I’ve loved puzzle games for all of my gamer life, since the time my dad first introduced me to The Secret of Monkey Island, the LucasArts’ point and click adventure game from 1990. It took me so long to figure out the function of the chicken with the pulley in the middle, and the trick with Grog and the cups. That was the foundation for what was to come.
Last year, I took on the mind-melding Lorelei and the Laser Eyes and The Case of the Golden Idol, each one hurting my brain to the point of migraines, but in a good way. Challenging but satisfying logic and puzzle games that keep your mental fitness ship-shape. This year is the turn of Blue Prince.
Blue Prince, developed by Dogubomb and published by Raw Fury, is a puzzle adventure with roguelike elements. You play as a young boy who is tasked to reach the mysterious Room 46 to prove yourself worthy of your inheritance. The catch? The rooms in the house not only change position but also completely differ from one day to the next.
I’m not a big roguelike guy, but I can tell you this: Blue Prince is f*cking incredible… and I’ve barely scratched the surface.
You begin in an entrance hall with three closed doors in front of you, one leading north, one leading east, and one leading west. Trying to open a door gives you a choice of three different rooms to “draft” in front of you. The selected room will have at least one entrance and exit (the one you are about to walk through), and it will contain puzzles and either a buff, nerf or something I’ve not yet figured out. Your job is to try to draft rooms in such a way that you can make your way to the other end of a 9 x 5 grid and somehow unlock the door leading to the mysterious Room 46.
Not just get there, as I found out on my 8th run when I found ALL THE DOORS WERE LOCKED!
Anyway.
This game is about carefully managing resources such as steps, which decrease as you step foot into another room, gems, that you need to be able to choose certain rooms in the house to draft, and keys, which, you know, open locked doors and chests. Too few of any of these, and it’s most likely the end of your run. Simultaneously, you need to make sure you don’t block yourself in with your room layouts and prevent yourself from reaching the other end of the house. AND ALSO, looking for item and room synergies to solve puzzles. There’s so much to think about and it’s sooooooo good!
For example, one of the early rooms you can draft is a Dark Room (like for developing photographs). There’s tons of information in this room with the right tool to inspect photos, except that the lights always blink out when you enter for the first time, preventing exploration. But if you have the Utility Closet, you can turn those lights on lickety split! That’s just one early example, and it gets crazier and more convoluted from there.
Everything in the house is there for a purpose. Everything you may think is random means something. I may not know what it means, but it means something. And that’s freaking awesome. Just don’t get too disappointed if your run ends due to bad RNG. That can happen, but there’s always something to learn from a run. Take your time.
The graphics are highly stylized but fairly realistic. Think of A Scanner Darkly and you’re almost there. The HUD is clearly presented and easy to understand, along with the grid overview of your in-progress mansion. Despite the simplified textures and coloring, the details in the environments are outstanding. There could be improvements made with making objects or interactables stand out more, however, that would spoil a bunch of the puzzle, so I get why it’s done that way.
The sound design is also great. Overall, most of the rooms give off a chill vibe, perfect for problem-solving. There are exceptions to that rule, though. Some rooms can trigger a soundtrack change that makes you feel really uncomfortable. Whether it be the Furnace (I dunno, dude. I think some body-burning went down in there) or the Chapel, the changes can knock you off your game. That can lead to hasty decisions, wasting needless steps or other resources.
I have been playing on a base PS5, and I don’t have many complaints about the performance. I haven’t had any crashes or fatal errors. None of that serious crap. The only thing I will say is that I’ve had quite a few frame drops when entering some rooms. The specific room isn’t consistent, but it does happen now and again. Is it necessarily a problem? No. It’s not like Blue Prince is a “frames win games” title, where reaction times are important. Puzzle games like this don’t penalise you for frame drops, and the screen catches up pretty quickly.
It took me around 15 hours to roll credits on Blue Prince. I think it was either Day 24 or 25 (i.e. run 24 or 25), I can’t remember. I got insanely lucky with room placements, finding the right amount of food for extra steps and the specific items I needed to make it to Room 46. I didn’t think I’d done it until it just happened. I felt an elation I hadn’t felt from a game in a long time. I’d done it.
But what had I done?
I’d reached the goal of the story, or so it seemed, but there was so much left that I hadn’t done. There are puzzles in almost every room I haven’t yet solved. Hell, there are rooms I haven’t even drafted yet! I only figured out the outside room on the run before my success! There are letters to find, keys to work out how they work, combinations of items to put together, and something to do with blue flames outside. I mean, what the actual f*ck?!?!
I’m now at around 20 hours, and that just isn’t enough. I know enough about Blue Prince to call it incredible, but I don’t know how deep this game gets. And I’m excited to find out!
Blue Prince is extraordinary. It’s smart, easy to pick up, and addictive. That “one more run” feeling you can get with roguelikes is here in spades because, in every run, you learn something new or notice a new detail that gives you an idea about how to solve a room puzzle. Getting to Room 46 is only half the battle, and I know because I got there and I’m STILL playing this game.
Aside from a few frame drops and maybe a bit of frustration with RNG prematurely ending runs, there really isn’t a negative word I can say about this game. Now, is it for everyone? Probably not. But if you like roguelikes, puzzles, lateral thinking and multitasking, do not sleep on this game.
Because once you begin Day One in Blue Prince, you’re gonna have trouble sleeping for a while. You’ll be thinking about Blue Prince.
Like I am. Right now.
Blue Prince is available on PS5, Xbox Series S and X, and PC for around $30 right now. BUT, it’s also available through PS Plus Extra and Game Pass subscriptions! So, what the heck are you waiting for?! Try it out!
