Jonathan Blow’s Ambitious New Puzzle Game Is 500 Hours Long, And it Looks Fantastic (Preview)

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Jonathan Blow is a highly respected figure in the independent game world, with some considering him a true author of games. If you haven’t heard of him, it might be because he hasn’t released a new game since 2016. He’s primarily known for just two games he led the creation of – Braid and The Witness – though he’s contributed to many other projects. Blow is also a skilled programmer, and has been developing his own programming language, Jai, for over ten years, with the goal of making it ideal for game development.

Jonathan Blow is known for taking a considerable amount of time to develop his games. It was seven years between his acclaimed game Braid and The Witness, and his upcoming project, Order of the Sinking Star, is taking even longer. This is because it’s a very ambitious game designed to be deeply engaging and challenging. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Blow and see a demonstration of the game, and it was a truly insightful experience.

Order of the Sinking Star Is A Massive New Puzzle Game That Will Occupy You For Quite Some Time

Let me just say upfront: Order of the Sinking Star is a fantastic game. It’s a beautifully designed top-down adventure where you play as different characters – like thieves, wizards, and warriors – navigating a world filled with magic and monsters. You’ll progress by solving puzzles, and each character brings unique skills to the table, making gameplay feel fresh and diverse. The levels are laid out on a grid, which makes it easy to see how things move and understand the game’s mechanics.

I played a puzzle game with two characters, each on a different side of the screen with a body of water between them. One character could move mirrors to redirect beams of light, effectively teleporting objects. The other was surrounded by monsters. You could even use the mirrors to teleport monsters into the water to defeat them! The main idea was to use the mirrors and each character’s skills to help the other cross to the other side. It was a really smart puzzle that seemed like a good mental workout.

Okay, so this game isn’t just a straight line from point A to point B, which I love. It’s got this central area called the Overworld, and from there you can head in any direction – north, south, east, or west. Each direction basically throws you into a whole new mini-game with its own rules, story, and characters. As you explore, the map gradually reveals itself, kind of like lifting a fog. The developer showed me a glimpse of what the world looks like when you’ve uncovered parts of it, and honestly, the scale is massive – it’s seriously huge!

The game will take players through many different and beautiful environments, a deliberate choice by the developer to keep things visually engaging. And with over 1,000 puzzles created by hand, it’s a massive game – five to six times larger than The Witness. Because of its size, completing Order of the Sinking Star will take a significant amount of time.

Blow clarified that while not a firm commitment, he estimates the average player will spend around 500 hours completing the game. He noted that less experienced puzzle players will likely take much longer. Currently, two professional puzzle game designers are playtesting, and they’ve both already surpassed 200 hours, potentially finishing within 300. Blow admitted the 500-hour estimate might even be low for the average player, but emphasized the game is substantial and development has been particularly difficult due to its complexity.

To create their complex game filled with puzzles, Blow and his team began by combining four initial concepts. They experimented with different levels, even those they didn’t expect to keep, to discover what was most enjoyable. Because the game is already quite lengthy, they removed anything that unnecessarily blocked players from experiencing the best parts. Blow feels this approach resulted in the most polished puzzles he’s ever designed, as each one focuses on the core of what makes the game fun.

The game’s puzzles are designed to be enjoyed together, like many players experienced with The Witness. Blow noticed people often collaborated with those around them while playing The Witness, as the puzzles are visible on screen and don’t require fast reactions. Order of the Sinking Star builds on this by making everything clearly visible, encouraging others to join in and offer suggestions.

With multiple characters in the game, I kept thinking about how fun it could be to play with a friend. However, the developers recognize you can’t simply add co-op to a puzzle game designed for a single player. The puzzles are carefully created for the specific number of players. While the developer is open to adding co-op after the game is released, there are no current plans or guarantees it will happen.

Jonathan Blow on AI and What’s Next (It’s Not a Puzzle Game)

Considering the lengthy development process of his games, Jonathan Blow’s passion for technology and coding, and his small team size, I was curious about his thoughts on artificial intelligence in game development. Many believe AI could speed up and streamline game creation, so I wanted to know how someone who’s dedicated around ten years to a single game views that possibility.

We experimented with a little bit of AI during the game’s development, but the final version won’t include any AI-created content – it just didn’t meet our quality standards. However, we found AI helpful in the early stages, particularly for quickly testing dialogue. Hearing a temporary AI voice read lines aloud gave us a much better sense of how the conversation would feel during gameplay than just reading it ourselves.

As a big fan of The Witness, I always appreciate hearing about the development process. Apparently, the team ran into a common problem with voice-over work – lines that looked great on paper just didn’t sound right when spoken. But they’ve found a really clever solution with AI! Instead of spending money on studio time and actors while they’re still tweaking the dialogue, they can now use a temporary AI voice to hear how things flow. They can perfect the script before bringing in a real actor, which saves time and money and ultimately makes the game better. It’s a really smart way to work!

The game Order of the Sinking Star is scheduled to release on PC around 2026, and will also be playable on the Steam Deck. The developers haven’t confirmed if it will be available on other platforms yet. In a recent conversation, I asked the game’s creator about his interest in making a different type of game, specifically an ‘extraction shooter’ like Arc Raiders, after focusing on puzzle games for so long. He confirmed he’s interested in exploring that genre.

You know, I’ve been thinking about making an extraction shooter, and I actually have a pretty unique idea for one. It’s so different, honestly, that I’m not even sure ‘shooter’ is the right word to describe it – it’s more of an ‘extraction… thing’! I already know what I want to make after my current game, and it’s not going to be a puzzle game, but it won’t be one of those extraction shooters either. It’s taken me a long time to develop games in the past, and I’m really hoping we can get the next one done much quicker.

The developers of Order of the Sinking Star explained that creating a new game engine and programming language was a major reason for the game’s lengthy development. Fortunately, they’re pleased with the results and believe it will make future projects much smoother. They also plan to reduce the amount of single-player content in their next game, which should speed up the development process.

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2025-12-12 04:41