Get thinking with these clever games

The Nintendo Switch is a superb console for many reasons, not the least of which is that it plays host to a huge range of genres and types of game. If you’re looking for a new title for the Switch and fancy a bit of a puzzle, this is the list for you.

We’ve gathered the very best options for the Switch if you want to have to think plenty before making a move, whether it’s a pure puzzler or a devious adventure game. These are the top puzzles games on Switch.

Return of the Obra Dinn is one of the most challenging games we’ve ever had to wrap our heads around, but that challenge is entirely cerebral. You play an insurance inspector making your way through a ship that lost all its hands on a long voyage, piecing together exactly what happened.

Your main tool is a timepiece that lets you view a snapshot of the death of any corpse you come across, and this turns into a marvellously complex operation that will have you following obscure threads to uncover a range of interesting twists in a patchwork story.

The Case of the Golden Idol

2. Best puzzle game on Switch for taking your time

A brilliant puzzle game that leaves you to figure out what’s going on, and tells a wickedly dark tale in the process.

Pros

• Doesn’t hold your hand
• Smart hint system
• Fun art

Cons

• Very quickly gets super complex

The Case of the Golden Idol follows the story of a stolen treasure passed down through devious generations, each twist uncovered as you explore a frozen tableau figuring out who’s there, who’s died, and how.

If that sounds straightforward, it quickly becomes anything but, and you’ll soon be flipping between rooms, comparing notes and scrambling to remember seemingly inconsequential details from prior scenes, all with the aim of figuring the next out.

Paradise Killer

3. Best puzzle game on Switch for amateur detectives

Paradise Killer is a really fun look at how a detective game could work with multiple possible outcomes depending on how you build different cases.

Pros

• Loads of fun dialogue
• Game adapts to your conclusions
• Zippy, fun soundtrack

Paradise Killer is a really chilled-out exploration game that divvies up its puzzles into two main camps – talking to people, and exploring its huge island. You play a detective called in to figure out a bizarre supernatural crime in the titular paradisal island, with a baker’s dozen of suspects to sift through.

Interrogations are sprightly and well-written, the game has loads of nooks and crannies to explore that yield further secrets, and all of its adapts to offer multiple satisfying endings, making for a really well-rounded but relaxed detective experience.

The Excavation Of Hob’s Barrow

4. Best puzzle game on Switch for adventure game fans

Hob’s Barrow is a wonderful homage to a classic genre of games, and will have you puzzling your way to a truly memorable ending.

Pros

• Great story
• Terrific voice acting
• Lovely art style

Cons

• Some clunky controls
• Occasionally obtuse

If you’ve a hankering for a truly old-school adventure game (and the puzzles that automatically come with that territory), then you can’t do much better than the superb Hob’s Barrow, a creepy and folksy tale of dark secrets.

With a gorgeous art style and a tone that clearly pays homage to the likes of The Wicker Man, Hob’s Barrow sees players guiding Thomasina Bateman through her attempts to excavate a rural gravesite – and it’s just as eerie as that sounds.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

5. Best puzzle game on Switch for families

A delightful puzzle game that makes amazing use of 3D spaces to create levels that beg to be rotated and explored.

Pros

• Lovely tone and style
• Family-friendly
• Great levels late on

Cons

• Pretty easy in early stages

Nintendo doesn’t just leave puzzle games to indie studios, though – it also makes some of its own, and an early star of the Switch generation was Captain Toad’s Treasure Tracker, a Wii U re-release that shines on newer hardware.

It lets you move Toad carefully through 3D diorama levels that hide clever secrets and loads of treasure, and is a perfect puzzle game for families and younger players.

Storyteller

6. Best puzzle game on Switch for book-lovers

This delightful puzzler is simple but makes the most of its short runtime with excellent, inventive applications of its clever premise.

Pros

• Good central premise
• Nice funny art
• Doesn’t outstay its welcome

It took absolutely ages to make, and it might not be the longest game ever despite that, but Storyteller is a real treat that uses a simple system of swappable cards to create delightful conundrums.

It’s all illustrated by fun cartoony art, and shows how simple formulae can make for satisfying puzzles even when you’re familiar with how they all should work.

How we picked the best puzzle games on Switch

There’s only one real way to figure out the best puzzle games for Switch, and that’s to play a whole bunch of puzzle games on the Switch, which is exactly what we’ve done.

This has taken us through a bunch of sub-genres that you’ll find reflected above, from point-and-click adventure games to first-person explorers and more, but all of them share the core facet that they make you stop and think about what you’re meant to be doing next, or what you conclusions you can draw from what you’ve seen so far.

Each is an excellent game in its own right, but as a whole they make up a smorgasbord of puzzle choices for Switch gamers.