Portal practically changed my brain chemistry in 2007. The first-person puzzle game felt like an impossible magic trick at the time, and few games released in its wake have been able to outdo it. Now, nearly 20 years later, a lone developer has once again given me that experience with the mind-bending He Who Watches.
Developed by Bobby Vanden and published by puzzle game champions Draknek and Friends, He Who Watches takes the core ideas that made Portal feel one-of-a-kind and applies them to a unique, perspective-shifting concept. It’s challenging, rich with secrets, a little nauseating, and, without a doubt, one of the best puzzle games you’ll play in 2026.
With very little story to guide you, He Who Watches puts you in the role of an archer exploring a strange structure filled with puzzle chambers. You’ll clear rooms to progress to new areas as you search for glyphs and seek out a god-like being trapped somewhere within the space. You could classify it as a 3D Sokoban game, a term used to describe puzzle games where you push boxes. You’re able to grab hold of boxes by firing an arrow at them and move them where they need to be, whether it’s onto switches or out of your path. The premise is simple enough: get through the exit door of each room by moving boxes, firing arrows at switches, and doing a bit of clever spatial reasoning. How complicated could it be?
Very. The trick in He Who Watches is that you can walk on the walls and ceiling of each room, flipping gravity to match your orientation. Say you pick up a box while standing on the ground. If you put it down, it will stay on the ground — normal! But if you drag it up to the ceiling and drop it, it will stick up there instead. As you might expect, some truly brain-breaking puzzles form from that premise. As you might also expect, running around every surface of a room in first-person might also make you feel a little queasy. It’s a small price to pay for an inventive gameplay trick that’s executed with precision, thanks to tight puzzle design.
Image: Bobby Vanden/Draknek and Friends
What’s especially impressive about He Who Watches is that it’s not a one-trick pony. Rather than using its trick as a mere visual gimmick, Vanden threads in multiple ingenious puzzle ideas that play with gravity. Deep in my playthrough, I reached a series of chambers built around transport beams that push boxes along a green, glowing line. I soon learned that I could use boxes to jam that beam’s trajectory, turning it into a bridge I could freely walk over. A few puzzles later, I learned that I could do even more with that tool, practically gaining the ability to program machines that push boxes where I need them to be. The complexity keeps building gradually until you’ve become an engineer without realizing it.
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If that sounds daunting, don’t worry. Vanden seemed to understand that when designing He Who Watches’ brilliant hint system. Every room features an optional mini-puzzle chamber that is built to teach you the core concept of the puzzle you’re on. Say you hit a puzzle where you’re tasked with crossing a seemingly impossible gap. That hint room might offer you a simple puzzle that shows you how to get a box across a gap. It’s a stroke of genius that solves one of the worst blockades in puzzle games: Sometimes you hit a puzzle and just don’t know what the game is asking you to do. That’s never unclear here; it’s only the execution that’s tricky.
I’m still making my way through He Who Watches, taking my time to appreciate every brainy solution. Even when a puzzle stumps me for 30 minutes, I’m still consistently delighted when I discover an answer that feels sensically constructed and fair. Considering how fast I chewed through Portal when I first played it, I’m going to savor my time with this one. A game this creatively euphoric doesn’t come around too often.
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