Last week I wrote about comparing myself to my puzzle-savvy friends who are better than I am and faster than me at solving puzzles. This was in reference to a game we’ve been playing called Blue Prince.
I may not be great at puzzles but this game has taken over my life.
There’s a lot I can say about this game, from its clever design to ingenious puzzles to the sheer volume of mysteries to discover to its title being a clever play on “blueprints” (which by itself is a clue regarding how to solve some puzzles). I’m not a connoisseur of puzzles so I can’t speak with great knowledge about what makes them great, but what has come to strike me about this game is that it’s a great example of what one can do with the fantasy genre.
You come to learn, albeit slowly, that despite the game using our calendar and dated technology (it takes place in the early 1990’s and has VHS tapes and such) this game does not take place on Earth. It’s a modern fantasy world, and you discover not only maps of various countries but globes depicting the world, fully realized histories both ancient and current, political tensions between the ruling monarchies and rebellious factions, and so much more. The more I play the more I learn about this world, and the more I want to know.
Blue Prince is a fantasy game without being a “fantasy game” and I love that.
Typically, fantasy games feature lots of armor and weapons and combat, and the stakes are no less than the fate of the entire world. Typical fantasy games have armies running at one another across vast battlefields, item management that turns roleplaying into little more than spreadsheet management, and monsters. Lots of monsters.
Blue Prince is a great example of what else one can do with a fantasy world. You can make it modern, with computers and machinery instead of swords and sorcery. The stakes don’t have to include fighting god(s) and the game’s central mechanic doesn’t have to revolve around combat and killing. You can use your fantasy world to make puzzles, and if you’re clever about it you can hook someone like me in and reveal the lore of your setting one mystery at a time.
I may not be very good at it, and may I need help with some of the puzzles from friends and/or an online strategy guides to nudge me in the right direction, but I am obsessed with Blue Prince. It’s one of the most inventive, creative, and addictive games I’ve come across in recent memory. Highly recommended by yours truly.