As a game, Blue Prince is simply wonderful. It’s rather unique in its design in that as you make your way around Mt. Holly, the house at the centre of the game, you need to draft each room every time you go to open a door. That means you never know what room you’re going to walk into — and each day, the layout of the house resets, keeping things entirely random.
Playing Blue Prince, then, is a game of discovery and luck. With puzzles to solve as you make your way around the house, your success ultimately depends on the rooms you’re given in any given run. It works very well — although even as a game, it can be frustrating when you don’t get the room that you need.
But what about the people who actually live in Mt. Holly? From the notes you read as you play, you’ll quickly learn that the house’s random assortment of rooms is exactly the same for everyone. Even the staff and the occupants of the house need to draft its layout every day, never knowing what they’re going to get. There are notes of laboratory workers complaining they’ve missed days of work because they simply couldn’t find their workroom. Hugely inconvenient.
I can’t help but think further than that. What if you need a wee? Desperate to go to bed? Starving and need to make a snack? You could feasibly open door after door after door and never be faced with a toilet, bedroom or kitchen. Just imagine how frustrating it must be when your bladder is fit to burst and that elusive bathroom is nowhere to be seen. Or you’ve been awake all day and you’re desperate to collapse in your own bed — but it simply doesn’t exist.
As much as I like the idea of having a 45-room mansion to run around in, the lack of practicality of Mt. Holly far outweighs its grandiosity. I need to know where my rooms are at all times, I think. Having to chase down the living room five minutes before your favourite TV programme is about to start isn’t the life for me.
If you’re yet to play Blue Prince? Do it! If you’re a fan of puzzles and love the idea of roguelike exploration, there’s so much to love here. Just think twice if someone asks you to become the heir to their giant, ever-shifting mansion. I don’t think it’s quite the gift it’s cracked up to be.
