Published on:
April 20th, 2025
Blue Prince Review
Truly the blueprint to follow
- Written by Dallas @ Quest Break
I’m just going to come straight out the gate and say what needs to be said, Blue Prince is my Game of the Year. I can’t see anything coming out this year being able to top Blue Prince’s highest highs. Now with that being said, I understand that it won’t be for everyone, but for those who love puzzles, mysteries, story woven through exploration and no hand holding, Blue Prince will be monumental. Here’s why:
There has to be something useful on this bulletin board!
You start Blue Prince with one task, reach room 46,the “impossible” room, in this 45 room manor. Your great uncle, Herbert S. Sinclair has passed on and left his inheritance to you, his grandnephew on the contingency that you’re able to find this mysterious 46th room. From there, the story is told through exploring the home, finding articles, snippets, letters, etc. and putting together what occurred. Cutscenes will also play upon reaching and discovering certain thresholds, though you may not get these often depending on how your playthrough goes.
See, Blue Prince is a roguelike, so not every player is going to experience the same path. While everyone has the same main objective, the way you arrive there as well as the information you gather and at what point you gather it will differentiate dramatically.
Because most of the story is hidden through your own discoveries, I’m going to refrain from sharing anything more in regards to it. I’ll just leave you with this: I’ve never been so emotional upon reaching the objective, and something I believe you owe yourself to experience if anything so far has intrigued you.
Even though I’ve rolled credits on Blue Prince, I’m far from done. While reaching that 46th room is your goal, it’s more like the first phase. As there is SO much awaiting you from that point on. I have so many pieces that have yet to find their home, solutions to problems I’ve yet to come across, and puzzles without their key. Now not everybody is going to press on once they hit credits, but your journey continues on if you so choose. And it is this hook that’ll keep you pressing on to complete just ONE. MORE. RUN. You have the pieces, and you so desperately want to solve the puzzle, that this will be your driving force to carry on, cause this mystery runs deep.
I could really use that key + gem, but it’s a dead end and could kill my run!
Blue Prince as mentioned above is a roguelike, but also a myst-like with deckbuilding elements and environmental puzzles, and it all just… works. Your runs are split up into “Days”, one day is equivalent to one run. You start these days entering the manor, having three doors to select, and going from there. Once you choose your door, three floor plans will present themselves to you and you’ll have to draft the room you want to enter behind that door you selected. You’ll have a map and inventory you can pull up at any time as well to make sure you’re selecting the room you truly want. Though some of these rooms will require certain items to open, and if you don’t have it, you’ll be forced to make another pick. And you don’t know how many times, I saw a room in my sights that I NEEDED, only to not have the requirement…. “UGH. Next time, next time I’ll get it!!”
The catch is, you can’t just explore to your hearts content. You have a currency in the form of “Steps” that will deplete upon entering a new room. You start each day with 50 steps, and it’s up to you to see how you use them. In some cases you won’t get even get close to using all 50, in which you’ll have to “Call it a Day”, ending your run. Once your day is over, a new one will start, right at the beginning with the manor resetting. And with every reset, the opportunity to find something new! Entering that manor, never felt like a drag, it was always excitement from the possibility that THIS, THIS could be the one!
There’s a deep layer of strategy here that some might not be into. But for those that love planning, you’ll get to the point where you know what you’re looking for, what you’re hoping to draft, and will be fiending for that perfect run! In order to get there, you’ll spend your time analyzing, searching, and exploring to gather as much information as possible. Which ends up being your main goal, in a way, to learn as much as you can. As long as you walk away with knowledge you didn’t have before, that run was a success!
(Oh make sure to keep a notebook handy, it’s pretty much a requirement for Blue Prince.)
Apart from that knowledge though, you’ll be collecting plenty of items to help you along your path. Some of these will come in the form of permanent upgrades that will be an immense help in reaching the impossible 46th room! Regardless, all of these tools will benefit you in one way or another, so make sure to keep you eyes peeled when exploring.
See those Mountains?
You can go there!
(no, not really…)
While not a heavyweight in the graphics department, Blue Prince excels in its artistic direction to fit a style that seemingly blends across all facets of the game. Everything belongs, nothing out of place, which makes it all so worthwhile to explore. It was made with a passion. A passion that may have taken 8 years, but was well worth it and well earned in the end.
Throughout my time on PS5, which was roughly between 25 to 30hrs, I did experience some hitching, stuttering, and the occasional visual glitch. But nothing that hindered the experience. Even with the odd frame dip, the gameplay is slow enough to never be an issue. Apart from that you’ll be mostly at 60fps the remainder of the time!
Blue Prince is without a doubt an achievement in game design, Tonda Ros and Dogubomb have crafted something that’ll stand the test of time. I’m ecstatic that my adventure is far from over, but even at the credits roll I’m immensely satisfied. These types of generational games don’t come around often, so play this game, don’t let it pass you by!
