Void Stranger
Shares rank 28 of 30 puzzle games by recommenders
Recommended for a unique, mystery-box puzzle experience with layered depth and hidden secrets that reward figuring them out.
5 people recommended Void Stranger in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
4 of the 5 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “10 years: Stephen's Sausage Roll still one of the most influential puzzle games”.
Summary written by Claude from 6 comments.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- mixed feelings
- 0
- warn against or regret it
- 0
The record
Recommended in 2 of 12 months
In 2 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
- Recommended in 2 threadsNeeds 5 or more, not met.
- 4 of its 5 recommenders came from one threadNeeds half or less, not met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 6 of the 6 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Unique mystery-box experience
“It is truly one of the most unique gaming experiences and it is the kind of game you can only play once.”
Comment from 18 Dec 2025 in “Jonathan Blow has spent the past decade designing 1,400 puzzles” “Real mystery box of a game. The first ending seriously hooked me into figuring out all its secrets.”
Comment from 22 Apr 2026 in “10 years: Stephen's Sausage Roll still one of the most influential puzzle games” Deep layers and hidden secrets
“has a spiraling depth that just keeps going and going”
Comment from 18 Dec 2025 in “Jonathan Blow has spent the past decade designing 1,400 puzzles”
Other puzzle games people recommend
The four most recommended other puzzle games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outer Wilds | 56 | 6 | 7 | 89% | 9 | — | Approved |
| enclose.horse | 45 | 15 | 9 | 83% | 3 | — | — |
| The Witness | 41 | 15 | 16 | 72% | 6 | — | — |
| Braid | 30 | 5 | 5 | 86% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Void StrangerThis page | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
Also compared with Blue Prince, Baba Is You and Return of the Obra Dinn.
What people said
All 6 opinions about it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“All of these are highly reknowned.”
“Real mystery box of a game. The first ending seriously hooked me into figuring out all its secrets.”
“I’m surprised not to see it mentioned anywhere in the comments.”
“I always preferred my game with some amount of story or artistic ambition beyond mere puzzling.”
“has a spiraling depth that just keeps going and going”
“It is truly one of the most unique gaming experiences and it is the kind of game you can only play once.”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.