Puzzle games have always been wildly popular, and over time, the genre has evolved. A puzzle game back in the 80s is completely different from a puzzle game made in 2022. If you are looking for a nostalgic look back to past puzzle games, you've come to the right place.
Here, we are going to take a look at some of the best puzzle games from the 2000s. These games range from 2000 to 2009, and most of them are still available to play today. We will make note of each game's availability, as well as when it was originally released.
7 Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
- Release Date: December 10, 2009
- Available On: Nintendo DS, Xbox, PlayStation
First up, we have Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors. Also called 999, this is the ultimate escape room game. Throughout the game, you will need to figure out what is going on, while progressing through escape rooms in order to survive. Unlike many other games on our list, 999 has a complex story that involves different timelines. The story is the centerpiece, and the puzzles are the icing on the cake.
If you are a fan of these escape room puzzles, then you will be pleased to know that there are two additional games in this series. These sequels came out in 2009 and 2016, continuing on the story that starts in 999.
6 Puzzle Quest: Challenge Of The Warlords
- Release Date: March 16, 2007
- Available On: Nintendo DS, Xbox, PlayStation, PSP, PC, Mac, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, Wii
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlord is a classic puzzle game similar to Bejeweled, where your objective is to match colored tiles to form groups of three or more.
In Puzzle Quest, you will also get to play through a fantastical story with RPG elements. When you aren't playing these Bejeweled puzzles, you will read through a story of good versus evil, complete with unique and detailed artwork. Overall, this game is a perfect blend of the RPG and puzzle genres.
5 Notpron
- Release Date: 2004
- Available On: This is a browser game!
Notpron is a riddle-based puzzle game and is often noted as one of the first online puzzle games. Rather than escaping from a locked room or matching colors, Notpron gives you over 100 levels, filled with riddles to solve.
Rather than just selecting an answer on the screen, Notpron requires you to do things such as find a password or URL. Interestingly, as of October 2020, only 100 people had made it through every level in Notpron. Can you make it through all 138 levels?
4 Mystery Of Time And Space
- Release Date: November 2001
- Available On: This is a browser game!
Mystery of Time and Space, also called MOTAS, is an escape room-style game with 20 levels to play through. MOTAS is a typical escape room game, with the addition of sci-fi elements. Like Notpron, MOTAS is an influential game in early online puzzle games.
As an online game, MOTAS was produced with Adobe Flash, but as of 2020, Adobe dropped support for the Flash Player. Fortunately, you can find MOTAS on other sites which aim to preserve popular flash games.
3 World of Goo
- Release Date: October 13, 2008
- Available On: PC, Mac, iOS, Android, Wii, Nintendo Switch, BlackBerry
Next up, we have World of Goo. In this game, your goal is to progress through levels with the aid of goo. You will need to use goo to make objects such as bridges and cannonballs.
While making objects out of goo, you will need to use as little goo balls as possible. Overall, this game is pretty simple and straightforward, but there is something so satisfying about building with goo.
2 Azada
- Release Date: June 2007
- Available On: PC, Mac, Nintendo 3DS
In Azada, your goal is to solve puzzles in a storybook in order to free Titus, who has been trapped in the book by his great-uncle. In total, there are ten chapters that you can play through, reminiscent of an escape room.
In these chapters, you will have a time limit as well, with any wrong choice giving you a time penalty. With this in mind, every move you make in Azada is important. Fortunately, there are two more Azada games that continue on with the story and puzzles.
1 Super Collapse! 3
- Release Date: 2006
- Available On: PC, Mac, PSP, Nintendo DS
Lastly, we have Super Collapse! 3. This is part of the Collapse! game series, which was first released in 1998 as a flash game. This is a classic game, combining elements from Bejeweled and Tetris.
In this third entry to the series, you will be able to play through a quest mode, where you can explore the world in the game. If Collapse! interests you, there are tons of other games in the series that you can play. In 2007, a SpongeBob SquarePants Collapse! game even released as a browser game.