Seeking Puzzle Game Recs

[flowersforgraves]

Hi all, I'm looking for recs for point and click puzzle games with little to no combat that I can play with someone in person.

Preferred criteria:
- No first-person games. I personally loved games like Manifold Garden, The Witness, and The Room, but the person I'm playing with finds first-person games dizzying. (Third person games are slightly better, but sidescrollers or static scenes would be best.)
- No graphic violence. Investigating a murder, or cartoony violence, is fine!
- Something with built-in stopping points

Examples of games we've played and enjoyed already:
- The Darkside Detective (1 & 2)
- Puzzle Agent (1 & 2)
- Baba Is You (currently in progress)

Anything you can point me to would be helpful!

Comments

[rionaleonhart]

You could try Tangle Tower? It's a point-and-click murder mystery with static backgrounds, and it has a lot of style and character. I watched a friend play it recently, and we both enjoyed it a lot.

[flowersforgraves]

My mom (the other player) says that sounds awesome! Thanks for the rec.

[sideways]

Wadjet Eye has a number of fun point and click titles, though you may have to watch trailers to assess whether the level of violence is fine. I personally enjoyed Primordia and Unavowed.

The Silent Age was fairly straightforward and took about 3hrs in total, but had an intriguing little plot.

[flowersforgraves]

Very cool! I will check those out, thank you.

[elf]

Aaaaah this is MY GENRE OF GAMES!!!
...I did not check which of these has built-in stopping points, but I think they're mostly good about that?

A Good Snowman Is Hard to Build - "An adorable puzzle game about being a monster and making snowmen"
(Was in three of the megabundles; otherwise is pricey and you may want to look up reviews before deciding if it's worth it.)
I have played this; it's great.

The Adventures of Bertram Fiddle - "In a quirky take on a Victorian London inhabited by mysterious, strange characters, self proclaimed leading explorator, Bertram Fiddle, finds himself in a bit of pickle. Help him follow the clues and track down the elusive serial killer known only as Geoff the Murderer before he strikes again."

I have not played this but have heard good things about it. (I own it, because it's in one of the megabundles, but I also own 5000+ other games I haven't played either.)

Gnog - a playful puzzle game about exploring monstrous virtual toys.
I've played this; it's great. Pure puzzle, no story. One of those "click on things until you figure out what stuff does" puzzle games. 3d art, but not walking-sim style.

Rusty Lake Hotel: "Welcome our guests to the Rusty Lake Hotel and make sure they will have a pleasant stay. There will be 5 dinners this week. Make sure every dinner is worth dying for."

This is the first of the Rusty Lake series. (I believe they're free on mobile.) It's more-or-less an escape-the-room game; there are some creepy elements, but I think not graphic violence? (Check out the page; that's the art style. They manage some disturbing things, but it's all more-or-less cartoony.) If you like it, they have several more.

Amanita Design (game company) makes point-and-click puzzle-focused games. I love them all. Samorost 1 is free on Steam - maybe try that one; if you like it, you'll probably enjoy most of their games. If it doesn't click (whether that's because of the puzzles or the artwork or whatever), then probably give the rest a pass as well.

Please Don't Touch Anything - "A brain-racking game about bathroom breaks, screwdrivers and nuclear explosions."
Your buddy works in a nuclear facility. They've gone off to use the bathroom and left you in charge, with the instruction "please don't touch anything." (You could do that. That's boring.) Another "no story, just puzzle" game.
I've played this and liked it. The free version at itch.io is the earlier one; it has fewer endings.

I have heard good things about Escape from Pleasure Planet and My Ex-Boyfriend the Space Tyrant, but have not played either.

[flowersforgraves]

Ooh, awesome! We'll check these out, thank you!

[alias_sqbr]

Some itchio recs:
RYB Plotless colour based logic
Opus Magnum lightly plotty 'zach-like' molecule builder
Agent A Fun spy-themed puzzles. A bit overpriced. Ooh currently 90% off on Steam, though!

And on Steam I reccomend the Puzzler Lovers curator, they have HEAPS of recs organised by type, I have had lots of fun finding cheap fun little games on special via the discounts tab.

[flowersforgraves]

Oh nice! Agent A in particular seems like it'd be right up our alley. Thanks!

[alias_sqbr]

Have fun :)

[chicago_ruth]

Looks like you got a lot of good recs already! Here's a few more, in case you inexplicably run out of games (or others are asking for the same thing XD )

Night Reverie, a small point & click where you help out some weird characters while searching for your sister. (Note: deals with death/grief)

Rakuen, where a child in long-term hospital care escapes to a fantasy world and helps the fantasy world residents (and their "real life" counterparts) deal with some of their problems. The art is gorgeous. (Note: deals with death/grief.... I definitely cried at the end of this one)

The Rewinder, an ancient chinese time rewinding mystery.

The Case of the Golden Idol, a point & click mystery game in a similar vein to Obra Dinn. Less tedious backtracking, just as much trying to figure out who is who, who killed whom, what is even going on in a scene...

Unheard, where you get a map and some voice clips (with subtitles) and have to figure out what happened based only on the audio, no visual clues.

Later Alligator, where you are hired to protect Pat the gator because he thinks one of his extended family is trying to kill him 😱 So you do a bunch of minigames to get to know the other gators in hopes of determining who maybe might do it in the future. The art & animation on this one is really fun!

Strange Horticulture, where you inherit a plant store and help people with their magical ingredients. This has multiple branching paths and depending on where you choose to explore/what solutions you give people for their problems, you get different endings.

TOEM, where you get your first camera and you go out on a pilgrimage and help people by taking pictures they want!

Chicory: A Colorful Tale, where you are the assistant to the world's colorist and you take her brush to color things and maybe stop the darkness from spreading and help people out by coloring in the world + painting for them! Sort of a puzzle platformer. There are boss levels BUT there are accessibility options where you can set it so you can't die. Which is what I did when I played. (Note: Deals with mental health issues, including depression & imposter syndrome)

Carto, where you get separated from your grandma and you have to find piece of the map in order to make the world appear, and you can rearrange the map (and the world!) to create new paths. Mostly a puzzle game.

Milkmaid of the Milky Way, where you are a milkmaid but your cows get stolen by aliens XD And you have to point & click your way into rescuing them.

One Shot, where you are helping a child deliver the sun back to the world. Gosh I loved this one. You need at least two playthroughs to get everything though, and the puzzles get very meta.


... I probably have more XD And I second a lot of the other recs here, like Tangle Tower, Unavowed, A Good Snowman is Hard to Build, and the Rusty Lake games.

[flowersforgraves]

Thanks! Definitely saving these too. :D

[sottobosco]

My two cents:

To the moon A funny and touching story driven game

Roki Based on Scandinavian mithology

Jenny Le Clue Detectivue

Detective Gallo A ducktective story

The Wardrobe warning: lots of black humor

Haiku Games

Dark City series Hidden objects/puzzle adventure

New York Misteries series<\a> Hidden objects/puzzle adventure

[zalein]

This is a late answer, but some additional games I'd recommend are:

Mutazione

Silicone Dreams

The Fall (and its sequel)

Primordia

Spiritfarer