A rough list of every puzzle game I’ve played, ranked by difficulty.
Judging the difficulty of a game is pretty simple, I mainly look at how much effort it took me to fully complete it. The game’s duration, the number of puzzles, the gameplay and the puzzle design give me a good idea of which rating is the best when put together.
It’s of course easier to judge games that have no or a minimal difficulty curve, as the difficulty remains fairly constant. When it fluctuates a lot, I simply estimate an average difficulty, or create multiple ratings when it’s relevant.
| Difficulty | Games |
|---|---|
| 0/5 (Extremely Easy) | QUBE • Superliminal • Gravitas • Magnetic: Cage Closed • Frame of Mind • Evan’s Remains • Path of Giants • Time Breaker • Monument Valley • MIND: Path to Thalamus • Genius Moves • Linelith • 20 Small Mazes • Poorzzle • Unpacking • SokoFrog |
| 1/5 (Very Easy) | The Swapper • QUBE 2 • The Turing Test • Quantum Conundrum • Manifold Garden • Rethink Evolved 1 • Rethink Evolved 3 • Thinking With Time Machine • Perspective • LIT: Bend The Light • What Lies in the Multiverse • Ouros |
| 1.5/5 (Easy) | Disoriented • Spring Falls • Sigils of Elohim • Rethink 1 • The Pedestrian • The Looker • The Entropy Centre • Professor Goodboi’s Ballistics • Portal Revolution • Handshakes • Astrodelia • Gravity • Robot Detour • Arranger • SPIN Protocol • The Electrifying Incident • Blobun |
| 2/5 (Normal) | Rethink Evolved 2 • Lightmatter • QUBE 2 (Lost Orbit) • Closure • Hue • Faraway Proximity • Summertime Madness • Ethereal • The Talos Principle 2 • Portal: Forbidden Testing Tracks • Treasure Journey • LightRay • AssassInvisible • Candle Prick • Patrick’s Parabox • So Fart Away • Double Trip |
| 2.5/5 (A bit Hard) | Portal • Portal 2 • Portal Reloaded • The Talos Principle • Antichamber • Supraland • Supraland Six Inches Under • Braid • The Bridge • Helltaker • Sensorium • Linelight • Timelie • Ever Forward • Hiding Spot • A Good Snowman Is Hard To Build • A Monster’s Expedition • QUBE 10th Anniversary • Altered • Blooby Block • Aperture Tag • Push The Cat with WASD • ReThink Evolved 4 • Lines On Sides • The Legend of Lumina • Little Square Things • ReThink 5 • Paper Trail • Star Stuff • Nurikabe World • Mycelium Heaven |
| 3/5 (Rather Hard) | Portal Stories: Mel • Rexaura • The Talos Principle (Road to Gehenna) • Relicta • The Sojourn • Hourglass • Kine • Tetrobot & Co • Snaliens • Liquidum • Platonic • Mooselutions • Slider • Toki Tori 2+ • Chroma Zero • Reliquia Park • Croquet Conundrum • Shrink Rooms |
| 3.5/5 (Hard) | The Witness • QUBE 2 (Aftermath) • Rethink 2 • Deleveled • English Country Tune • Pipe Push Paradise • Puddle Knights • Meet me at NooN • Taiji • Splash Dino • Dodo • Temple of Snek • Dungeon and Puzzles • Isles of Sea and Sky • Court of the Wanderers • The Electrifying Incident (Meta) |
| 4/5 (Very Hard) | Filament • Timelie (Hell Loop) • Rethink 3 • Bonfire Peaks • Recursed • Cosmic Express • Pâquerette Down the Bunburrows • Room to Grow • Void Stranger • Panda Go • Ligo • The Talos Principle: Reawakened (In the Beginning) • Only Sliding • Gentoo Rescue |
| 4.5/5 (Extremely Hard) | Snakebird • Rethink 4 • Bonfire Peaks (Lost Memories Part 1) • A Monster’s Expedition (Snowmen) • Magicube • Understand • Inner Tao |
| 5/5 (Nightmare) | Baba is You • Stephen’s Sausage Roll • I Wanna Lockpick |
| ∞/5 (Insane) | Recursed (The Ice Palace) • Magnet Block |