I just came up with a possibly acceptable middle ground of my own... Puzzle is intended for the players to solve, but if characters have an appropriate high mental stat or characters that roll well on an appropriate skill check would get varying degrees of hints or clues. Maybe? I feel like I'd have to try it to see if I actually like it or not. It feels like a sweet spot compromise, but still requires meta-game problem solving, but I feel like that is unavoidable - you can't actually think with your characters brain, only your own. At least with current technology, lol.