Individuals often dive into their preferred games aiming to showcase their abilities, which may also involve exercising their problem-solving talents. Puzzles are a frequent feature in many video games that help put these skills to the test.
Generally speaking, you’ll often find that you need to solve puzzles to advance in these games. However, don’t be fooled into thinking that the developers will make it a breeze for you. On the contrary, some of these puzzles can be incredibly challenging, and without much guidance, they might seem almost unsolvable.
While it’s fascinating how intricate some of these brain-teasers can be, the complexity often makes them more perplexing and aggravating rather than entertaining.
It’s quite astonishing that certain individuals managed to crack these puzzles without any help, given that some of the games predated the era when online tutorials were readily available.
As a gamer, I often find myself stumped by these riddles that seem intentionally complex. No matter the reasons behind their complexity, the common feeling of frustration lingers.
10. Myahm Agana Apparatus
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
In a more straightforward and conversational style: The Zelda games are truly precious treasures, deeply cherished by countless gamers. And when Breath of the Wild was released, it significantly transformed the series, offering an innovative way to experience it with its intricate storyline presented in an open-world setting.
This update introduces a fresh take on the notorious temples within the franchise, scattering over one hundred mysterious shrines throughout the game map. Players will be challenged in both combat and problem-solving skills as they navigate through these puzzles. One particularly challenging puzzle, though, stands out – it’s called the Myahm Agana Apparatus.
Initially, it appears straightforward: navigate a ball through a labyrinth using motion sensors, then toss the ball from the labyrinth across an open space and into its final destination. However, the controls prove almost infeasible, causing the ball to repeatedly plummet into pits and even leap over the maze walls.
Initially, I found a tricky way to solve this puzzle by turning my Nintendo Switch 180 degrees, effectively flipping the maze upside down and rolling the ball across the now-smooth surface effortlessly. It wasn’t until later that I discovered this method is quite common among players.
It’s not ideal when players are simply manipulating the puzzle to suit their convenience rather than actually solving it as intended.
9. Goat Puzzle
Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars

As a gaming enthusiast, I’ve found myself immersed in an intriguing mystery unlike any other – a murder case that unravels into a labyrinthine web of secrets far beyond what anyone could have initially anticipated. Interestingly enough, this gripping tale unfolds within the confines of a charming PS1 game titled Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars, set in an old, crumbling medieval castle nestled amidst the verdant landscapes of Lochmarne, Ireland.
In this fortress, you take on the role of George, attempting to unravel a murder mystery while simultaneously unearthing the hidden horrors of the Knights Templar. To make things more intriguing, before you can delve into the castle or piece together the enigma, you must first conquer a Goat Puzzle – an exasperating challenge unlike any other.
In their exploration, players encounter a goat that persistently pushes against them, blocking entry. Yet, unbeknownst to them, pushing back on this stubborn goat turns out to be the solution to this perplexing puzzle.
Following a run-in with the goat, players must promptly work with the farm tools for minor tweaks. This way, when the goat pushes against the player again, it becomes entangled and stuck, giving the player the opportunity to enter the castle.
As a player, it feels entirely counterintuitive when the game demands us to approach situations where we’re intentionally getting hit, without any clear signposting or hints from the game. This leads to us unknowingly wasting countless hours on this seemingly silly goat chase.
Just saying, any logical person would have just cut the rope.
8. ALL of It
Baba Is You

In our early education, we’re taught that when our experiments produce unexpected results, we should rethink our understanding. Yet, in the game Baba Is You, this process deviates slightly from the traditional scientific method.
As a gamer, when I find myself puzzled by my in-game results, I often find myself back at the starting line, rethinking the rules and even flipping them upside down entirely! It’s an uncommon but exhilarating way to solve puzzles within this game, leaving me utterly baffled – if only my brain could feel the literal scratching of my head.
In simpler terms, solving all the puzzles in Baba is You feels incredibly challenging (and the play on words with ‘ALL’ is intentional). It’s as if managing Baba’s taxes would be a walk in the park compared to the brain-teasing conundrums this game presents because there’d be no need to adjust rules to send documents to the IRS.
Regardless, Baba Is You is incredibly captivating, but only if gamers can manage to solve a puzzle to advance.
7. 3D Maze
Super Mario RPG

