Publisher Raw Fury has teamed up with independent studio Dogubomb to release the new puzzle game, Blue Prince, on April 10. This is Dogubomb’s debut title, as the studio has worked on Blue Prince for over eight years. At first glance, players might think the game is another linear puzzle adventure, but there is more than meets the eye when it comes to Blue Prince.
The game adds exploration to its formula by asking players to discover the room route of the Mt. Holly estate. At the same time, the house is filled with different puzzles and riddles that will help the player progress through the story and find Room 46. The house resets itself each dawn, however, prompting players to draw up a new blueprint every day. This progression reset system makes every day in Blue Prince unpredictable. In an interview with Game Rant ahead of Blue Prince‘s release, Dogumbomb director and game creator Tonda Ros explained how the game challenges players with these elements.
Blue Prince Progression Reset System Explained
According to Ros, one of the biggest flaws of the puzzle genre is how more traditional puzzle games can cause a player to get stuck in the same challenge. As a result, players will be forced to either look up the solution to a puzzle or give up on progressing entirely. “It’s a binary check,” as Ros puts it, adding,
“In Blue Prince, however, you will always have the option to move on and keep exploring. If you run out of options, you can always just begin a new day with all new rooms. Nothing will be stopping or blocking you from progressing”.
In Blue Prince, players are transported to the Mt. Holly house and are tasked to find Room 46. Every time they encounter a closed door, players can choose which kind of room they wish to explore from a random set of three. Some rooms include puzzles or bonuses, while others can involve setbacks. For example, a pantry grants players coins, while a closet gives them two items. As they explore the mansion, players draft a blueprint of 45 slots, presented in a 5×9 table format, to avoid dead ends and see how far they are from Room 46.
In addition, every time players enter a room, a step is taken. Once they run out of steps, they are forced to “call it a day” and the house resets itself the next dawn. Players will then start a new blueprint with new choices and rooms. Comparable to a roguelike game, this progression reset element in Blue Prince dares players to really analyze their next step. As Ros describes, players can also use the reset to their advantage so that no puzzle can stop their playthrough. Moreover, some upgrades to the blueprint are permanent, though these bonuses are harder to find.
To Ros, coming up with strategies is one of the most fun aspects of the game, and one of his goals was to craft a game that “both strategic players and puzzle enthusiasts could enjoy.” Ros adds that another key aspect of the game is exploration because the many puzzles in Blue Prince have multiple solutions instead of a single one. The multiple items and clues that are found while exploring can provide alternate routes to the puzzles’ originally intended solutions. Ros comments that this encourages players’ creativity when bypassing obstacles while also balancing out puzzle difficulty:
“To that end, puzzle difficulty is largely determined by the player themselves by allowing them to solve things at their own pace whenever they feel they have enough information”.
Ros remarks that Dogubomb has been playtesting Blue Prince since 2020, and the team spent the past four years watching “hundreds of hours of playthroughs” to polish Blue Prince. He believes that the largely positive response to Blue Prince‘s demo has made the effort spent feel worth it. Considering that the demo only gave players a four-day playthrough, Ros says it will be interesting to see which puzzles and challenges will be players’ favorites once the full game is released.
Puzzle
Adventure
Exploration
Strategy
- Released
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2025
- ESRB
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Rating Pending
- Developer(s)
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Dogubomb
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