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2019 Game of the Year Awards — Genre Awards — Best Puzzler

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/16/2019

Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: 2019, 99, awards, baba is you, champions, game of the year, goty, manifold garden, puyo puyo, puzzle, puzzle quest, puzzler, tetris, the legend returns. Leave a comment

Once again, the puzzle genre is rather dried up this year, and I’m afraid one day this category may disappear. Everyone is so worried about the next action game that people don’t want to step back and relax and work their brains.

Tetris 99

While we’ve played Tetris dozens of times over before, Tetris 99 brings people together in an online world and feels exciting and fresh. While there were other great puzzle games this year, and you could argue that Tetris isn’t unique, it’s a timeless classic and when to put together with new ideas can become one of the most addictive puzzle games ever like it was on the original GameBoy decades prior.

Runner-Ups

Baba Is You

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Manifold Garden

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Puyo Puyo Champions

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Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns

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2018 Game of the Year Awards — Genre Awards — Best Puzzler

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/24/2018

Posted in: 2018, Game of the Year Awards. Tagged: 2018, awards, effect, friday the 13th, game of the year, goty, killer puzzle, lumines, old sins, puzzle, puzzler, remastered, sushi striker, tetris, the room, the way of the sushido. Leave a comment

The puzzle genre is always hit or miss every year. There’s never a slew of AAA puzzle titles in the works, so what we usually get are surprise indie games that usually make a big splash and sell fairly well. 2017 was not that year, but it wasn’t completely empty.

Tetris Effect

Tetris may seem like a weird choice for the best puzzle game, but when was the last time you played an amazing Tetris iteration? How about in VR? Tetris Effect is by far the best version in years and it doesn’t try to add a ton of features or modes, just quality over quantity and you can’t be mad at that.

Runner-Ups

Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle

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The Room Old Sins

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Sushi Striker: The Way of the Sushido

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Lumines Remastered

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2017 Game of the Year Awards — Genre Awards — Best Puzzler

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/14/2017

Posted in: 2017, Game of the Year Awards. Tagged: cut it out, game of the year awards, goty, monument valley 2, puyo puyo, puzzle, puzzler, slayaway camp, snipperclips, tetris, together. Leave a comment

The puzzle genre is always hit or miss every year. There’s never a slew of AAA puzzle titles in the works, so what we usually get are surprise indie games that usually make a big splash and sell fairly well. 2017 was not that year, but it wasn’t completely empty.

Puyo Puyo Tetris

It doesn’t surprise me that the best puzzle game this year is on the Switch, it’s the perfect console for this type of game. With the mixing of Puyo Puyo and Tetris, it was a match made in heaven. I keep going back to this game and it never gets old

Runner-Ups

Monument Valley 2

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Snipperclips: Cut It Out, Together!

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Slayaway Camp

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2012 Game of the Year Awards — Genre Awards — Best Puzzler

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/11/2012

Posted in: 2012, Game of the Year Awards. Tagged: 2012, 3ds, awards, crashmo, dokuro, game of the year, lumines, miracle mask, nintendo, professor layton, ps3, puzzle, puzzler, scribblenauts, scribblenauts unlimited, sony. Leave a comment

A great puzzle game must be innovative in some shape or form and the puzzles must be able to be solved logically. Sometimes a good story is thrown in, but puzzles aren’t known for those. There weren’t many great puzzle games this year, and most of them are indie. These were the best this year.

Dokuro

Dokuro is a very underrated game. Most puzzle games this year were sequels and felt pretty much the same. Dokuro has a wonderful art style and has some great mechanics that usually aren’t explored in puzzle games. Using chalk for a game mechanic is a lot of fun and should be explored more. What makes it the best this year is the charm and emotions put behind the game. This field usually isn’t explored in puzzle games either.

Runner-Ups

Lumines: Electronic Symphony

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Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask

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Scribblenauts Unlimited

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2011 Game of the Year Awards — Genre — Best Puzzler

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/23/2011

Posted in: 2011, Game of the Year Awards. Tagged: 2011, 3d, 3ds, awards, best, double fine, game of the year, genre, ilomilo, microsoft, miracle mask, nintendo, playstation, playstation 3, portal 2, professor layton, ps3, pushmo, puzzle, puzzler, sony, stacking, tim schafer, valve, xbox, xbox 360. Leave a comment

Puzzle games must have good puzzles, and that’s just to start. Usually, the puzzles have to be unique and have mechanics that differ from other games. This category didn’t see much action this year, but there were a few great ones. Every game this year created a unique way to solve puzzles, as well as deliver charming stories and characters along with them.

Portal 2

This really wasn’t a fair category this year. Portal 2 easily beats out anything else with its amazing characters, story, voice acting, and who can beat using portals? What makes it different from the last game is everything. Introducing new gels, a longer campaign, and varied environments make it a whole new animal. The game also featured super fun co-op multiplayer and just flowed perfectly with very creative puzzles.

Runner-Ups

Pushmo

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ilomilo

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Professor Layton and the Last Specter

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Stacking

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2010 Game of the Year Awards — Genre — Puzzler

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/17/2010

Posted in: 2010, Game of the Year Awards. Tagged: 2010, apple, awards, ds, game of the year, indie, iOS, ipad, itunes, mario vs donkey kong, microsoft, mini-land mayhem, misadventures of p.b. winterbottom, nintendo, pc, playstation, playstation 3, professor layton, puzzle, puzzle quest 2, puzzler, sony, steam, undergarden, unwound future, xbox, xbox 360. Leave a comment

Puzzle games aren’t just supposed to bend our minds, but also offer unique ways to play puzzles we’ve grown to love. Some have stories, some require reflex, and some just make you think.

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future

Professor Layton brings puzzle games to life with a charming story, visuals, and deep clever puzzles. What sets it apart from the rest is the way puzzles are presented with the DS hardware and the way you think about them. Professor Layton has set the standard for puzzle games, and you don’t just have to have the quantity to make a puzzle game great.