Calling the Blue Prince a puzzle game does not acknowledge its intricate system and inspires players who desire secrets and thought training. It’s one of the most unique puzzle games in years, and despite its tricks and mechanical obstacles that can excite you, the Blue Prince is a masterclass of designers who longs to lose himself in a mysterious, clockwork mansion.
Blue Prince is an independent game for developer Dogubomb, April 10. As the layout changes every day, searching is not easy, but every manor discovers new secrets.
The game itself is a first-person adventure, and it shows off at your speed – formerly known as the “Walking Simulator” – with an artistic style that looks like a wide pencil and vivid watercolors, giving each room a dynamic look and a unique personality. The minimalist soundtrack adds a layer of comfort to your exploration, while the unique sound effects of picking up and using items bring a touch to an otherwise empty mansion – nothing moves unless you do.
The entrance hall, the first thing players see when starting the game – starting every day thereafter.
There are some elements of the old game – exploring a family in the remains of Edith Finch, like a witness – but the Blue Prince is a unique experience, with novelty over time. Players start from the bottom of the mansion in the entrance hall and have to walk to the top, between which are spaces to place the room. Most of the game includes walking up the door and placing one of dozens of prefabricated rooms, each with its own layout and purpose – bedrooms, gardens, corridors, fitness room, security stations, and more.
Each door offers players the option of three new rooms and varies according to the progress of the mansion. Thanks to this breed, the vertical grid of the mansion – five rooms wide and nine rooms – looks completely different every day. Since rooms also have different numbers of doors, players must carefully weigh their choices between avoiding potential dead ends.
Whenever the door is opened, three options are waiting, although their choices may vary according to several factors.
In the first few days, I quickly learned how easy it is to run out of the door and end it as early as possible. After eight hours of discovery, I thought I was approaching the final game – but there are more. The Blue Prince has a trick to reveal new functional layers when the daily mansion resets. Even though my road hit a dead end, the newly discovered room or permanently unlocked gift kept pulling me into another run.
I got stuck in the rhythm when I understood how different rooms work – so did my strategy. I’d choose a closet early to snap up special items or one of the few one-time currency (gold, keys, gemstones to unlock unique rooms). Or, I’m going to go to the billiard room to solve puzzles and get a prize, like one of the rare keys to unlock the most elusive room of a mansion. The big mystery began to surface and I found myself mumbling loudly-the only company in this strange mansion and the only company I could trust in secrets and shadows.
The billiard room is one of the earliest available rooms, which contains a dart puzzle (not shown) that can be rewarded with items if it can be resolved.
Everyday running has the same exciting and uncertain randomness. It also distinguishes the Blue Prince from puzzle house games like last year’s excellent Lorelei and Laser Eyes, which have established and unchanging brain song track patterns (you can find online guides that will guide you through every part of these games). However, Blue Prince’s new daily layout mix gameplay, even if the wizard introduces a few puzzles, players still need to use the mansion construction mechanism to win the game.
This unpredictability can bring a frustrating end to a few days abruptly due to unfortunate room choices or low points of keys or gemstones. This is based on typical friction in a “rogue” running game, such as early early selections that are doomed to progress later. But the roulette of room layout is deeply rooted in the game’s design and theme, without it, it wouldn’t be the Blue Prince – as a feature, not a mistake, a strategy can be established. After running too early, I had to turn my point of view into appreciating small wins, even though I only arrived at a new room in a day.
Then there is a story that slowly unfolds with each room you find – if you know where to look.
The mountains extend to the ledges in front of the mansion, located in a royal town, and its hiding history is revealed in the books of the mansion.
The story of Prince Blue: A changing mansion, a broken family
The game begins with a letter from his dear grandfather, Herbert S. Sinclair, in the entrance hall with Young Simon, welcomes him to challenge the secrets of discovering the mansion. But throughout the game, it was clear that he was far more than the hilarious events he presented than the role of the happy, wealthy grandson that he presented, Simon was one of the last members.
As the developer Dogubomb suggested, I started taking notes in the physics manual (why not?), as well as spreadsheets to scratch the bigger puzzles. I documented everything I found interesting because every new room adds some letters, documents, quotes or mentions of various characters. The dramatic characters and their fate emerge: the disappearance of Simon’s mother, the anger of Simon’s father, the mischief of the House servant staff. Sporadic clues still exist, just like a teacher who detectives check a book from the House Library or searches for an old textbook. They have to mean something.
The logic problems in the living room in the early stages of the game were randomly generated every day.
It’s not clear that these little notes I’m going to make are important to a general story- I’ll be free to admit that 17 hours into the Blue Prince, I’m still not finished. I’m close, but the mechanical difficulties and lack of luck have kept my mansion just right and I hope there’s only a good run from the end (or far enough from it). At the same time, I still pieced together the knowledge of the house and jumped to unlock new rooms, hoping to discover more about what happened in this once-banned house, now just a shadow of myself.
But even if I haven’t finished the game, it’s still a joy to wander around the hall and wonder more secrets lurking in it. Each new room offers storytelling clips – a family grave, a radiant shelter – the further I get, the more layers unfold (like a puzzle that spans the entire mansion, making me wonder what I’m missing in the obvious sight).
Prince Blue is not for everyone. While most puzzles can be solved with anything in the room, there are still some complex solutions to avoid casual players. Transfer layouts of luxury homes and unpredictable room choices can make progress unbalanced – and even stop if luck isn’t around you. But it’s one of the most unique games I’ve ever played in years and a real treat for puzzle demons and mystery fans.
The Blue Prince will be released on April 10 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox Game Pass and PC.
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