Blue Prince is a game that requires you to think in multiple layers. There’s always something underneath the answer you just found, and half the time it won’t even help you until several in‑game days later. It was by far my favorite game of 2025, and Dogubomb did such an amazing job that I genuinely don’t know how they’ll top it.

The Story Behind Blue Prince

You play as Simon P. Jones, a young man who has recently received an inheritance from your deceased Great Uncle Herbert S. Sinclair (so official-sounding). You are to inherit his vast estate of Mount Holly and all items within — but (and this is a big but) you must pass one small, teensy, tiny, little test set forth by Uncle Herbert.

You have to locate the 46th room within the 45‑room mansion.

There are rules:

• You cannot stay inside the house.
• You cannot take anything from it.
• You cannot bring anything inside.

Sounds simple, yes? That’s where this game gets interesting.

The only way to traverse the mansion is to draft from a pool of blueprints (heh, Blue Prince, that will never not be funny) that have their own pros and cons, their own directions, and items that can help you along the way. It’s a fascinating approach to a puzzle‑adventure with some deckbuilder mechanics added in.

Layers on Layers on Layers

Remember how I said this game will have you thinking in multiple layers? Well, getting to Room 46 is but the very tip of a very large iceberg.

As you navigate the halls and rooms of Mount Holly, you’ll uncover secrets about the mansion, the people who lived there, and the history of the area — puzzles upon puzzles await you. These rooms hold clues to a wider mystery within the game, and it will keep you coming back for more.

Are you curious enough to find each one?

Who This Game Isn’t For

Blue Prince is not for everyone.

This game is not for:

• Players who want instant gratification. You will not beat this in one run (unless you know all the tricks)
• People who hate RNG. Sometimes the mansion just gives you a dead‑end room pool and that’s that.
• Gamers who want constant action. This is slow, methodical; you must constantly think several steps ahead.
• Anyone who dislikes replaying content. You will restart. A lot.

If any of that sounds frustrating, this game will feel like homework.

Replayability, RNG, and the Mansion Reset

Dogubomb designed Blue Prince for maximum replayability. It’s going to take more than one pass to get to Room 46 (unless you’re a speedrunner or trying for the achievement they have in‑game). It also depends on the wonderful power of RNG, because you don’t know what rooms you can draft until you open a door.

So, if you get a pool of rooms that dead‑ends you? Well, your run is over, my friend, and you’ll have to start another day.

And here’s the kicker: the mansion resets itself every single day.

Every new run is a completely fresh Mount Holly — new room layouts, new blueprint pools, new opportunities, and new ways to get absolutely wrecked by bad luck. Nothing carries over except what you learned.

So throw a coin in the fountain for luck if the RNG gods don’t favor you.

Currency, Keys, and the Stamina System

Throughout the mansion, there are gems, coins, and keys that can help you get into rooms or pay for items that help you along your journey. You’ll have to keep your eye on these — especially the keys and gems — because if you run out, then your run is over.

Speaking of runs, Blue Prince also created an interesting stamina bar for players to pay attention to. It’s the number of steps you take through the mansion and the grounds surrounding it.

• Each room requires one step to enter.
• Walking outside also costs a step.
• If you enter a doorway and decide to back out, that step is still used.
• If you run out of steps… you already know. Your run ends, and you’ll have to start a new day.

Art and Presentation

The art of Blue Prince is just wonderful; it has a cartoonish vibe that reminds you of Telltale’s style in The Walking Dead. Colors are muted and not in your face — exactly what you’d expect from an estate resting in a mountain range. But that just makes the bright colors that do show up that much more noticeable.

The scale of the game feels massive even though it’s illusory. Because it’s in first‑person, looking up at the peak of the holly‑leaf‑shaped mountain in front of you makes everything feel so grand.

The Blue Prince UI is straightforward and clear. You choose a door and pick from three drafts for the next room. The only thing that took some getting used to was not being able to back out of the drafting interface once you’re in it, but that was easily remedied after a couple of rounds of play.

The mansion looks run‑down from the outside — you wouldn’t think people lived there at all until you show up. But that’s the beauty of it: once the day ends, you get to see what kind of home you created from the rooms you drafted.

How the Game Teaches You

Blue Prince teaches you in the most unusual way. It sort of mimics life — you learn from books and notes left inside the rooms you draft. There’s a Library, Study, Drawing Room, and Mail Room… so many ways to learn about the environment without disrupting immersion. Even when you pick up items and the explanation pops up, it doesn’t break the flow — though the one downside is that the explanation always pops up, even if you’ve picked up that item multiple times.

Performance

Blue Prince runs pretty smoothly even with the bare minimum requirements (like my setup). There was some lag in the intro video and a little during gameplay, but that’s more of a user‑side issue. If your setup can handle it, the game runs insanely smooth with no hiccups.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere of Blue Prince is mythical, ethereal. Soft music plays in the background, paired with environmental sounds from the surrounding naturescape. It gives the whole game a bigger, more mysterious feel — like Mount Holly is alive and you’re always being watched (probably by the head maid, we’ve never met her, but she is boss-level awesome).

Conclusion

Blue Prince is one of those rare games that lingers in your mind long after you’ve shut it down. It’s clever without being smug, challenging without being cruel, and layered in a way that makes every run feel like you’re peeling back another sliver of Mount Holly’s strange, shifting heart. Dogubomb didn’t just build a puzzle game — they built a place you want to return to, even when it kicks you out at the end of the day and rearranges itself just to keep you guessing.

It’s not a game that hands you answers. It’s not a game that cares whether you get frustrated. But if you’re the kind of player who loves the slow burn of discovery, who thrives on lore crumbs, who enjoys the thrill of a perfectly planned run that somehow survives the mansion’s chaos, then Blue Prince is going to sink its hooks into you the same way it did me.

Mount Holly resets every morning. You will too. And that’s the magic of it — every new day is another chance to outsmart the house, uncover something you missed, and inch a little closer to that impossible 46th room. It’s a game built on curiosity, persistence, and the joy of being just a little bit obsessed.