All Puzzle Games with Pre-Orders (2021)

Ubisoft is working on a remake of their award-winning Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time action-adventure title from 2003. The game follows a Prince with the power to freeze or reverse time, who embarks on a journey to save his kingdom from a treacherous Vizier.

As a ground-up remake, the upcoming game features new character models and animations, modernized controls and camera, re-recorded dialogues, and new cinematic sequences. Ubisoft also promises fun bonuses, the first of which is Prince of Persia, the original 2D platformer from 1989, that can be played from the main menu of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake after unlocking it.

The Medium is a chilling horror-puzzle game developed and published by Bloober Team. Set in the ruins of an abandoned communist hotel. Follow the story of Marianne as she seeks to uncover the secrets behind her unusual abilities. Bridge the gap between the world of the dead and the living as you work your way through what remains of a twisted massacre. The Medium once an Xbox exclusive will be coming to the PlayStation 5 this autumn.

Marianne, as a medium between the two worlds, has the ability to exist and interact with objects within the two planes. The medium plays like an old-school survival horror game with tight environments and a terrifying but gripping story.

Disturbing images and scenes unveil themselves the deeper you go into the hotel. Lurking in the hotel is a creature known as the Maw that desperately wants to leave the spirit world by taking over Marianne’s body.

Solve puzzles and use your selection of abilities such as shooting out psychic blasts and creating energy shields as you fend off the maw and uncover hidden mysteries in this incredible journey.

Little Nightmares II follows the macabre adventure of Mono, a young boy trapped in a world distorted by the humming transmission of a distant Signal Tower. Guided by Six, the yellow-raincoated girl from the previous installment, he sets out to discover the secrets of the Signal Tower and save Six from her terrible fate. They will solve intricate puzzles, discover the mysteries of the Pale City, and fight to escape its fearsome residents.

The game comes in three different editions and also has an exclusive pre-order bonus, all detailed after the jump.

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is a puzzle game from Sega that mashes up Japan’s popular Puyo Puyo franchise with Tetris. Like in the first game, players can enjoy a solo Adventure mode (now with a new Overworld map to navigate between puzzle stages), local Versus competitions, and ranked Online matches.

New in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is the Skill Battle mode that features a character progression system and Item Cards that provide special abilities during battles.

With the launch of Catherine: Full Body on Switch confirmed, owners of Nintendo’s console will soon be able to step into the shoes of 32-year-old slacker Vincent and experience the dark and mature storyline involving a love square between himself, his long-term girlfriend Katherine, a seductive hottie he meets in a bar, Catherine, and his mysterious amnesiac neighbour, Rin.

Compared to the original Catherine, the Full Body version offers improved visuals, alternate endings, and a safety mode for the game’s puzzle sequences. It has launched for PlayStation 4 last year, so this article is concerned specifically with the upcoming Switch release.

In a surprise announcement, Nintendo has revealed a new installment in the Paper Mario RPG-platforming series. Titled Paper Mario: The Origami King, it features a brand new story that involves Princess Peach being turned into an origami by King Olly, the ruler of the Origami Kingdom.

In contrast to the turn-based 2D combat of the previous Paper Mario titles, The Origami King features a new 360° ring-based battle system where Mario has to line up enemies to cause the most damage and chain attacks. Mastering the new system is said to require both puzzle-solving skills and a quick wit.

Moving Out is a frenetic couch co-op game developed by SMG Studio and Devm Games, and published by Team17. Each player takes on the role of a Furniture Arrangement and Relocation Technician (F.A.R.T) and cooperates with up to three others to tackle increasingly dangerous and bizarre moving jobs.

Moving Out features physics-based gameplay, with the ability to toss and catch furniture, smash through doors and windows, and more. The game is family-friendly and rated E.

Harvest Moon: Mad Dash is a fast-paced color-matching puzzle game that involves growing and harvesting various ingredients under a time limit, with the goal of earning a three-star rating for each level. The levels include Farm, Beach, Underworld, Skyworld, and more.

Up to four players on the couch can join in the family-friendly fun and cooperate to earn a higher score.

The three iconic heroes – Amadeus the Wizard, Pontius the Knight, and Zoya the Thief – join forces once again to rescue a young prince haunted by his own dark powers in Frozenbyte’s upcoming Trine 4. The game features varied 2.5D levels with challenging puzzles and foes, an expansive storyline, and a soundtrack by award-winning composer Ari Pulkkinen.

Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince can be tackled solo or in a co-op (local or online) with up to four people, with the puzzles scaling in difficulty depending on the number of players.

Catherine: Full Body is a remaster of the 2011 title Catherine – a puzzle platformer slash visual novel from Atlus. Besides improved visuals and gameplay, the remaster also adds a new character – the mysterious amnesiac, Rin, who moves in next door to protagonist Vincent – as well as alternate endings for both Catherine and Katherine.

Other additions include a new “Safety Mode” for those who just want to experience the story without struggling through the game’s punishing puzzles, as well as a ranked online battle system where players can get matched up randomly or with others around their skill level.

While Catherine: Full Body is available on both PlayStation 4 and PS Vita in Japan, it is a PS4-exclusive in the West. The game will ship with dual audio for those who prefer the original voice acting.

