Games Where Information Is The Most Powerful Resource

Many video games link a player’s strength to the weapons they find or the abilities they unlock. Usually, getting a better weapon or upgrading skills makes you feel more powerful. This is a common design element in games with combat – you’ll find it in almost any game that involves fighting.

The following games offer a slightly different experience. While some still involve combat, the real strength comes from gathering and using information. This information takes different forms in each game, but the core idea is consistent: simply fighting won’t be enough to win. You’ll need to learn about the game world and then use that knowledge to progress and overcome challenges.

Disco Elysium

Combat Isn’t Even An Option

The core idea behind Disco Elysium is simple: you start knowing absolutely nothing. You play as a detective, Harry du Bois, who’s lost his memory – he knows he’s a detective, but not who he is, where he is, or what case he’s working on. While the details of the case and location become clear quickly, defining Harry’s identity is entirely up to the player.

Harry isn’t a typical action hero – there’s no fighting in Disco Elysium. Instead, everything he does relies on the information he gathers and, well, the voices inside his head. These voices represent Harry’s different personality traits, each offering their own opinions on his actions and the people he encounters. This constant internal chatter can make things confusing, so it’s crucial to investigate carefully, question everyone, and stay focused. Though, you can choose to play as a detective who’s… less than sober, if you prefer.

Tunic

Decoding A New Language

At first glance, Tunic seems like a fresh take on the classic Zelda formula, starring an adorable fox instead of the usual hero. The fox’s clothing immediately hints at the inspiration from Nintendo’s beloved adventure games. But Tunic isn’t simply a copycat; it stands out with a surprisingly innovative feature: its in-game instruction manual.

The game’s story is written in a language you can’t understand. However, you can find pages from a manual hidden throughout the world, and these will teach you how to play – things like what to do at wells or how to solve puzzles with doors. You’ll discover important gameplay details and techniques – including how to fight and move around – that you wouldn’t find anywhere else.

Pentiment

It All Comes Down To Dinner

Pentiment, created by Obsidian Entertainment, is a role-playing game where you solve mysteries in 16th-century Bavaria. You play as Andreas Maler, a traveling artist, and are constantly challenged with figuring out who committed murders in the town of Tassing and the local abbey. To solve each case, you’ll need to talk to the residents, gather evidence, and decide who you believe is responsible.

Okay, so here’s the thing that’s really cool about this game: you don’t actually have to accuse the real killer! Sometimes, someone else just feels more deserving of punishment, and you can totally go with that. It’s great because there are no pesky things like evidence, trials, or retractions to worry about. But honestly, the best way to figure out who to point the finger at – besides looking for clues – is just inviting people over for dinner. Those conversations are amazing! You learn so much about the mystery, but also about the whole world Andreas inhabits. It’s a brilliant way to get to the truth, or at least, a truth.

Pathologic 2

Piecing Together A Cure

In Pathologic 2, Artemy can fight, but it’s usually a bad strategy. While you can find a gun or melee weapons for him, he’s a doctor, not a soldier, so he isn’t very accurate. Fighting multiple enemies or anyone with the plague is incredibly risky – it’s a quick way to get infected. You’ll have much more success by being stealthy and gathering information through conversations.

Okay, so the people back in Artemy’s town? They’re…weird. Seriously cryptic, like they expect you to already know stuff. I’m constantly scribbling notes because I’m racing against time to find a cure for this plague. If I mess up, everyone’s gonna get sick and…well, you can guess the rest. The info is there, though. It’s just a huge pain to dig it all up and actually figure out how to use it to stop this thing.

Outer Wilds

Understanding The Universe

In Outer Wilds, information is your only real tool. While you have a ship and spacesuit, they’re useless without learning about the solar system. Solving the game’s mysteries depends on understanding the history of each planet, the long-lost Nomai civilization, and the sudden, unexplained supernova of the sun.

You’re stuck in a 22-minute time loop, which, surprisingly, can be helpful. Each loop resets everything except what you’ve learned. Your ship’s log records your discoveries, showing you what still needs to be investigated. It’s up to you to use this knowledge to solve the challenges you face, looping as many times as necessary. Space can be frightening, but since dying simply restarts the loop, it’s no longer something to fear – it’s just another resource.

