puzzle-solving games

Call of The Sea is a first person puzzle adventure playing the role of Nora searching for her lost husband in the South Pacific. Engulf yourself in a colorful and mysterious island full of secrets and relics. Explore the island and the clues left by her husband and learn the how to use strange technology.


I was able to run Call of the Sea in Heoric Launch using Proton. It ran a bit slow in areas but I was able to tweak the graphic settings. The game might stutter a bit when loading a new area but other than that, it was beautiful and smooth.

Mint 21.3 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1650
Nvidia 535
Proton Experimental 9
Heroic Launcher

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Portal Revolution is a sequel after the initial test subject killed GladOS. You wake up once again in a strange experimental chamber as another test subject. The modding community has created some new features not seen in Portal or Portal 2 and some new A.I. characters who help along the way.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/601360/Portal_Revolution/

Portal Revolution ran perfectly in Linux as a stand alone Linux native game. I never had any performance issues or crashes... it was extremely fun and only a few puzzles required searching online for a solution. I love the bot voice-overs and the new character plots. I can't believe Valve has not created a new Portal with some of these new laser and Pneumatic vent features! Thank you Portal community!

Mint 21.1 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1650
Nvidia 535
Proton Experimental 8

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The world is not what it seems...
Enter a terrifying world where humanity is at its end, WAU monsters have taken over and you are the only one left to save us. Creatures roam in the dark you can run, you can hide, but the only way to stop them is to become one of them? Explore massive underwater facilities spanning across an ocean. Hear resonating memories from objects and bodies, figure out who you really are and work with Catherine the computer AI.

https://www.gog.com/en/game/soma

I've had SOMA for a few years on GOG and finally broke down to give it a try. I'm a big Amnesia fan so I knew I would like this horror thriller by Frictional Games. I wasn't disappointed! Not only does it run native in Linux, it ran beautifully and the visual effects are AMAZING! The monsters are pretty terrifying and your only defense is hiding, closing doors behind you and running. Enjoy!

Specs:
Mint 21.1 64-bit
GeForce GTX
1650 Nvidia 530

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Synergy is a community made mod for Half-Life 2 that allows you to play through the campaigns with your friends:

• Half-Life 2
• Half-Life 2: Episode 1
• Half-Life 2: Episode 2

Re-live the epic adventure/nightmare as Gordon Freeman against the Combine republic! Experience silly gravity bugs and interesting effects while solving puzzles and goofing off with the gravity gun! Its endless fun!


There are a few progress-breaking bugs in Synergy and the only solution is to skip the rest of "said map" but over all the experience is really fun and long! So many enemies to kill and fun ways to crash into each other in the buggy or hovercraft. Proton handles Synergy nicely! Its hard to tell if Half-Life is running natively or as Winodws executables?

I played through with both of my daughters offline with a single Steam account and it was a lot of fun! Thank you Synergy!

Mint 20.3 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1650
Nvidia 515
Proton...

Sable is a nonviolent open world 3rd person exploration and adventure game. Discover the remnants of an ancient civilization with advanced technology on your hover bike roaming the world. Interact with characters and puzzles and unfold an epic story!


Before I gave Sable a "go" I did some research on protondb first. There were many reports of stuttery, lagging frame rates when exploring on the hover bike and I can confirm they are correct. The stutters were not horribly bad or unplayable, but I definitely noticed them. I really enjoy some of Sable's abilities like slowly hovering down in the orb or riding in the hover bike crashing into things.

Mint 20.3 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1650
Nvidia 515
Proton Experimental

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Shadow Of The Tomb Raider is the newest installment of the Tomb Raider series with all the eye-candy, puzzles and action you expect! In fact there are some newer tools and abilities added to the skill tree to help you hunt, find resources, kill enemies, stealthilize and solve puzzles. All the crafting needs for Laura are here as well. Go find the treasure, save the natives and eliminate Trinity! Can't be that hard right?


I was able to pick up "Shadow" during a free event at Epic Games. I'm using Heroic Launcher and Proton but there have been some frustrations. After trying several Proton versions and disabling DirectX 12 there are some performance issues and graphical glitches.

With DirectX 12 enabled the game seems to run fine, but you may see strange patterns and colors appearing the game textures like this...

pretty glitter on his jacket... he he


Also, there is some kind of memory leak and you will see...

SupraLand is a first person adventure, action, puzzle game with some stunning graphics and features.