Crystal Crisis is a puzzle-based combat game from Nicalis that features 19 playable characters from their various properties including Quote, Curly Brace, and Ballos from Cave Story+, Isaac from The Binding of Isaac, Princess Solange from Code of Princess EX, and many others. Each character has their own home stage, musical theme, special attacks, and voice-acted phrases.

The player fights by matching the falling gems by color to clear them from the screen and thus inflict damage on their opponent. The gameplay has additional mechanics such as the Burst Gauge, which fills up by performing combos, and is used to unleash powerful attacks.

Crystal Crisis offers Arcade, Survival, Tag Team, and Training modes, and can be played by one to four players.

Party Planet is a collection of mini-games of varied genres including action, puzzle, and sports, with a focus on multiplayer. According to a listing on the retailer’s website, a total of 30 family-friendly mini-games are included, and in 18 of those up to 4 players can join in competitive or cooperative play.

Party Planet is published by Mastiff Games and will launch for Nintendo Switch consoles. as a physical-only release. It is available exclusively through GameStop in North America.

RiME is an upcoming puzzle adventure game developed by Tequila Works, and published by Grey Box and Six Foot. It follows a young boy who gets shipwrecked on a mysterious island following a torrential storm. Guided by a helpful fox companion, players must use their wits to solve challenges with sound, light and shadow projection, perspective, platforming, and even time manipulation.

Several gaming sites have listed RiME among their most anticipated titles of 2017, citing its gorgeous visuals and subtle narrative.

Little Nightmares is a puzzle-platformer made by independent developer Tarsier Studios. The game follows Six, a little girl in an oversized yellow raincoat, who is trapped in a mysterious and gloomy prison called The Maw. Armed with nothing but her wits and a lighter, Six has to evade the Maw’s monstrous residents, and make her way to the outside world.

Published by Bandai Namco, Little Nightmares will be out on current-gen consoles and PC (via Steam and GOG.com).

Puyo Puyo Tetris, a well-received crossover between Puyo Puyo and Tetris series that has been out in Japan since 2014, is coming to the West. Developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega, the game allows up to four players to compete in five different ways (Versus, Fusion, Swap, Big Bang, and Party), or for a single player to take on the adventure mode and various challenges. Players may also upload and share replays and track their ratings online through the Puzzle League.

The Last Guardian is a fantasy action-adventure game with puzzle elements developed by genDESIGN and SIE Japan Studio. Its director and designer is Fumito Ueda, who is known for his work on Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. The Last Guardian is said to be heavily influenced by these two titles in terms of style and gameplay elements.

The game follows a young boy who befriends a huge winged beast called Trico. The two work together to escape a giant castle where they’re both held prisoner. The players will have to take care of Trico and also use him to complete puzzles. For example, they might throw a barrel to gain Trico’s attention and make him move to a specific location.

ReCore is an action-adventure game with some with puzzle and platform elements developed by Comcept and Armature Studio. The game’s protagonist is Joule Adams, one of the last remaining humans in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by mechanical enemies of all shapes. Joule is aided by her own robotic companions called Corebots, each of which has unique abilities to aid their fearless leader in her journey.

The game is a part of Microsoft’s new Xbox Play Anywhere initiative, which essentially means that you can play it on both Xbox One and Windows 10 (UWP) at no additional cost. Cross-save is also supported between the two platforms. According to the official website, ReCore promises more than 12 hours of gameplay at a price tag of $40.

LBP3 is an upcoming third installment in the core LittleBigPlanet series developed by a British studio Sumo Digital. The game includes three new playable characters – Swoop, Oddsock, and Toggle – each with their own unique powers; Sackboy himself also gains an ability to climb certain objects. In addition, there are new power ups such as the Pumpinator, which releases gusts of wind to move light items.

The Create Mode has also been greatly improved with the removal of the thermometer; HDD space is now the only limit. Furthermore, levels can be made more complex thanks to sixteen available layers, giving them more depth. Players of the previous titles will be happy to hear that LittleBigPlanet 3 is going to be backwards-compatible with the user-created levels from LBP and LBP2, rendering them at a higher resolution in the PS4 version of the game.

Catherine is an adult video game that combines puzzle platformer gameplay with a story full of erotic and horror elements. It is developed and published by a Japanese company Atlus, with cinematic scenes done by Studio 4°C.

The protagonist of the game is Vincent, a 32-year-old office worker who finds himself torn between two beautiful women. The first is his long-term girlfriend Katherine (shown on the Xbox 360 cover), and the other is a mysterious young Catherine (featured on the PS3 cover) who seduced Vincent after meeting him in a bar. After spending a night with the latter, the main character starts having nightmares in which he has to fight for his life.

Portal 2 is an upcoming sequel to Valve’s wildly popular game Portal, which came out back in 2007. According to the developers, it is going to be at least twice as long as the original. Portal 2 will also include new gameplay elements (such as the Repulsion Gel) and more complex puzzles.

Besides the single player campaign, the game will offer a multiplayer co-op mode which will allow players to take control of two cute robots and use teamwork to progress through the dangerous levels.

Portal 2 plot

In the updated ending of the original game, Chell (the protagonist) gets dragged away by an unseen robot and loses consciousness. The story of Portal 2 will pick up several hundred years later, with Chell waking up from a stasis and finding herself in a now-decrepit Aperture Science facility. Of course, our favorite insane AI – GLaDOS – is still alive, and eager to do science again. As for the aforementioned co-op mode, it will have its own unique plot and setting.