Seeking Games that are challenging but not mindlessly grindy

[Vaassaa]

So basically I'm interested in games where you have to figure things out and getting to scenes/rewards isn't a case of forwarding through a story.

Obviously there's some games that "cheat" in this aspect by inserting vast amounts of mindless grind between events, but that's not what I'm after.

An example I can recall off the top of my head that fits this very well would be Ganguro Girl, which I remember you had to get get skills, figure out how to get money, you had to figure out dating and answers and there was a time limit - albeit a very generous one. I'm not looking for games like that, just games that give you a challenge in the same way.

Puzzle games would be A+, but only games that don't make you solve puzzles for 1-2 basic renders, because that just feels pointless.

 

[Iamthegoldengod]

Zero End has a very good puzzles and stat implementations.

Stray Incubus has really good puzzles during punishment scenes

Game of Hearts has really good eroticism where you have to carefully pick the options in specific order to increase the stats. It feels almost like a puzzle to get the highest Stat by combining different playstyles.

BaDIK minigames are pretty cool actually especially the frat management board.

Tropicali has a really good sandbox management where you have to carefully pick employees so that you can get X amount of profit before time runs out.

 

[miel360]

https://f95zone.to/threads/braveheart-academy-v2-1-chrys.49787/ has literal puzzles, the type where you need to slide the sections around to unscramble the pictures.

https://f95zone.to/threads/summer-job-v0-11b-kross.5260/ had puzzle-like gameplay. It's hard to explain but you unlock each scene by meeting certain requirements. It's interesting trying out certain combinations of actions to see how they play out.

 

[mtdewaddict]

Not exactly challenging, but Treasure of Nadia and its in-progress sequel, The Genesis Order, have pretty good gameplay that I think lines up with your request. Plus the CGs are very good.

 

[Pretentious Goblin]

https://f95zone.to/threads/looking-for-gameplay-games.105914/