In a December 2023 Digital Trends retrospective, Giovanni Colantonio argued that puzzle games had an unusually inventive year—and that the genre still did not get the recognition it deserved. The games he singled out make the case through their variety: some rework familiar puzzle formats, while others build whole worlds around deduction, spatial reasoning, or directing crowds.
Why Colantonio argued puzzle games stood out in 2023
Colantonio’s point was not that one puzzle formula dominated the year. It was that puzzle games could be small or expansive, familiar or formally unusual, and still make problem-solving the center of the experience. In his view, that breadth was easy to overlook when the genre was treated as niche.
His roundup is an opinionated selection, not a measured ranking of every release. It offers no release-count, sales, audience, or awards statistics, so its case rests on the range of games and ideas it highlights.
How the games made solving problems feel different
| Game | What the player does | What gives it a distinct identity |
|---|---|---|
| The Talos Principle 2 | Solves complex puzzles while moving through a substantial story. | Colantonio presents it as an expansion of the philosophical predecessor’s ambitions, pairing intricate challenges with narrative scale. |
| Viewfinder | Takes 2D photographs and places them into the world as 3D spaces. | The photograph-placement mechanic turns perspective and spatial planning into the central puzzle tool. |
| Chants of Sennaar | Uses context clues to infer the meaning of unfamiliar languages. | Progress depends on observation and deduction rather than simply manipulating objects. |
| Cocoon | Works through recursive puzzles in a world populated by bugs. | The roundup connects its design to lead designer Jeppe Carlsen, previously associated with Limbo, and emphasizes its distinctive world. |
| Let’s! Revolution! | Combines Minesweeper-like deduction with roguelike play. | It blends a recognizable grid-based puzzle idea with the structure of a run-based game. |
| Humanity | Directs crowds of people through puzzle scenarios. | Its crowd control premise is presented in a VR setting. |
Together, these examples suggest several different kinds of engagement: interpreting clues, changing space, planning routes, and managing groups. They are not interchangeable experiences, even when each asks the player to think carefully.
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#1 Best Overall
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Beyond a single definition of puzzle game
The roundup also names Station to Station, Rytmos, Fantavision 20XX, Storyteller, American Arcadia, Birth, Puzzle Bobble Everybubble!, and Puzzmo. Colantonio uses them as further evidence of the year’s breadth, rather than sorting them into a standardized taxonomy or ranking them against one another.
That variety matters to the argument: “puzzle game” can describe a traditional puzzle release, a large narrative adventure, or a hybrid that borrows from other genres. The label points to the pleasure of working something out, but it does not prescribe one scale, mood, or play style.
Rank #2
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Why the respect question remains an opinion
Colantonio also objected that The Game Awards in 2023 had no dedicated puzzle-game category. He argued that puzzle titles therefore had to compete in broader categories, including indie awards and, in some cases, Games for Impact. That is his description of the awards context in the article, not an independently established measure of how the industry or audience valued puzzle games.
His broader conclusion is similarly an editorial judgment: if players want more creative games, they should support independent developers. The roundup does not quantify the genre’s commercial position or prove that puzzle games were overlooked across the industry. It makes a narrower, persuasive case that the year’s selected games demonstrate considerable experimentation—and that this work deserves attention.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- ACCESSIBLE & ENGAGING - The giant game board measures 12 x 12 inches – almost 2 inches larger than the regular game, making the pieces easier to see and pick up!
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- JUST ONE RULE - Players take turns placing their 21 pieces on the board. Each piece must touch another of the same color, but only at the corners!
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Rank #4
- 60, 000+ POSSIBILITIES IN THE BOX: STEM puzzle game with the combination of dice, location of the blockers, and set of color shapes, there are 62, 208 POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS in the 6X6 grid! Think about it… what is the possibility you will beat your opponent?
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- FIND THAT ONE SOLUTION…OR MORE THAN ONE?: This board game is confirmed that all of arrangements have AT LEAST one possible solution for each, and maybe even more! Some are very easy, and some are much harder. Find a solution first, then challenge yourself to find another one… and… another one?
Rank #3
- BRAIN PUZZLE FOR KIDS: Kanoodle is a TikTok-viral line of brain teasers for kids & adults with over nine million games sold; fill in the board with the right arrangement of pieces to solve the puzzle
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- SCREEN-FREE FUN: Keep yourself and your kid or teen entertained without a phone or tablet; single player logic games and mind games help improve critical thinking and problem-solving skills
- GIFTS FOR EVERYONE: Educational Insights brain games are amazing birthday gifts for kids, holiday stocking stuffers, Easter basket toys, and back-to-school presents for teachers & students
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