Play as the hero of the back yard sandbox... help the red people to find out why the water stopped and explore huge detailed world made of sandbox toys. There are many hidden areas, powerups, coins and enemies. Spare no expense!


I picked up the game for free on Epic Store and was able to play perfectly with Heroic Launcher in Linux. Never experienced a crash or stutter. This game runs smoothly and its a lot of fun. I found myself exploring and finding all kinds of secrets. My GeForce GTX 1650 runs it just fine!

Specs:
Mint 20.3 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1650
Nvidia 515
Heroic Launcher
Proton Eperimental (version 7)

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Never Alone is a co-op puzzle platform game inspired by Iñupiat, (Alaska Natives). The visuals are stunning and the physics make each puzzle interesting and challenging. Make your way through the icy Alaskan mountains and rivers with your pet fox. Work together and see the majestic spirit world appear with new puzzles and creepy creatures!

https://www.gog.com/game/never_alone_arctic_collection

Upper One Games / E-Line Media was nice enough to provide a native Linux version and it runs beautifully! I was able to use the keyboard & mouse while my daughter played with the Xbox controller.

Specs:
Mint 20.2 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1650
Nvidia 470

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Sclerosis: an Amnesia PS1 demake is a re-make of Amnesia Dark Descent with Playstation 1 look and feel.
Re-live the horror experience as Daniel finding himself among sacred dungeons and experiments gone wrong.
Play for free like it was 2001...

https://createam.itch.io/sclerosis-an-amnesia-ps1-demake


Made with the Unity 3D engine, I didn't experience any issues in Linux. Playstation 1 games have extremely low requirements so performance was spectacular as expected. I loved all the interactive objects, lighting effects and spooky sounds. Makes me want to play the original Amnesia all over again.

Specs:
Mint 20.2 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia 470
PlayOnLinux 4.3.4
Wine 6.17-staging64-bit
DXVK 1.9.1

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LEGO has an ongoing franchise in re-creating movies as action puzzle games. LEGO The Hobbit follows the story of Bilbo Baggins with humor, boss fights, clever puzzles, LEGO crafting and lots of hack-n-slash action.
Even play through the store co-op with a friend! Graphically this game is absolutely beautiful! I was able to play in HD 1080 and never a performance for frame rate drop.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/285160/LEGO_The_Hobbit/


Proton handles LEGO The Hobbit without any issues. I am able to play right out-of-the-box with keyboard/mouse and my Xbox controller. There were only minor issues in the game that Windows gamers experience as well. Other than that, it is fun, clever and frustrating game like all the LEGO series.

Specs:
Mint 20.2 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia 470
Proton 6.3-8




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Triple Hell is a horror puzzle game where you have to avoid a crazy giant maniac with a red lantern. You have to hurry as he is roaming the asylum and if he see's you its almost impossible to escape. Find the items you need to leave the asylum or die trying.

https://kenethdev.itch.io/triple-hell

Solitary Games also has a few other horror games:
https://solitarygames.wixsite.com/official

Triple Hell ran perfectly in stable Wine without any issues. Performance was great and its a pretty spooky game being chased around this small asylum.

Specs:
Mint 20.1 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia 470
PlayOnLinux 4.3.4
Wine 6.0 64-bit
DXVK 1.9.1

You Suck At Parking is a clever driving puzzle game where you have to overcome obstacles in order to park your vehicles. Sound simple? No... its not! Fly over jumps, launch through explosive thrusters, fight against huge fans and get lost in the deep water. Everything rendered in beautiful island-esque cartoon world with perfect physics for your entertainment and frustration. Failing is an option, then you can just give it another go!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/837880/You_Suck_at_Parking/


You Suck At Parking demo runs fine in Proton until you load the menu or another level. Its seriously an issue with Proton and Unity 3D or Unreal Engine games. I've never had this problem until recently yet all of my other Wine games and native games run fine! I recently posted GOG's Wolfenstein New Order and it runs perfectly!
But most indie games are made in the previously mentioned engines and now I'm having issues...

Here is a...

The Way Of Life Free Edition is a clever low-poly adventure puzzle game where you can choose different scenarios between three characters:

• Young Boy
• Middle Aged Man
• Old Man

https://store.steampowered.com/app/310370/The_Way_of_Life_Free_Edition/

Each scenario is about real life situations and your goal is to find a solution or choice to continue. Some are mostly mini-games where you have a goal to achieve.

CyberCoconut provides a native Linux port for us and it run beautifully!
No issues on my system.

