The 2025 Thinky GOTY noms, ranked
Having played all of the 2025 Thinky Awards GOTY nominees, I thought it'd be fun to share my thoughts. In order of worst to best:
9. Blue Prince
My most played puzzle game this year by far (131.8 hours logged on Steam, 1,135 screenshots taken), and also my most hated by far. The early game annoyed me, the mid game obsessed me, and the endgame betrayed me so ruthlessly that I'll likely never forgive it. BP committed perhaps the worst sin I can imagine for a puzzle game: it made me resent my own curiosity. I don't regret playing it—I learned a lot about myself and my values as a puzzle game player during those 131 hours (and the countless more spent just thinking about the game). Still, you don't thank your abuser for teaching you to stand up for yourself.
8. Spooky Express
Spooky Express is a well-designed game. It's just not my cup of tea. I tend to prefer games that require more lateral creativity versus procedural logic, and Spooky Express is the latter. The possibility space contained within its puzzles is small enough that solving them generally amounts to trial and error + heuristics. I can appreciate the satisfaction of stepping steadily through such a possibility space, pruning dead paths, winnowing down until only the solution remains, but too much and it starts to feel like a chore. Also, is it just me or does every solution boil down to either inside-then-outside or outside-then-inside? :P To be fair, I only achieved the first ending of the game, so grain of salt, etc.
7. The Roottrees are Dead
Upon completing Roottrees, I expected it to be much higher on this list. Since then, I've soured on it somewhat. The fantasy of digging through old internet articles to reconstruct a family tree thrills me, but the execution feels contrived. In-game "research" never quite feels real enough, and the characters feel more like puzzles than people. Which they are, I suppose. But I think from this type of game I need more clutter, more nuance, more random details to ruminate on and integrate into my grand Understanding of the narrative. I need more lore! I want to stumble organically into revelations about identities and relationships, not have them fed to me when I guess the right search keyword. There's a thing Elden Ring does in this domain in regards to a certain character's personal identity which I think outclasses anything Roottrees does, despite the fact Roottrees is entirely focused on it. Granted, Roottrees is designed to be solvable by a single player over a few hours, whereas Elden Ring expects to be assaulted by an army of lore-starved VaatiVidya subs. Still, I think there's sweet spot between them to be found. Respect to Roottrees for breaking new ground in the genre, at least. Really looking forward to what comes next from both the dev and those they inspire.
6. LOK Digital
I remember LOK fondly, having played it over the course of a vacation to Japan. I had played Abdec prior, and thought that really shined as a pen-and-paper game. Thus, I was suspicious of how LOK—which I knew was originally pen-and-paper as well—would translate to digital. In retrospect, I can't imagine tackling it as a book. Since its puzzles revolve around order-of-operations—operations which transform the grid visually—solving them entirely in one's head sounds daunting. Compare this to Spooky Express, which ironically seems like it would be better off as a pen-and-paper game. I wonder if we'll ever start seeing pen-and-paper de-makes of digital puzzle games. Hmm... Anyway, great game. Abdec still better though!
5. Lingo 2
Lingo 2 is kinda the opposite case to Roottrees. Upon achieving its "Grey" ending (the first of many), I was so exhausted and infuriated that I gladly quit, with no intention of ever going back. I even posted a salty Steam review! Months later, however, I do want to go back. Instead of souring in my mind like Roottrees, the game fermented. Perhaps this is because both Lingo and its sequel are doing things no other puzzles games are. They are beyond esoteric, accessible only to those with thorough English vocabulary and extraordinary spatial navigation skills, appealing only to those willing to stare at a colored box for an hour until they finally come up with the one obtuse word that satisfies it. Often, Lingo 2 feels like playing "what am I thinking?" with a deranged space alien. Except it's also somehow mostly fair? I expect most players will ricochet violently off of it, but for the tiny demographic this game is meant for, boy are you in for a treat.
4. 0PLAYER
"You can do that?!" is a common refrain while playing puzzle games, especially metroidbrainias. In the case of 0PLAYER, however, I spoke those words upon first laying eyes on its glorious 7680x8640 webp form. Having played Abdec, I was familiar with the concept of static puzzle games, but the idea of containing one in a single image astounded me. Getting a foothold in 0PLAYER takes a while, but once you do, and the eurekas start hitting, damn is it satisfying. The parts of puzzle games that matter most happen in the player's imagination, not on the screen. Given that, is it really that surprising that a game which happens entirely in the imagination can still be fun? Why aren't more people doing this? It's not minimalism for minimalism's sake, either. Many of 0PLAYER's best moments wouldn't be possible if it were interactive, as players would quickly fumble their way into what ought to be thoughtful epiphanies. Bravo.
3. Gentoo Rescue
My "Most Game" award winner of 2025. Gentoo starts off slow. I think it approaches the iterative "puzzles as lessons" thing a little too rigorously, to the point that every tiny leap in logic feels like it's given its own level. It also has a LOT of optional puzzles, which aren't really flagged as such, and feel like padding. Rather, the player is expected to determine through logical deduction which puzzles are required to progress. Only once I began doing that math and skipping optional puzzles did the game hit cruising speed and fully grip me. I'm glad I did, though, because some of Gentoo's later puzzles are genius delights. It's gonna be hard to play any grid-based logic puzzle game in the future without wondering "When's Exfiltration?"
2. Öoo
See my review of the game. In summary, Öoo is unceasingly clever, and makes you the player feel clever in return. It does an enormous amount with very little. What make it special, however, are the choice ways it eschews minimalism and allows itself to engage in playful experimentation. I hope the devs who learn from Öoo don't see its spartanism as the ideal to strive for, but rather its wit.
1. Strange Jigsaws
The best game I played all year. So much creativity. So many delightful, surprising moments. So much heart. SJ never repeats an idea unless it's to make a charming callback. The "clicker game" level had me tearing up. The ending is transcendent. Just go play it. It's only five bucks and 2-3 hours long. And after you play it, gift it to your friends. Between this and Öoo, I think you could convert just about anyone into a puzzle game fan.