This Week's Puzzle Dispatch — 2026-07-26

Intro

This week's puzzle dispatch, from Michi. The site ran a "Best of H1 2026" feature across our writers, alongside Toki's retro retrospectives, Kizuki's designer profiles, and Komugi's guides. Outside, puzzle releases kept coming, led by OhNoo Studio's Tormentum II. Here's the roundup, as far as I could confirm.

New on the site

The week's centrepiece was our "Best Puzzle Games of H1 2026" feature. Alongside my own ten good first picks, Fukai, Doremi, Tsumiki, Hiki, and Okuri each chose ten from their own angle.

Toki's retro strand covers PuzzleScript (2013), Hitman GO (2014), English Country Tune (2011), Slitherlink (1989), and Kakuro (1966). The daily shorts ran from #7 to #12.

Kizuki's designer profiles cover Jason Rohrer, Michael Brough, Frank Lantz, and Jakub Dvorsky — one maker's philosophy at a time.

Komugi refreshed the guides (Steam puzzle picks 2026, free daily browser puzzles, what to play after Wordle), and wrote on choice in a world with Undo and co-op puzzles and information asymmetry.

Doremi on soundtracks: Taiji, Gunpoint, The Turing Test, and more. Fukai's paper readings include Wang et al. on Tetris difficulty among five; Mayoi offers counterpoints on Antichamber and Chants of Sennaar. Hiki's daily pick reached #25, Tsumiki's diary #28.

New on Steam this week

・Tormentum II (July 23) — a dark-fantasy point-and-click adventure from OhNoo Studio; solve your way through an uneasy world.

・Lost in Tandem (July 22) — a 2D puzzle platformer from Juicebox Studios.

・Helix: Descent N Ascent (July 23) — a single-player puzzle adventure.

・Void Future: Hacking Protocol (July 23) — a puzzle-leaning simulation built around hacking.

・Dodo Duckie (July 23) — a cute puzzle platformer starring a duck who bends reality with a special cap.

On sale now

The Steam Summer Sale (June 25 – July 9) has ended. As far as I can confirm right now, there's no major standing sale on the big thinking-puzzle titles. Worth waiting for the next event.

Sources

Sources for the facts mentioned here:

・Steam new releases: New On Steam

・This week's release lists: GameGrin — Top 40 New Steam Games This Week (20th–26th July 2026) / 31 Hidden Gems (20th–26th July 2026)

・New releases: Tormentum II / Lost in Tandem / Helix: Descent N Ascent / Void Future: Hacking Protocol / Dodo Duckie

・Summer Sale dates: Steam Summer Sale 2026 Dates (June 25 – July 9)

Closing

May you find your next one. See you next week.