"Blue Prince" played: Damn clever
The surprise hit "Blue Prince" by Dogubomb varies familiar game mechanics to create a tricky puzzle hit with roguelike game elements.
(Image: Raw Fury)
With "Blue Prince", Dogubomb has achieved what hardly any AAA title can these days: a Metacritic score of 93 and enthusiastic user opinions on Steam. For quite a few critics, it is already a contender for the title "Game of the Year". The game is also included in Microsoft's Game Pass and Sony's Playstation Plus Extra. What's behind the hype surrounding a game that mixes classic point & click adventures with board game mechanics and roguelike game elements?
A difficult legacy
The player takes on the role of young Simon, who inherits a huge mansion from his filthy rich uncle. Everything belongs to him – there's just one small catch. He first has to find a way from the entrance to the 46th room of the house to earn his inheritance. He only has a certain number of attempts, or "steps", per day to complete the task. As almost every room is peppered with puzzles, the task alone would be difficult enough. But the good uncle has come up with a particularly nasty twist. The rooms change every day and Simon has to start from scratch.
"Blue Prince" angespielt (5 Bilder)
heise online
)In terms of gameplay, we can expect a mix of puzzles, strategy and a little resource management. The house consists of 45 rooms, arranged in a 9x5 grid. Initially, there are only two fixed rooms: the entrance hall and the passage to the 46th room. The rest of the playing field is empty. We move through the villa from a first-person perspective. Only when we open a door can we choose from three rooms in which puzzles or objects are hidden. For each attempt, we have 50 steps per day to reach our goal. Each new room consumes one step. Once the steps have been used up, the day is over and everything starts all over again. It is not possible to save freely. The Roguelikes send their regards.
Clever game mix
The first task is therefore to select the rooms in such a way that they do not end in a dead end. Each of these rooms is only available once per game round. Some have locked doors that can only be opened with a key. Others require jewels or only become accessible when we lay the pipes correctly in the boiler room, pump the water out of the pool or switch on the electricity. And that brings us to the second major game element, the puzzles.
According to chief designer Tonda Ros, "Blue Prince" is inspired by board games and in particular the classic puzzle book "Maze" by Christopher Manson. Like every page in the book, almost every room in the villa offers puzzles or clues to their solution. Hidden on a note is help for a math puzzle. Elsewhere, statues have to be activated in the correct order. Initially cryptic clues only make sense much later when we have found a corresponding room. If you want to solve everything, you have to diligently note down all the information on a good old writing pad or regularly take screenshots.
Fortunately, there are a few tools in the villa. We use a spade to dig up keys or coins, which we use to buy food in the kitchen to increase our number of steps. A sledgehammer picks the lock on a chest and tools are later combined in the workshop. We can also store important items, such as a code card, in a kind of wardrobe so that we can pick them up the next day. Occasionally we also find old disks that we can use to upgrade individual rooms on the computer to find more keys or jewels.
Mature gameplay with teething problems
"Blue Prince" is full of ideas to expand the simple game principle. Not a single element seems unnecessary to extend the playing time. Everything makes sense at some point. This makes for a mature gaming experience, which explains the long development time of around eight years. Nevertheless, impatient players should be warned. "Blue Prince" is not an easily accessible game snack, and we encountered one or two stumbling blocks during our play sessions.
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The first hurdle: the game language is English. Every text, word game or puzzle requires a good knowledge of the language. The second hurdle: the game plays slowly. Especially at the beginning, there is no overview of the big picture. Just create a few rooms, do a little hidden object search and solve small puzzles? The adventure is slow to unfold its charm, especially as the developers hardly take the players by the hand. Initially, we were at a loss in front of a door or a puzzle and couldn't get any further. In addition, the visuals are sober and lacking in detail, which is understandable for an indie game, but won't win any beauty awards.
"Blue Prince" is best played as a version of the classic movie "Groundhog Day". Like Bill Murray, players must fail each day to learn for the future. It often helped if we deliberately used up all our keys and jewels to test out the function of a particular room or find important clues. This slows down the pace of the game, but makes it all the more rewarding when the solution is found more quickly the next day. Puzzle fans should therefore not be put off. "Blue Prince" may not look great and has a slow start, but is worth every minute of play thanks to its many ideas and sophisticated gameplay.
Interim conclusion
The hype is real. "Blue Prince" is one of the biggest game surprises of the year. Even without the indie bonus, the game still has a mature game principle, with one clever idea after another. The puzzles are tricky and reward players who don't shy away from a few moments of frustration. This is why the game requires a little patience at the beginning. If you are looking for quick successes, you will not be happy with the game principle. However, puzzle fans who long for a change from the usual point & click adventures or other puzzle games will get their money's worth with "Blue Prince".
"Blue Prince" has been released for Windows, PS5 and Xbox Series. USK from 0. It costs approx. 30 €. It is included in the Game Pass and PSN Plus Extra.
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