Please, Touch The Artwork (Switch eShop)

Please, Touch The Artwork is an excellent little puzzler that cleverly combines intuitive, pensive puzzle mechanics with art history and humour to create an interactive exhibit you really shouldn't miss out on. If you've got any interest in modern art whatsoever, you're sure to enjoy this gem, but even puzzle fans who don't know their Picassos from their Pollocks would do well to browse these galleries. There's really nothing else to say. Do what the title says.

Toodee and Topdee (Switch eShop)

Toodee and Topdee is a fantastically imaginative puzzle game with exceptional variety wrung out of its core conceit. It struggles most when it asks for dynamic execution of puzzle solutions, but even then it’s pretty decent. This side-on / top-down puzzler is one that other games should look up to.

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Toodee and Topdee
Toodee and Topdee

Dungeons of Dreadrock (Switch eShop)

Dungeons of Dreadrock is a simple little game with a Minish Cap-style aesthetic that's been compared to a dungeon crawler, but this is really a puzzler with swords ‘n’ sorcery set dressing. It's well-designed and cleverly builds on its formula throughout its brief run. Those looking for a good game to wind down with before bed may want to give this a look.

Dorfromantik (Switch eShop)

Here you have a puzzle game that doesn't chase after complex mechanics, cutting-edge design, or intense action; Dorfromantik is simply about building warm, rural countrysides at your own pace. No pressure. No noise. And though it sacrifices some of its long-term appeal with this approach, we commend Dorfromantik for committing wholly to the peaceful atmosphere it endeavors to create. It may not have a ton of staying power, but it offers up a satisfying and chill puzzle experience that we feel is worthwhile in the end.

Patrick's Parabox (Switch eShop)

Patrick's Parabox is the rare game that's both highly challenging and highly approachable in equal measure without once dropping a beat. This is a must-play for fans of the genre — especially more logic-driven puzzlers like Baba Is You. Even if you're not the most hardened puzzle veteran, Patrick's Parabox does a great job of teaching you to solve even its most difficult puzzles thanks to a clever level structure and approachable progression system.

Strange Horticulture (Switch eShop)

Strange Horticulture’s biggest struggle is shoehorning itself into the Switch’s little screen and thumbstick controls. It does that well enough to preserve its wonder, but if you have a PC to play it on, that might be preferable. It comes from a very simple place: a one-screen playfield with basic, heavily scripted interactions. But that is the perfect backdrop to throw the player’s new discoveries into sharp relief and bring an eerie world and gripping mystery to life. This irresistible immersion stems eventually from a quiet and unassuming start, so stick with it – it’ll grow on you.

Windosill (Switch eShop)

Patrick Smith's delightful Windosill is a breezy, playful, and rather magical little journey through a series of enchanting puzzles, with a unique aesthetic that very obviously influenced the art style of the likes of Donut County and Monument Valley. The wonderfully laid-back and often trippy vibe here elevates what is actually a rather simple and short experience — you can blast through it all in less than an hour — into something that really does have the power to stay with you long after you've completed its charming collection of challenges.

Railbound (Switch eShop)

Coming from the makers of Golf Peaks and inbento, Railbound is a super-cute puzzler of polished presentation and deceptively monstrous difficulty. It starts ever so innocently, asking for a little railway line to connect a carriage to its engine, and sings with toots and chuffs as a billow of smoke from the locomotive clears to reveal the next stage. By the 100th level, however, it becomes a head-scratcher that’ll wear your nails to nubs.

Backbeat (Switch eShop)

Backbeat stands out among puzzle games for its attractive graphics and constantly pulsing, funky soundscape, but most of all for its impressive depth of mechanics. Juggling phrase lengths, bar markers, alignment, stagger, solos, and special moves – all in interactive levels full of moving parts – is like having a wah-wah pedal hooked up to your brain. Apart from a sometimes-fiddly interface and limited replayability, Ichigoichie hits all the right notes.

Storyteller (Switch eShop)

Storyteller seems simple at first. Each puzzle has a title, a set of scenes, a handful of characters, and a bunch of blank spaces for you to fill. The titles are the key, and with 12 chapters that have four puzzles each, they get progressively more complicated as you build narratives to fit the parameters of the title using a cast of four characters. After just this short taste, we sincerely hope Benmergui and Annapurna give this clever premise a sequel.

Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! (Switch)

Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! feels like a fitting, worthy new entry in the long-running series. There’s a rich mixture of single and multiplayer/online modes on offer here, and though the AI bots can leave something to be desired, this is overall a well-rounded and appealing package that’s sure to appeal to any action puzzle fans. We’d give this one a recommendation to anyone looking for an addictive puzzler that doesn’t require too much mental investment to ‘get’ and that keeps you on your toes. The simple and brilliant game design on display here is admirable and it’s sure to eat up hours of your time once it gets its hooks in you.

Puzzle Bobble Everybubble!
Puzzle Bobble Everybubble!

Tin Hearts (Switch eShop)

Tin Hearts is a lovely little puzzler that's engaging and emotional in equal measure. It takes all the right inspiration from Lemmings but manages to stand on its own two feet with a unique visual style, clever mechanics, and a wonderful narrative told effortlessly during gameplay. Technical hiccups pull it back from true greatness, including a choppy frame rate and jarring camera movements, but if you're after a relaxing puzzler that's not too taxing on the ol' noggin, then you really can't go too wrong with this.

Tin Hearts
Tin Hearts

Portal: Companion Collection (Switch eShop)

It's hard to overstate our satisfaction with Portal: Companion Collection. Portal and Portal 2 felt incredibly fresh when they first released, and the years since have not diminished their immense impact. To now have two of the most unique and mind-bending puzzle games on a Nintendo console, and on-the-go if you choose, is a pure joy. If it weren't for the frequent load screens punctuating the experience, we'd have absolutely nothing to complain about here. The motion controls work like a dream, the games run at a near-rock-solid 60fps, and the writing remains as funny now as it did all those years ago. If you haven't played the Portal games before, this should be a no-brainer. If you have... well, just play them again.

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes - Definitive Edition (Switch eShop)

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes – Definitive Edition is a worthwhile remake of a somewhat obscure puzzle classic. Its clever integration of light RPG elements on top of the puzzling action gives it an impressive amount of strategic depth, while the rotating cast of characters and factions offer plenty of variety in unit types and playstyles across its run. Though we were put off a bit by its difficulty spikes and the woes of RNG, add a strong multiplayer component and this is ultimately a game that we’d give a strong recommendation.

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes: Definitive Edition
Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes: Definitive Edition