There’s no debate that Super Mario Bros holds a unique place of significance in gaming history – it’s simply uncontested. Mario has earned his status as a colossal figure within the gaming world, renowned for creating enjoyable, kid-friendly games and delivering delightful, carefree adventures.
In Super Mario RPG, Mario steps into a fresh genre for the first time, and surprisingly, this adventure turns out to be more challenging than expected. You’ll discover it in a submerged ship, where the camera remains stationary. This underwater wonder is called the Sunken Ship.
The “3D Maze” stands out as the toughest challenge within the game, a difficulty level that even the iconic plumber wouldn’t anticipate. Surprisingly, the game is primarily three-dimensional, but unfortunately, there’s no option to maneuver the camera inside this maze. As a result, players find themselves lost for extended periods of time, literally wandering aimlessly for hours on end.
In the remake, this specific aspect was directly carried over without any changes affecting the final outcome. Unlike the original game, though, players can seek help if they encounter difficulties by looking up solutions.
6. Braille Puzzle
Pokemon Ruby

Have you ever pondered about mastering the art of Braille reading? Turns out, playing Pokémon Ruby requires just that to advance in the game!
Initially, the game package contained a guidebook with the Braille Alphabet printed on it; however, it’s no secret that players usually don’t hold onto the manual. In fact, I came across a discussion on Reddit where the topic was informally polled: very few kept the manual. Consequently, when they encountered the Braille puzzle, many were left scratching their heads in confusion.
Back in the day, players found it hard to quickly access Braille information online. Their primary options were either searching for relevant books at the library or asking someone who had previously deciphered it. This was quite a complex riddle, and its difficulty could have been significantly reduced if players had been more meticulous about every aspect of their game.
Meanwhile, the game does not hint at requiring a manual for solving puzzles, which can come as an unpleasant surprise for players who are neither literate nor familiar with Braille.
5. Water Sample
Resident Evil 3

In school, science wasn’t everyone’s preferred subject, and for some, it turned out to be a frightening reality in the game Resident Evil 3. This brief horror title places you in the role of Jill Valentine, struggling to flee Raccoon City as it becomes infested with zombies, while constantly evading a formidable foe known as Nemesis, a Bio-Organic Weapon.
At some stage, you’ll need to analyze a water sample to open a door and reach the final part of the game. Remarkably, this proved to be one of the toughest challenges encountered in the entire Resident Evil series.
As a child, I found this puzzle relatively straightforward for me, though it’s worth noting that I persisted by using sheer determination and force to complete it.
In simpler terms, keep adjusting the colors and settings until they correspond with the given water sample. Eventually, if you go through all the options sufficiently, the solution should become apparent to you.
Thankfully, this intricate riddle wasn’t incorporated into the Resident Evil 3 Remake, as it became excessively complex and difficult to solve on its own.
4. Niobe Labs
Destiny 2

In many games, boss fights are notoriously challenging, causing developers to make them less difficult in later revisions and updates. On the other hand, this isn’t often discussed when talking about puzzles… except perhaps among Destiny players, who understand all too well that they can be just as demanding.
In Destiny 2, the Niobe Labs were infamously challenging, prompting the developers to issue an apology along with a firm statement: either solve the riddles yourself or we’ll provide the solutions directly.
Collaboratively, players strove to unravel the labyrinthine mysteries and make advancements, highlighting the exceptional camaraderie within the Destiny Community. Yet, the very need for such collective effort underscores just how mind-boggling this puzzle truly turned out to be.
To unlock Bergusia Forge, players needed to solve the complex puzzles hidden within the messages. It took 80 hours before it was finally cracked, with numerous streamers staying up late and performing extraordinary efforts just for a clue. This triumph, though impressive, left a bitter feeling among many players.
I also consulted a friend who’s not familiar with the game, and his response was a meme depicting flashbacks to Vietnam, which might hint at the intense nature of the labs.
3. Shakespeare’s Stanzas
Silent Hill 3

