This critically acclaimed debut indie game is an early game of the year contender, and you can play it on Xbox Game Pass right now

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Although it’s still early in the year, the innovative indie game Blue Prince from Dogubomb Studios, based in Hollywood, has already caught the attention of many. The narrative point-and-click game with environmental puzzles is now accessible on Xbox, PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming through Game Pass. Furthermore, Blue Prince benefits from cross-entitlements thanks to Microsoft’s Xbox Play Anywhere initiative, allowing players to enjoy the game across multiple devices.

Initially, the game Blue Prince appears well-suited for presentation in a gathering featuring family-friendly titles. The narrative centers on a youthful protagonist who stands to claim an expansive family manor known as Mt. Holly. Although Mt. Holly exudes an enigmatic aura, the game’s charming artwork resembles that found in children’s books, providing a comforting atmosphere.

Appearances may be misleading, but don’t let that fool you. Although it might seem weak in combat, Blue Prince is an intriguing adventure that combines narrative and environmental puzzles with roguelike mechanics. It shares similarities with games like Myst or The Witness, but instead of focusing on hack-and-slash gameplay, it offers a more cerebral experience akin to Hades.

A mystery within a mystery within a strategy game that’s shrouded in more mysteries

Although Blue Prince swiftly climbed the rankings and was warmly welcomed by the indie community, conversations surrounding the game are frequently obscure and filled with cryptic expressions. Remarkably, this mirrors the game’s own enigmatic and captivating nature, offering very little in terms of clarification or direction.

The Blue Prince invites you to thoroughly investigate each hidden corner of the manor and its surrounding family estate, climbing from the cellar to the top floor, in a quest to find Room 46. During your adventure, the game may suggest that you carry a notebook to jot down any discoveries you make along the way.

Your primary objective is to reach Room 46, but with only today at your disposal and a maximum of 50 moves. Every time you encounter a door, you’ll receive new blueprints for expanding Mt. Holly in a way that strangely resembles the Winchester House. Entering a newly constructed room will decrease your daily step count, and when you run out of steps completely, you must retreat to your camp somewhere else on the family estate. Each dawn, Mt. Holly resets back to just an entrance hall, and players will then try again to locate Room 46.

Tonda Ros, the inventor of Blue Prince, seems to have taken inspiration from Christopher Manson’s 1984 ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ book called “Maze”. In this book, readers were tasked with reaching room 45 using a limited number of steps by picking rooms to investigate, similar to the exploratory and roguelike gameplay loop found in Blue Prince.

The central character of Blue Prince receives a grand estate from an old uncle who has just passed away, a place he hasn’t been to in years. To bring it back to life and uncover the secrets concealed within its walls, he will need to recall his youthful recollections of the property. Every day, the character (and thereby the player) can venture into Mt. Holly.

Behind the grand entrance of the manor, players encounter a difficult sequence of puzzles that constantly evolve. They’re free to traverse Mt. Holly’s numerous chambers in first-person perspective, amassing helpful items such as keys, jewels, and coins along the way. However, when they click on a door to exit a room, they’re presented with blueprints to decide what lies beyond. Rooms are coded with different colors, may have varying construction prerequisites like demanding gems or keys, and can lead to unexplored paths or dead ends.

The Blue Prince is a captivating puzzle, brimming with depth as each solution spawns further mysteries. The chambers of Mt. Holly are systematically arranged, with colors, themes, and intricate details concealing numerous hints. Various tools such as sledgehammers, metal detectors, and shovels can aid your exploration of this labyrinth. You may stumble upon useful items like extra keys or coins, or demolish walls that could be obstructing your path to new discoveries. Certain enhancements might also grant lasting advantages, like starting each fresh day with extra steps or gems.

While not all newly designed blueprints are beneficial, some may inadvertently pose challenges such as blocking a northward path without extra maneuvers or leading to a cul-de-sac. Certain rooms might prove tricky (looking at you, Weight Room, always nicking half of our steps count!). However, even rooms that seem more hassle than help can offer advantages if one is prepared to take the risk and explore their potential benefits.

In Blue Prince, since it incorporates elements from roguelike games, learning experiences that result from both success and failure are equally important for exploration. Essentially, trial and error is key. Some challenges or solution strategies might take a player several days or game builds to figure out. However, these struggles can yield permanent unlocks that significantly enhance your capacity to traverse Mt. Holly, making the time investment worthwhile.

The game titled Blue Prince, created by Dogubomb and distributed by Raw Fury, is now accessible on Xbox and Windows PC through the Microsoft Store at a price of $29.99. This purchase allows you to enjoy the game on both your Xbox and PC consoles, with cloud save support thanks to Xbox Play Anywhere. Moreover, subscribers of Xbox Game Pass or PC Game Pass can easily play this game on their preferred console, computer, or cloud platform as part of their subscription.

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2025-05-05 19:09