Black and White Games Are Having a Moment This Year

July 26, 2026 - 19:01

I guess I don't need color in my video games, because I've been dazzled this year by a trio that's in black and white. All are out now and well worth a look.

Helix: Descent N Ascent

Developer: Badass Mongoose
Platforms: PC, Switch

Helix is one of the most visually interesting games of the year, with an art style inspired by 1980s indie comics, 1990s manga, and 1970s Franco-Belgian comics. Its excellence snuck up on me. When I started, I thought it was a basic top-down exploration and puzzle game about a strange bipedal character walking through a starkly stunning world. My guy quickly gained the power to conjure blocks into existence. I used that power to drop blocks into watery gaps, forming bridges where old ones had crumbled. I explored a small world, solved some puzzles, found an exit, and returned to the hub world.

Soon I found a new symbol that gave me a new power: the ability to summon and control a drone. This replaced the block ability. Back into the main world I went. I could no longer cast blocks, but I could send my drone into pipes to activate remote switches. Different puzzles solved. I figured I would keep finding powers that swapped with the previous one. Not quite. Back in the hub world, I noticed a pedestal marked with a strange symbol that combined the square and the drone symbol. I activated it and now had both powers. Even better, I discovered I could combine them: make a block, fly the drone into it, and move the block remotely. That is what this game actually is. Not using one power at a time, but diving into a world equipped with different combinations and discovering what each combo can do. The game's promotional copy indicates there are 25 different ways to play.

Towers of Scale

Developer: Makiki
Platform: PC

There might be some purple in this game, but the levels I have played have been black and white with shades of gray. Towers of Scale is a math game about directing a warrior through a dungeon filled with stationary enemies and locked doors. Your warrior starts at a power level designated by a specific number, say 5. Every enemy also has a number, say 3. If you are a 5 and they are a 3, walking into them eliminates the enemy and turns you into an 8. That is pretty much the game. Some enemies have negative numbers that lower your total. Those with higher numbers than yours will not budge. You might have to pass through a gate that halves your power. Try to do that when your number is low. Drink a power-doubling potion when your number is high. All you need to do is find a numerically feasible path to the next staircase. Easy, right? Towers of Scale is tough. Even as you scale up to defeat enemies marked 100, 500, 10,000 and beyond, your climb is easily stymied by bad mathematical decisions.

What's the Password?

Developer: Trampoline Tales
Platform: PC, mobile

This puzzle game features over 100 challenges, each solved by inputting a four-digit password. I have solved 14 puzzles so far, some easier than others. One solution was 4371. The next one I am still figuring out.

Those are my top three. Have you played any great black-and-white games this year?