The best adventure games are 2D because random walks there always return (Pólya). Not true in 3D, so puzzle games there end up either too easy or too difficult.
I would like to throw in one 3D example, which I found to be excellently executed: Metroid Prime (1) on GameCube.
Looks beautiful, beautiful soundtrack, very much has you puzzled when solving the puzzles for the first time, tons of secrets, and maybe we can call it an adventure.
It's interesting to ask how Manifold Garden [0] does/doesn't fits into that framework.
The puzzle game is adventure-adjacent in that it involves walking-around exploration, carried items/keys, locked doors with switches, exchanging items, and bridges.
Topologically, it is a network of 3D rooms connected by "doors" that are actually non-euclidean portals. You walk around, but you can also change the direction of gravity 6 ways, and--here's the kicker--every room tiles infinitely with itself.
So while I won't deny it's easy to get stuck in some areas of the room-network trying to remember how to get to another, individual rooms are 3D yet also havea a quirky way of constraining your random walk.
Lucent · · focus · HN ↗
guyomes · · focus · HN ↗
With an infinite expected return time...
gcr · · focus · HN ↗
zelphirkalt · · focus · HN ↗
Looks beautiful, beautiful soundtrack, very much has you puzzled when solving the puzzles for the first time, tons of secrets, and maybe we can call it an adventure.
Terr_ · · focus · HN ↗
The puzzle game is adventure-adjacent in that it involves walking-around exploration, carried items/keys, locked doors with switches, exchanging items, and bridges.
Topologically, it is a network of 3D rooms connected by "doors" that are actually non-euclidean portals. You walk around, but you can also change the direction of gravity 6 ways, and--here's the kicker--every room tiles infinitely with itself.
So while I won't deny it's easy to get stuck in some areas of the room-network trying to remember how to get to another, individual rooms are 3D yet also havea a quirky way of constraining your random walk.
[0] <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/473950/Manifold_Garden/" rel="nofollow">https://store.steampowered.com/app/473950/Manifold_Garden/