Specs:
Mint 20.1 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia 470

I started re-playing Portal I & II with my oldest daughter. We are taking turns for every puzzle and its like a co-op experience... a lot of fun! Play as an unfortunate test experiment unit who is forced to go through rigorous and dangerous facilities where your body is thrown into portals across levels for cake. But is there really cake? You'll see...

In Portal II you will re-visit the original testing facility but with a new twist... your test moderator is bitter and angry, now she is punishing you and creating new portal experiments to torture even further. But something is wrong with the facility and everything is falling apart...


Portal I & II ran perfectly in Linux as Valve ported them years ago... I was able to crank all the video settings to HIGH and play without any performance issues on my GeForce GTX 1060. Both game are designed with dramatic lighting and lots of eye candy and animation. I love these games!

Specs:
Mint 20.1...

Portal Stories: MEL is a free total conversion of the Portal game with a whole new story and content. Your character is thrust into a huge salt-mine in the early 1940s and put to sleep in a chamber. Then you are rudely awakened with the world around you crumbling. Use a new portal gun to find your way through epic underground testing facilities.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/317400/Portal_Stories_Mel/


Portal Stories: MEL is fully ported to Linux and ran fine on my GeForce GTX 1060. I never had any performance problems and didn't even need Portal 2 installed in Steam. So this is a stand-alone version.

Specs:
Mint 20.1 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia 460

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Altered is a puzzle game made of boxes. Yes boxes... but you can't just stay in the box to solve them... you have to go "outside the box" in your mind and on your keyboard. Alter your character and the objects to complete each puzzle. This is no ordinary mind boggling teaser. Play at your own speed and learn to trial-n-error your way around each puzzle.

https://glitchheart.itch.io/altered

Altered has a free native Linux demo available on the itch page. It ran perfectly without any issue whatsoever. Be patient and enjoy!

Specs:
Mint 20.1 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia 460

Silence is a point-n-click mystery adventure about a brother and sister surviving after a war raid. Play as Noah who is trying to find her sister in post traumatic duress in a fantasy world of Silence. Meet interesting creatures and find aid from war-torn rebels. Feast your eyes on amazingly detailed environments and stunning visuals.

https://www.gog.com/game/silence_demo

Silence was created with the Unreal engine and required proton to run it in PlayOnLinux. I was able to play the demo without any serious issues on my GeForce GTX 1060. The demo is free so you can give it a try and experience the world of Silence.

Specs:
Mint 20.1 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia 460
PlayOnLinux 4.3.4
Proton 5.9 64-bit

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Sky Beneath is a clever gravity puzzle game where you can control which way gravity aims for your character.
Play as Cassie who is about to test an experimental gravity suit. Rotate the world around her to solve physics puzzles and find you way through the space station...

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1313110/Sky_Beneath/

Proton handled the Sky Beneath Demo without any serious issues. I was able to keep all the settings on high and all the Unreal Engine features were beautiful!

Specs:
Mint 20.1 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia 460
Proton 6.3-3

HOB is an action puzzle game developed by Runic Games who made Torchlight and Torchlight II.
https://www.gog.com/game/hob


Discover a magical world of ancient technology of epic scale. Use your robot arm to slay minions, toggle switches and light up the world of strange machinery. There is no dialog or story in this game, just find your way around the world to unlock new areas, upgrades and abilities.

Hob plays beautifully in PlayOnLinux with stable Wine. There are some stutters here and there probably related to loading the streaming areas of the game, but other than that it is full of exploration.

Specs:
Mint 20.1 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia 460
PlayOnLinux 4.3.4
Wine 6.0 64-bit
DXVK 1.8.1

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Once again our three heroes are thrust into another Frozenbyte adventure with puzzles, enemies and bosses. Play as the knight, mage and bowoman with all of their unique abilities. Overcome physics-based obstacles and take down all the enemies in your way! What could possibly go wrong?

https://www.gog.com/game/trine_3_the_artifacts_of_power

This Trine is a bit different from the other Trine games. Your characters are no longer restricted in 2D space and can move freely in and out of limited 3 dimensional space. Jump tricks, physics and lining up your character is more challenging because depth perception is "off" a bit. There is also an interactive map where you can freely select any level you like, but you have to unlock them with golden triangles. Didn't find enough triangles in the last map? Go back and search again... and again... and again... oh and the mage cannot spawn multiple cubes or planks. He can only spawn a single cube. No wonder he's confused...