Games with physics puzzles like Zelda: BotW?

[Jack Of Owls]

I must admit, I've been enjoying the hell out of this game with its huge, colorful open-world and physics based puzzle-solving, especially the puzzles, which run the gamut from simple to ball-bustingly difficult. Every time I enter a shrine and find that just finding the shrine was the puzzle itself and there is no additional puzzle contained therein I am disappointed. It must be the first RPG I ever played where I WANT TO PLAY THE PUZZLES MORE THAN THE RPG ASPECTS! I never want them to end. I play BotW on Cemu at 4K with a Sony Playstation 4 controller and its built in gyro is a joy to use with this game (don't even think of attempting this game on an emulator without a controller with built-in gyros... it's near impossible to complete and sheer madness to think otherwise).

My question: are there any other games with interesting physics based puzzles like in BotW? I keep hearing Darksiders 2 come up as the closest thing to BotW but that the puzzles suck smegma. I really don't want Zelda: BotW to end and I'm about 100 hours in and I've only completed two of the four Divine Beasts quests.

 

[Jokzore]

... other Zelda games ?

 

[Jack Of Owls]

... other Zelda games ?

Yes, I would have to agree that this is probably the best answer. I've only completed one other Zelda game - A Link To The Past on my old SNES console, and I remember finding the puzzles quite satisfying and challenging yet not too obtuse. It was the ONLY time I ever bought a hint book (used) because I got stumped. In order to progress, you had to open a gate in a temple (or maybe summon the boss battle) and I couldn't figure out how to do it. It turns out you had to light 4 unlit torches, and I immediately went, "Awww, I'm such an idiot! It's perfectly obvious that that's what i needed to do!" rather than, "What the fuck was that idiot game designer thinking? Was he taking shroom enemas or something?" It was the days before the internet so I had to buy that goddamn hint book.

What Zelda game had your all-time favorite puzzles?

 

[Deflowerer]

Also Alundra might be worth a look. Pretty much a Zelda clone, but with some darker moments (although not gritty or edgy by any means).

 

[Kitchen Utensil]

Landstalker.

 

[Momock]

Ittle Dew is pretty much a puzzle-oriented Zelda-like (95% puzzles, 5% combat). Iconoclasts also have a lot of puzzles for a metroidvania, sursprisingly (and a good story, with memorable characters).

But no "physics". BotW looks like to be unique in this aspect-

 

[Silva]

Half-Life 2.

Spoiler

 

[Siveon]

Darksiders 1 is more Zelda-like than 2. 2 is more of an Action RPG affair.

If we're listing Zelda clones, there's Crusader of Centy, Beyond Oasis, Guardian of Paradise etc.

 

[Hyperion]

Alundra deserves another mention.
Shining Wisdom
Brain Lord
Okami
The Legend of Oasis (Beyond Oasis' sequel)

 

[Ash]

The Golden Sun games had plenty physics puzzles reminiscent of SNES era Zelda, and they were good. You'll probably feel right at home.

For WRPG, check out Arx Fatalis though it's a mix of everything (physics, logic, even math). It's just one of my favourite games that has notable emphasis on puzzles.

 

[Werdna's Revenge]

Okami is probably the best modern Zelda clone. Not sure if there were a tonne of physics puzzles in it though.

 

[SCO]

... other Zelda games ?

Yes, I would have to agree that this is probably the best answer. I've only completed one other Zelda game - A Link To The Past on my old SNES console, and I remember finding the puzzles quite satisfying and challenging yet not too obtuse.

Try this hack:
http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/3852/

 

[SCO]

Another 16-bit era game with light 'puzzles' and action 'rpg' combat is Light Crusader on the megadrive iirc. There are also quite a few lemmings clones and variations like 'humans', 'lost vikings' etc. But whatever, these are not exactly 'physics' puzzles or rpgs.

There are more obscenely difficult and open-ended (ie: adventure 'logic') variations on the adventure genre, goblins series, Cadaver 1 and 2, Heimdall 1 and 2 etc, but that's probably not your thing.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

I tend to agree with what someone else posted in this topic that Zelda: BotW is pretty fucking unique in it's integrated use of gorgeous physics based 3D puzzles and light RPG elements and needing gyro-based controllers, or at least I haven't played anything like this. Sure, BotW is basically for the retarded child in us aLL that likes pretty, shiny things, but I'm still surprised at how sophisticated some of its systems can be which gives it some depth. I especially find refreshing that it forces you not to face-roll by making all weapons (but thankfully no armor) breakable. And it's cool that playing this game sometimes makes you feel like you've been shrunken by a mad wizard or an evil entity and trapped inside Marble Madness or one of those little plastic BB box puzzles where you have to tilt the box to get the BBs in the holes. It's kind of like that horror movie anthology with Emile Estevez where he's trapped inside a video game forever except you can leave whenever you want. A really bad LSD trip can be fun as long as you know you're coming back.

"I'm on the train... I'm on the train... I'm on the train... I'm on the train... I'm on the train... I'm on the-"

 

[SCO]

Also, if you like puzzles, you probably can't go wrong with Ghost Trick on the nintendo DS. It's not a rpg, but it's very polished and the mechanics are simple to learn but interesting.

Then there is the subgenre of 'action' 2d puzzlers and stealth games, gunpoint, mark of the ninja etc. They often minimize the puzzle element to give multiple solutions through skill though.