Highlights
- Dark fantasy puzzle games blend elements of horror and fantasy, offering a serious and philosophical tone.
- The Talos Principle, Myst, and Little Nightmares are all examples of puzzle games with dark fantasy esthetics.
- These games offer unique settings, intricate puzzles, and compelling narratives that challenge players' minds and immerse them in dark and mysterious worlds.
The earliest video games were inspired by puzzles, and many of the point-and-click adventures of the early PC gaming days are also puzzle-based. Contemporary puzzle games combine well with a variety of genres, and some of the most interesting and beautiful of these titles use a dark fantasy aesthetic.
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It's rather common for the best horror games to feature puzzle elements to keep players using their sharp minds, with an eye looking for dark ends.
Dark fantasy is a kind of fantasy horror, and the tone can be serious, philosophical, or comedic, depending on the finer details of the character and setting. There have been some memorable dark fantasy puzzles in the history of the gaming industry, and their legacy continues to evolve.
5 The Talos Principle
Metacritic Score: 88
The Talos Principle is a unique combination of science fiction, fantasy, and ancient philosophy. It focuses on a fictional historical figure called Straton and his musings regarding the consciousness of Talos, the mechanical creature built by the god Haphestos to guard the treasures he had created.
The teachings of Straton maintain that humans are also a type of machine, just one that uses a biological process. The game includes various references to ancient mythology, and the dark apocalyptic setting is devoid of humans, who were wiped out by a virus. The game was so well received by both gamers and critics that it prompted a DLC and a sequel.
4 Myst
Metacritic Score: 78
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Myst
- Developer(s)
- Cyan Worlds Inc
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle
- Released
- September 24, 1993
- Platform(s)
- macOS , PC , PS1 , PSP , Sega Saturn , Nintendo DS , 3DS , Switch , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
The protagonist touches a book and finds themselves on a mysterious island called Myst that seems deserted but is filled with secret passages, strange buildings, and puzzles. At first, the setting seems quaint, even harmless, but as the story progresses everything gets darker and more dangerous.
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Myst, and the other islands that the player can find in their travels, have a sinister history. It's the scene of a family squabble between two brothers, both mad with power, and an estranged father trying to reign them in before they destroy everything he created, including the protagonist.
3 The Secret of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
Metacritic Score: 85
It's a story about solving puzzles and fighting the undead, with the same comedy and horror mix as the original but leaning more into the dark humor when it becomes more apparent that Threepwood is fighting a zombie this time. Some of the settings include swamps and coffins, and the voodoo references include haunted dolls and lots of gross stuff in jars.
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There's some combat in this game, but even at times when Guy has to fight a boss, it's a matter of solving the riddle of the opponent's fatal weakness. The story gets progressively darker until the ending, which is not only the most ominous part of all but also sets up the future games in the franchise.
2 Limbo
Metacritic Score: 90
The main character in Limbo is a nameless child who wakes up in the middle of a forest and goes looking for his missing sister. He encounters monsters like giant spiders, passes through the wilderness into a ruined industrial area, and then returns to the starting point, where his sister is easily found sleeping nearby, or at least that's how it appears.
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A fantasy-horror title from developer Playdead, Limbo combines a dark fantasy setting with a platformer and a puzzle game, and the exact setting and themes are open to a variety of interpretations. The name itself implies that the protagonist is in some kind of realm between life and death, but whether or not this is what's actually happening, or if it's a dream, or some kind of hallucination, is up to the player.
1 Little Nightmares
Metacritic Score: 78
Little Nightmares starts as a 2D platformer that requires the player to solve puzzles to advance, then combines it with a unique horror and fantasy setting. There are no weapons in this game, with a possible exception being the lighter the protagonist carries, but only stealth and puzzle solving can save her from the Maw.
Six, the hero of the story, isn't just a child trapped in a hideous nightmare of a place called the Maw, she's also starving. This last detail might not seem important or surprising, but it does take the story to a few shocking and visceral places, which is partly why it's such a dark game.
