TYPE OF disagree button. HELLO MODS!!!
All I'm saying is there is no comparison between ANY modern video game
and a game that has been played consistently for over a millennium Listen man,
let's get together in another millennium and we can talk the merits of ANY video game
compared to chess.

Post automatically merged: May 19, 2026

I don't see how it being a Japanese game has anything to do when Chess is also from Asia.
Also it's unfair to compare a game older than a millennium with a video game that started in the 90's, let's see in around a century before we could make that sort of judgement...

Your dislike of me has clouded your judgement young padawan. I never made the comparison in the first place, that's what I disagreed with. Also see above when I remove the sulfurous parts of your argument you just said the same thing as me. Luv ya fam.

 

[beefbowl]

people like DSP are far from the executive class's minds.

You can't be far from the truth. Average gamer for their metrics is even dumber than DSP, on mobile its even worse

 

[JellyjamLu]

More bonus points to Silent Hill 2 remake.
The puzzles here do not insult your intelligence, tells a neat little story attached them and is thought provoking.

 

[BrawlMan]

You can't be far from the truth. Average gamer for their metrics is even dumber than DSP, on mobile its even worse

I meant in terms of doing a puzzle of any challenge at all. Not "live service" nor mobile games that pray after people with addictive vunerabilities, or children and teens that don't know the responsibility of spending. Also, not all of them are dumb as nor dumber than DSP. More so the latter.

Post automatically merged: May 19, 2026

More bonus points to Silent Hill 2 remake.
The puzzles here do not insult your intelligence, tells a neat little story attached them and is thought provoking.

And like the original, you can adjust them to make them as easy or difficult as you want.

 

[Kiwii_Peww]

Frrr I miss Silent hills puzzles they can get confusing but the feeling when u solve one u feel like a genius now people just put puzzles to fill the empty rooms or make gameplay slightly longer wich is rlly sad

 

[UnDubious]

Sorry brother for the "angry", no TYPE OF disagree button. HELLO MODS!!!
All I'm saying is there is no comparison between ANY modern video game
and a game that has been played consistently for over a millennium Listen man,
let's get together in another millennium and we can talk the merits of ANY video game
compared to chess.

No one was comparing them in the first place. The original poster just listed three games where you have to think in real times, two of which were videogames, to make an argument that had nothing to do with the age or cultural relevance of said games.

 

[BrawlMan]

Frrr I miss Silent hills puzzles they can get confusing but the feeling when u solve one u feel like a genius now people just put puzzles to fill the empty rooms or make gameplay slightly longer wich is rlly sad

SH2R, SHf, and a lot of throwback indy horror games have you covered.

 

[Ikagura]

Very true

No one was comparing them in the first place. The original poster just listed three games where you have to think in real times, two of which were videogames, to make an argument that had nothing to do with the age or cultural relevance of said games.

Yeah, Chess is a classic but I think putting a non-sequitur doesn't help with the actual subject of the topic and I also think that video games are as valid as board games even if they require electricity to work.

It'd be like saying that Theatre is intrinsically better than movies because one is way older than the other.

 

[Unassuming_Spook]

@Unassuming_Spook

View attachment 186956

@Badseed

 

[Pantsuhelm]

Seriously I don't get it. Why even have puzzles then if you're just gonna have another character blare out the solution after like 1 second of being presented with the puzzle. Not even giving people the chance to solve it themselves.

Are producers really so damn scared that someone might not be able to solve baby's first puzzle or that they don't have a phone or have never heard of the idea of 'looking something up online'. Just pure anti-game design behavior.

Literally, yeah. If you get someone who's not really paying attention and they get stuck on a puzzle, they may get mad, quit, refund, or leave an angry review. Worse still if it's an overworked games journalist who never gave a crap about the game in the first place. I've seen negative reviews for much pettier things. It also feeds in to that Tik-Tok instant gratification brain rot.

It's all about catering to the lowest possible denominator.

 

[Xdqwerty Xdqwerty]

To add artificially more playing time

 

[Badseed Badseed]

No one was comparing them in the first place. The original poster just listed three games where you have to think in real times, two of which were videogames, to make an argument that had nothing to do with the age or cultural relevance of said games.

I respectfully disagree. but you sir are a ninny. Original Quote "CHESS, I would say a form of "real-time strategy puzzle" game, and people who MASTER it can "see" and predict the next move. PUYO PUYO and Tetris AS WELL." SO lets go together slowly so yall can understand, I have even highlighted the important words so we all can play along. Chess blah,blah,blah and Pyou puyo AS WELL, IS A FUCKING COMPARISON!!! People who can master it, the "it" being chess. So now we have a chess master. OK... on the other hand we have all you wapanese shinnichi that are Puyo Puyo Masters or a 16 year old from Oklahoma that's a Tetris master. Great... Now lets compare.

Chess master................................................................................................Video game master, specifically in this instance Puyo master​

There is no comparison. WTF am I in topsy-turvy land?!?! I don't know, maybe the Issue is a language barrier or just I think much more highly of chess than you. What the fuck is a Puyo Puyo even anyway?
Why am I even wasting time on this...