Looks like the "Puzzles" of this game are universally panned...

[VersataMeridian]

Reading the comments I understand the frustration - the tile ones are by far some of the worst I have seen in 20+ years of gaming. The heart of mystery questline is really tainted by these non-puzzles - to the point of them being garbage.
They're (a) NOT fun (b) Not "Puzzles" at all -> What was the point @Owlcat games?

Reading the comments makes it quite obvious these puzzles are really unpopular!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58uDhT8h4h8

[Martialis]

It is simply that you are not given any clues as to what to do, and I'm not willing to look online for every solution. Like hit exactly the right combo of colored lights in the Shield Maze, or the stupid impossible circle puzzle in Drezen. At least none of them block progression.

The way to do puzzles is like in Dungeon of Neheulebeck. Just give you a written passage or some other type of oblique clue that makes you use a bit of brainpower, and make the puzzle relatively simple enough so you can solve it by consulting the clue, using a bit of thought, and not having to do a lot of time-wasting trial and error. Larian has the same problem with their puzzles.

[everybe2]

Yeah these puzzles are too serious. I liked better puzzles and riddles in The Witcher 2 or Dragon Age origins.

[Greythorn]

I wouldn't mind so much if the interface for the tile puzzles were at least servicable...

[Astral Projection]

The Bard's Tale 4 had a lot of well done puzzles. (some were a bit excessive though)

[leyasu888]

I hated the tile puzzles because i could not see the symbols clearly in the inventory screen, that made placing the tiles so much more troublesome and time consuming

[VersataMeridian]

Originally posted by leyasu888:

I hated the tile puzzles because i could not see the symbols clearly in the inventory screen, that made placing the tiles so much more troublesome and time consuming

Originally posted by Greythorn:

I wouldn't mind so much if the interface for the tile puzzles were at least servicable...

These two seem to be the biggest complaints I read in the comments.
The bards tale puzzles were gorgeous. One or two were a bit of pain but most were just fun! These puzzles - aren't fun! They're not even logical...esp with the glare (whoever thought that was a bright idea gets an award!!)

[seeker1]

Reality: whether with the tile puzzles or the in-dungeon puzzles, how many people really take the time to solve them on their own, or just find the solutions on the Internet? I would be shocked if there are a lot of people who do them without just looking up the answer. And frankly, IMHO, if we applied the conventional nature of a CRPG, shouldn't these puzzles be easier if your character has a 28 intelligence than if they have a 5?

I think the big problem with the tile puzzles is just described. It involves matching/lining up symbols that are not dis-similar enough to each other and can be hard to see. After a while I gave up, at least once I looked up how unimportant the final outcome was.

[ExcaliburV]

Originally posted by Martialis:

It is simply that you are not given any clues as to what to do, and I'm not willing to look online for every solution. Like hit exactly the right combo of colored lights in the Shield Maze, or the stupid impossible circle puzzle in Drezen. At least none of them block progression.

Hit the nail on the head for me. I probably wouldn't have minded the puzzles, if it weren't for the fact that more than half the time the clue that teaches you how to solve them is some obscure thing in the background fourteen rooms away. Or it's right in front of you but it's so obtuse that there's no way to figure out what the puzzle is even asking you to do.

Did anyone notice those portraits on the wall that teach you how to solve the shield maze puzzle on their first try? I doubt it, I had to comb the entire dungeon looking for some clue to stumble onto that. Did anyone know that one of the puzzle's in the puzzle dungeon is just an elaborate game of tic-tac-toe just by looking at it? I sure as hell didn't, I needed a guide to clue me in on that.

[Viper]

There are clues somewhere in the environment or on a document..but they are there.

[kaymarciy]

Originally posted by ExcaliburV:

Did anyone know that one of the puzzle's in the puzzle dungeon is just an elaborate game of tic-tac-toe just by looking at it? I sure as hell didn't, I needed a guide to clue me in on that.

To be completely fair and square, when it comes to the tic-toe puzzle, the rules for it are explicitly written on the wall right next to it. But yeah, it's the only one with any decent clues. And Shield Maze puzzle is really the worst.

[AELeonson]

Nah, the worst puzzle was the arrow/symbol puzzle in Enigma. What each symbol represents is hidden behind additional riddles and what to even do with the arrows is not hinted at anywhere.

[ExcaliburV]

Originally posted by kaymarciy:

To be completely fair and square, when it comes to the tic-toe puzzle, the rules for it are explicitly written on the wall right next to it. But yeah, it's the only one with any decent clues. And Shield Maze puzzle is really the worst.

Is that one on me? Oh well, fair enough, I'll take an L there.

At least the matching tile puzzle was easy to figure out.

[Boomstar]

They are almost universally terrible. The interface for many of them is bad. The clues are bad. I gave up trying to solve them without looking it up pretty quickly.

[Miskatonic]

I like them, but I also liked the water temple when I was a kid so I might be in the minority.

[seeker1]

There's no puzzle in the game that prevents you from finishing the game or anything consequential. You'll miss out on stuff, yes, but basically you can play through to completion without finishing a single puzzle.

Except, BTW, I guess, the one for disabling the trap in front of the Sword of Valor, although there are apparently various cheeses for getting through/around it ...