When considering challenging puzzles, many minds tend to wander towards those encountered in Silent Hill games, and it’s common to find a connection between two such brain-teasers.
The conundrum at hand is between the Piano Mystery at Midwich Elementary School, or interpreting Shakespeare’s Sonnets from Silent Hill 3. To be frank, having tackled both, I found Shakespeare’s Sonnets to be considerably more challenging.
If you didn’t study AP Literature in high school or aren’t acquainted with any of Shakespeare’s plays, you might find yourself facing a very challenging experience.
Apart from having studied Advanced Placement Literature and being a theater enthusiast who delved into the works of Shakespeare for leisure, even including a passage from Hamlet in my wedding reading, I encountered challenges while solving this riddle.
To solve the initial puzzle in this game, you need to sort the Anthology and decode a keypad lock sequence for it. However, that’s just the beginning, as more riddles are provided to correctly encode the anthology volumes using the proper code. This first challenge is quite challenging indeed!
Let me cut straight to the chase: The solution for this enigma is 8352. With the piano puzzle, the reasoning process becomes more transparent and easier to grasp.
2. The Water Temple
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

I’m curious, what could have possibly been going through Nintendo’s mind when designing the Water Temple for Ocarina of Time? It’s indisputably one of the most memorable dungeons in their series, but sadly, it’s not for a positive reason.
If all these other puzzles were simply obtuse, then the Water Temple is outright incomprehensible.
In this game, the entire temple’s water depth changes to facilitate your swimming or sinking, depending on whether you’re wearing iron boots. This dynamic adjustment is designed to guide you through the levels until you reach the boss, who goes by two names: Link’s Shadow and Dark Link, depending on the community you’re engaging with.
The Nintendo 64 game system had numerous restrictions, one of which was requiring players to access the menu each time they wanted to change items, transforming the temple experience more into an interactive settings tutorial rather than an adventure, and figuring out how to interact with it initially could be quite challenging.
In the 3DS edition of the game, this particular issue was addressed, yet the remainder of the temple remained unchanged, keeping players as bewildered as they were during their childhood years. However, unlike before, they won’t be spending most of their time scrutinizing their Inventory for this version of the game.
1. The Black Monolith
Fez

When discussing the game Fez, players often remark on its extreme puzzle difficulty, implying that one needs near-genius level skills to complete the game. In truth, calling it simply challenging does not fully capture the game’s actual level of challenge.
Without a doubt, the toughest challenge within the game lies with the enigmatic artifact known as the “Black Monolith”. You’ll find it nestled in the “Natural Region”, following the lowering of sea levels. To crack this code, players must meticulously press buttons in a specific sequence. The twist is that they need to frequently toggle between first-person and third-person views to grasp the entire puzzle picture.
The solution is actually simple, but there’s no way that players would figure it out on their own.
After positioning themselves on the single block, players need to input the sequence: Down, Down, L2, R2, R2, A, Up. This action releases the red heart cube effortlessly. In essence, players could have simply jumped onto the box and started breakdancing instead, but they would still have achieved the same outcome.
The indie game, Fez, has matured beautifully over time, offering a new puzzle to solve each time gamers launch it.
It’s consistently awe-inspiring to observe that, despite passing time, the location of triumph remains elusive for many gamers, who will forever cherish the thrill of victory they experienced upon finally cracking the code or finding the solution. (We’re not here to judge whether it was through sheer brilliance or a quick Google search!)
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2025-04-17 19:13