Real life is annoying sometimes. It gets in the way of fun things, like hobbies. For those who don’t know, I used to be a pretty keen gamer; I wouldn’t define myself as “hardcore” (whatever that means) but probably more of an enthusiast. I’ve found though in recent times as I get older and family and work commitments get in the way I have less and less time to commit to gaming; especially as I am generally a fan of more story driven games, liking to throw myself into something for significant stretches of time. That time is currently in short supply!
That game is Blue Prince. It’s a puzzle game at heart, with some interesting twists. What makes it a great fit with my life is it doesn’t require a high spec PC, meaning I can play it on my laptop, and I can play in fits and starts and if I need to step away from the computer for whatever reason, I just leave it running and come back to it later. There’s nothing trying to attack you, there’s no online component, you’re just exploring a house.
The setting is a somewhat magical faraway land, where you have just inherited a mansion from your uncle - provided you can reach the mythical Room #46. You do this by “drafting” rooms; there are a number of room designs from which you can pull. Each of those rooms have unique attributes: some provide items, some have multiple exits, and some can have negative effects. The kicker? Every time you enter a room, you lose steps, meaning you have a limited “time” (or rather, room entries) in which to reach Room #46 - and when you run out of steps, you have to “Call it a day”, meaning you lose all progress (outside of the knowledge you have gained) and have to start again.
It’s a brilliant, frustrating, and confounding game. The puzzles are brilliant, and so much of the setting provides clues to increasingly complex problems. You find yourself taking notes on items you are sure are important, only to completely ignore other information that seems superfluous yet contains the key to unlocking mysteries.
What I really love though is the setting. The soundtrack is brilliant, providing an eerie but inspiring backing to an environment that very much has a “liminal space” feel to it that is gripping. In some ways (and excuse the lazy comparison), it reminds me of playing Myst as a child - thrust into an unknown realm, with no real hints or targets outside of a singular high-level goal, and with a rich lore and history underpinning the whole experience. It’s worth a look!