Antichamber

Impossibilities Made Possible

Many puzzle games are straightforward, but Antichamber is truly unique. It’s less of a traditional puzzle game and more of a mind-bending exploration experience. You’ll wander through a continuously connected world filled with impossible, Escher-inspired architecture, using a special gun to alter the environment. The main objective is simple: keep moving forward. However, actually doing that is incredibly challenging.

Antichamber is a challenging game where success doesn’t come easily. You’ll have to figure out not only how each puzzle works, but also master the unique abilities of your weapon – what it can and can’t do, and where you can use it. It requires a completely new way of thinking, and it takes time to learn, but once you start solving the puzzles, it’s incredibly rewarding.

Shadows Of Doubt

Everyone Is A Suspect, Literally

While Disco Elysium has you solving a fixed mystery in a set world, Shadows of Doubt adds an element of chance. You’re a detective in a unique 1980s setting where the city, its citizens, and the crimes you investigate are all created randomly. Despite this, the game offers complete freedom to explore as you please.

In Shadows of Doubt, you’re a detective solving a case without any hand-holding. There are no markers pointing you to clues – you’ll need to analyze evidence, build a suspect list, and track people down using your own deductions. If you accuse the wrong person, they’ll continue to commit crimes. The game gives you complete freedom to investigate however you choose: question witnesses, follow suspects, or even break into apartments to find proof. It’s a detailed and immersive detective experience where every piece of information requires effort to uncover.

Fallout: New Vegas

Build Yourself A Thinker

You can absolutely play Fallout: New Vegas with unconventional weapons like a gun that fires junk, or even a mini-nuke launcher, and still succeed. That’s because this RPG is incredibly flexible – with enough planning, almost any character build is viable. Whether you prefer a brilliant strategist or something else entirely, the game allows for it.

Focusing on Intelligence is a great first step in Fallout: New Vegas. It not only gives you more skill points, but also makes hacking much easier, boosts your healing, and improves the effects of chems. If you then invest those skill points in Speech, you’ll be more successful in conversations – which makes sense for a smart character! But the real power comes from playing intelligently: gathering information, finding secret routes, tricking enemies into traps, and talking your way out of trouble. While there are many ways to enjoy the game, building a character around Intelligence is both effective and rewarding if you fully embrace the strategy.

Return Of The Obra Dinn

Insurance Claims Need To Be Airtight

Return of the Obra Dinn is unlike any other game you’ll play. It’s a unique blend of exploration, story-driven adventure, and even a bit of horror, all wrapped up in the unusual role of an insurance investigator. On the surface, that might not sound thrilling, but it’s actually incredibly engaging. You play as an investigator in 1807, tasked with figuring out what happened to the crew of the Obra Dinn, a ship that mysteriously returned to England after being lost at sea for five years. Your goal is to identify each crew member and uncover the events of their voyage. Luckily, you have a special magical stopwatch. When activated near a crew member’s body, it lets you witness their final moments – and even step into the world at the time of their death, freezing everything else in time, though the vision is brief.

You’ll find most of the important information here. Your main task is to identify the crew – using anything that helps, like their appearance or voice – and record how they died in your journal. It sounds simple, but it’s actually quite challenging. Information is limited, and you won’t have much time to gather it, making it difficult to focus on what’s important amidst the chaos. You need to identify and track the fate of 60 people, and you’ll quickly find that taking notes is essential.

Blue Prince

It’s All Connected, But How?

We’re highlighting one last puzzle game, and it stands out not for the puzzles themselves, but for how you solve them. Blue Prince is a unique “roguelite” puzzle game where you build the mansion you explore by choosing between three different rooms each time. Many are calling it one of the best games of 2025. At first, your aim is to find the legendary Room 46, which won’t be easy. You’ll face various puzzles – riddles, codes, and visual challenges – but here’s the twist: the answer isn’t always in the same room as the puzzle itself.

Get ready to take detailed notes! Clues are hidden throughout the different rooms, and you’ll often need information from earlier attempts to solve puzzles later on. You might find a clue now that doesn’t become useful until several rounds from now, or solve a puzzle and then remember a clue from a previous run. Success depends on carefully tracking all these details, remembering unsolved puzzles, and knowing when to revisit them. It takes effort to gather, organize, and apply this information, but the feeling of finally solving a complex puzzle is incredibly satisfying.

2025-12-27 06:06