Blue Prince - Thoughts/Impressions/Sales Pitch?
2025 has provided quite the riches for gamers. Every month Every week Every day, new games are released (Do not even start with that “there is nothing to play” nonsense; it is not all about you). As I write this at the beginning of May, we already have six (6) potential GOTY nominees (you know our stance at DG, but developers still need recognition). Monster Hunter Wilds has been a massive hit; Hazelight’s Split Fiction not only was well received but is being considered for a feature film adaptation; there has been nothing but praise for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2; and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle gets a second chance at the top prize (it missed the silly deadline for last years’ awards by 2 weeks) with a launch on PlayStation. These 4 were relatively known entities and not necessarily surprises to the conversation. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has taken over almost all gaming media since its launch last week. Scoring well was not enough, as it currently sits as the highest rated game EVER (on Metacritic). After you finish reading my ramblings, go check out Michaela’s feature on Clair Obscur and turn-based RPGs (click here!). Rewind to shortly before Clair Obscur’s release, though, and there was a small puzzle game, and that was all the rage and still belongs in the GOTY conversation.
Developed by Dogubomb (solo developer Tonda Ros) and published by Raw Fury (Sable, Bad North, Dandara, West of Dead), Blue Prince is a puzzle game. It is a roguelite puzzle game. Note: there will be minimal spoilers going forward with the only information about the game stopping approximately a minute after you gain control of your character. You play as Simon P. Jones and you have been willed the Mt. Holly Estate. Here is the catch: your great uncle has required you to locate Room 46 in order to secure your inheritance. Simple enough, right? That is most definitely wrong in so many different ways.
This is a nice house!
When you begin Blue Prince, you enter the foyer of this mansion. You always enter the foyer at the beginning of every run. Your goal is the room at the other end of the map/floor map (You can see the foyer and this room, so not really a spoiler). There are 3 doors to choose from, with each door allowing you to draft from a selection of 3 rooms. The rooms, which shall be unnamed, can have one, two, or three paths to additional rooms. These rooms lead to those rooms, and those rooms lead to more rooms. Sometimes, though, you hit a dead end. Enough dead ends, or if you run out of steps (entering any room, whether it be the first time or the tenth time, costs a step), your run is over. Back to the foyer you go as you attempt to locate and enter Room 46. It is not just about drafting the right path though, as 90% of the rooms contain additional puzzles that can aid you in your quest, but…spoilers!
One of my favorite TV shows of all time is Orphan Black. My only real issue with the show is that it is nearly impossible to convince anyone to watch it beyond “trust me, it is worth it.”. You see, the plot has….In the show, the main character finds…The premise is that this woman…
The hook of that show is a spoiler in itself. This is kind of the same situation with Blue Prince. The best way to experience Blue Prince is to go in completely cold. Avoid guides, reviews (except this feature), and pretty much anything. How hard could it be to block the words “Blue” and “Prince” from your entire internet search? The best I can offer here is similar games and/or concepts within games. My first thought when playing Blue Prince was that it was like Myst or Riven, if you are old enough to remember those games. The Witness or The Forgotten City are likewise good comparisons. As I played more, however, Blue Prince started to remind me the most of The Room and its sequels. If you are unfamiliar, The Room had you a singular room with a puzzle box. Your goal was to open the puzzle box but you soon found out that there were puzzles within puzzles to solve. All the solutions were right in front of but also not, if you catch my drift. Take any or all of those games, add in roguelite characteristics, and you kind of have what Blue Prince is about. Really? Yes, not really, kind of, but also no. This is the most basic of descriptions I can provide (the spoiler-free version) to explain what you are walking into (pun definitely intended).
Is Blue Prince for everyone? Absolutely not. I mentioned roguelite, and I know that is an immediate turnoff for many. The repetitive nature of dying over and over has no appeal for some, and that is just fine. Are you the type of person who does daily crosswords/sudoku/Strands? It is well known that Monday is the easiest day and Friday makes you pull your hair out. Blue Prince is kind of at the Wednesday/Thursday part of the week. It is also single-handedly one of the most unique and innovative gaming experiences I have ever had in nearly 40 years of gaming. If you ever played one of those murder mystery in a box puzzles, this is that, but with the box constantly changing. If anything I have rambled about piqued your interest, I implore you to pick up the game, grab a notebook or 10, and just immerse yourself in an incredible work of art.
I leave you with a picture of my notes after 15-plus hours:
