Best games
Best Puzzle games of 1997
The 8 best Puzzle games released in 1997, ranked from 1,573 critic and player ratings.
The best Puzzle game of 1997 is Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, with a critic score of 85/100 — updated September 2026.
How this ranking is built
- Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
- A game only enters the ranking with at least 30 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
- Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
- Release window covered: 1997.
- 8 games are listed on this page, carrying 1,573 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 28 September 2026.
Top 8
01
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee is the first game set in the fictional Oddworld universe. It is a platformer with puzzle-solving elements, focusing on the portrayal of a weak, underpowered character in a grim and hostile world, who has to rely on his cunning to outwit enemies and overcome hazards. The game has pre-rendered background graphics and uses CG movies of similar style to advance the story between the levels. The main character Abe is almost completely helpless: he cannot use weapons and is usually instantly killed by his brutal enemies if he confronts them directly. For this reason, most of the game involves careful exploration, timed movement, sneaking, and outsmarting the foes through various means: throwing stones to confuse them, luring them into traps, etc. Abe can run, jump, climb, tiptoe, crouch, and roll; in most areas these actions are essential to his survival. A few stages involve Abe riding a large animal known as Elum. Abe's only special power is chanting, which he can use to stun certain enemies for a while or possess them. When Abe possess an enemy he gains his abilities: for example, possessing the body or a ferocious Slig allows the player to shoot from his machine gun, communicate with other creatures of his kind, and even commit suicide, clearing the way for Abe.
85
/100
02
The Curse of Monkey Island
The Curse of Monkey Island is the third installment in the Monkey Island adventure game series. Players control Guybrush Threepwood, a aspiring pirate, as he navigates the Caribbean to save his love Elaine from a curse that turned her into a golden statue. The game features hand-drawn cartoon graphics, voice acting, and the series' trademark humor and puzzle-solving gameplay. Guybrush must outwit a cast of colorful characters, including the ghostly pirate LeChuck, while exploring various islands and engaging in pirate-themed challenges. The point-and-click interface allows players to interact with the environment, collect items, and solve puzzles to progress through the story. With its blend of comedy, swashbuckling adventure, and clever puzzles, The Curse of Monkey Island continues the series' tradition of witty, engaging storytelling in a pirate-themed setting.
84
/100
03
Frogger
A remake and reimagining of Frogger. However, unlike the original game, most of the maps are more complex and require exploration. In each level, the player must collect five baby frogs within a certain amount of time. There are various obstacles, traps, and enemies which must be avoided and usually are unique to a certain zone. There are a total of 33 levels spread out across nine different zones.
90
/100
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee is the first game set in the fictional Oddworld universe. It is a platformer with puzzle-solving elements, focusing on the portrayal of a weak, underpowered character in a grim and hostile world, who has to rely on his cunning to outwit enemies and overcome hazards. The game has pre-rendered background graphics and uses CG movies of similar style to advance the story between the levels. The main character Abe is almost completely helpless: he cannot use weapons and is usually instantly killed by his brutal enemies if he confronts them directly. For this reason, most of the game involves careful exploration, timed movement, sneaking, and outsmarting the foes through various means: throwing stones to confuse them, luring them into traps, etc. Abe can run, jump, climb, tiptoe, crouch, and roll; in most areas these actions are essential to his survival. A few stages involve Abe riding a large animal known as Elum. Abe's only special power is chanting, which he can use to stun certain enemies for a while or possess them. When Abe possess an enemy he gains his abilities: for example, possessing the body or a ferocious Slig allows the player to shoot from his machine gun, communicate with other creatures of his kind, and even commit suicide, clearing the way for Abe.
85
/100
02
The Curse of Monkey Island
The Curse of Monkey Island is the third installment in the Monkey Island adventure game series. Players control Guybrush Threepwood, a aspiring pirate, as he navigates the Caribbean to save his love Elaine from a curse that turned her into a golden statue. The game features hand-drawn cartoon graphics, voice acting, and the series' trademark humor and puzzle-solving gameplay. Guybrush must outwit a cast of colorful characters, including the ghostly pirate LeChuck, while exploring various islands and engaging in pirate-themed challenges. The point-and-click interface allows players to interact with the environment, collect items, and solve puzzles to progress through the story. With its blend of comedy, swashbuckling adventure, and clever puzzles, The Curse of Monkey Island continues the series' tradition of witty, engaging storytelling in a pirate-themed setting.
84
/100
03
Frogger
A remake and reimagining of Frogger. However, unlike the original game, most of the maps are more complex and require exploration. In each level, the player must collect five baby frogs within a certain amount of time. There are various obstacles, traps, and enemies which must be avoided and usually are unique to a certain zone. There are a total of 33 levels spread out across nine different zones.
90
/100
04
Riven: The Sequel to Myst
Riven: The Sequel to Myst is a graphic adventure puzzle game developed by Cyan and released in 1997. It continues the story of Myst, following the player’s journey to rescue Atrus’s wife, Catherine, from a decaying world. The game features pre-rendered environments with complex, interconnected puzzles and minimal direct guidance. Its visuals, sound design, and world-building were praised for their depth and realism. Riven expanded on Myst’s narrative and gameplay scale, becoming one of the most acclaimed adventure games of its time.
83
/100
05
Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror
Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror is a 2D adventure game played from a third-person perspective. Via a point-and-click interface, the player guides protagonist George Stobbart through the game's world and interacts with the environment by selecting from multiple commands, while Nicole Collard is also a playable character in selected portions of the game. The player controls George's movements and can engage in dialogue with other characters through conversation trees to gain hints of what needs to be done to solve the puzzles or to progress the plot. He also have to collect objects that can be used with either other collectible objects, parts of the scenery or with other people in order to solve puzzles and progress in the game. By right-clicking on an object, the player gets a description and clues. The player character's death is possible if he makes a wrong decision.
83
/100
06
Tomb Raider II
Tomb Raider II is the second game of the Tomb Raider games series. It is an action game with platforming and puzzle-solving elements, similar in concept and gameplay to its predecessor. Most of the gameplay consists of traversing hazardous 3D levels utilizing Lara's athletic skills and solving environmental puzzles. The sequel puts more emphasis on fighting enemies, adding many human foes to the mix. Additional weapons include a harpoon gun, a grenade launcher, and an M16 rifle. Automatic pistols replace the magnums from the first game.
80
/100
07
Resident Evil Director's Cut
Resident Evil: Director's Cut is an arranged version of the original game produced to compensate for the highly publicized delay of the sequel Resident Evil 2. The game contains a new arranged mode with various changes made to the game. The original release of the Director's Cut advertised an uncut version of the opening cinema in full colour and never-before-seen. Notable aspects of this video include shots of a corpse with bites taken out of the face, close-ups of zombie dogs bleeding when shot, and graphic quick-cuts of Joseph being bitten by these dogs.
80
/100
08
Bomberman 64 (1997)
The evil Altair is using the Omni Cube to drain the energy from Planet Bomber. With the aid of a mysterious helper, you must defeat Altair, and restore peace to Planet Bomber. In the Adventure mode, guide Bomberman through 24 areas of perilous conflict. Battle Altair's sinister allies, destroy their bases and put an end to the insane attack. The multi-player Battle mode offers endless hours of explosive action. Use the standard Bomberman character or create a custom one and save it to an N64 Controller Pak.
70
/100
Riven: The Sequel to Myst
Riven: The Sequel to Myst is a graphic adventure puzzle game developed by Cyan and released in 1997. It continues the story of Myst, following the player’s journey to rescue Atrus’s wife, Catherine, from a decaying world. The game features pre-rendered environments with complex, interconnected puzzles and minimal direct guidance. Its visuals, sound design, and world-building were praised for their depth and realism. Riven expanded on Myst’s narrative and gameplay scale, becoming one of the most acclaimed adventure games of its time.
83
/100
05
Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror
Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror is a 2D adventure game played from a third-person perspective. Via a point-and-click interface, the player guides protagonist George Stobbart through the game's world and interacts with the environment by selecting from multiple commands, while Nicole Collard is also a playable character in selected portions of the game. The player controls George's movements and can engage in dialogue with other characters through conversation trees to gain hints of what needs to be done to solve the puzzles or to progress the plot. He also have to collect objects that can be used with either other collectible objects, parts of the scenery or with other people in order to solve puzzles and progress in the game. By right-clicking on an object, the player gets a description and clues. The player character's death is possible if he makes a wrong decision.
83
/100
06
Tomb Raider II
Tomb Raider II is the second game of the Tomb Raider games series. It is an action game with platforming and puzzle-solving elements, similar in concept and gameplay to its predecessor. Most of the gameplay consists of traversing hazardous 3D levels utilizing Lara's athletic skills and solving environmental puzzles. The sequel puts more emphasis on fighting enemies, adding many human foes to the mix. Additional weapons include a harpoon gun, a grenade launcher, and an M16 rifle. Automatic pistols replace the magnums from the first game.
80
/100
07
Resident Evil Director's Cut
Resident Evil: Director's Cut is an arranged version of the original game produced to compensate for the highly publicized delay of the sequel Resident Evil 2. The game contains a new arranged mode with various changes made to the game. The original release of the Director's Cut advertised an uncut version of the opening cinema in full colour and never-before-seen. Notable aspects of this video include shots of a corpse with bites taken out of the face, close-ups of zombie dogs bleeding when shot, and graphic quick-cuts of Joseph being bitten by these dogs.
80
/100
08
Bomberman 64 (1997)
The evil Altair is using the Omni Cube to drain the energy from Planet Bomber. With the aid of a mysterious helper, you must defeat Altair, and restore peace to Planet Bomber. In the Adventure mode, guide Bomberman through 24 areas of perilous conflict. Battle Altair's sinister allies, destroy their bases and put an end to the insane attack. The multi-player Battle mode offers endless hours of explosive action. Use the standard Bomberman character or create a custom one and save it to an N64 Controller Pak.
70
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Puzzle game of 1997?
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee currently tops the ranking with a score of 85/100 across 561 ratings. Ranking updated September 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.