Summary
Every now and again, a game comes along that takes everyone by surprise with a bold new take on a tried and tested formula. Sometimes refining what came before isn’t enough, you really need to innovate to stand out.
That’s exactly whatBlue Princedoes. The game’s refreshing blend of puzzle and roguelite elements has struck a chord with critics and gamers alike, reminding us all that sometimes the best way to stand out is to do something truly different.
Blue PrinceCould Be Game of the Year
I spent as much time as possible last weekend playingBlue Prince, a game that was released on April 10 for Windows PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series consoles. The game’s premise is very simple: you are set to inherit your great uncle’s mansion on the condition that you are able to locate a hidden room. The mansion has 45 rooms, so if you can discover the 46th then the house is yours.
The game takes on the form of a roguelike. The mansion’s layout isn’t set in stone and changes each time you play. With every door that you open, you’re able to draft a different room. These rooms have different perks, items, puzzles, rewards, and functions within the wider narrative.
Your goal is to head northwards, carving a path by laying down rooms as if they were tiles. You have a limited amount of energy to expend, which depletes slightly each time you enter a room. The whole thing takes place from a first-person perspective, even though the mechanics of building the mansion can feel more like a board or card game.
You’re forbidden from staying in the mansion overnight. Each day you start anew, which makes the game easy to pick up and incredibly difficult to put down (the sign of any good roguelike). But the most captivating part ofBlue Princeis the way that the game tells a more interesting narrative by slowly revealing its secrets as you play. It really keeps you coming back for more.
It’s a satisfying and more-ish blend of genres, and there’s plenty to sink your teeth into. The more you play, the more the game gives you, and the more you want to keep playing. Experimenting in the early days helps you come up with a strategy, while the random nature of the game keeps you on your toes for its 20-odd hour playtime.
There’s an Art to Trying New Things
Games don’t usually feel as freshBlue Prince, and it can often feel like the medium thrives on gentle iteration rather than big new ideas. Large publishers are far more likely toplay it safe by refining a formulathan to take a chance on something truly different. There’s a very good reason for this: triple-A releases cost so much money and take so long to make that they can easily sink a whole company.
Fortunately,smaller indie studios are there to take risksand push the envelope in terms of fresh new ideas.Blue Princeis the first non-commissioned project from indie film and game developer Dogubomb. It was published by Raw Fury, a publisher that specializes in indie games (with past hits likeKingdom,Townscaper, andCassette Beasts).
The roguelike space in general is ripe for experimentation, with 2024’s surprise hitBalatrofusing poker, deck-building, and run-based gameplay. Before that, we hadVampire Survivorswhich, while not wholly original, effectively thrust a niche genre into the mainstream and made millions of people fall in love with a gameplay loop they’d never seen before.
Some of my favorite games of the last few years have been indie titles that stand out for being different. 2021’sUnpackingis a game about literally unpacking belongings over the course of a woman’s life, which doesn’t sound particularly interesting on paper. The game features a charming art style and an incredible soundtrack, but its real accomplishment is spinning a subtle yet poignant narrative without a single line of dialog.
2024’sUFO 50is another standout example. This is a collection of 50 games, all released for a fictional 8-bit console between 1982 and 1989. If you thought a single game had room for experimentation, try playing 50 of them (many of which are truly original).
Occasionally, companies like Capcom surprise us all with a double-A hit likeKunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. The game blends tower defense style real-time strategy with third-person combat while feeling like some kind of missing PlayStation 2 classic. It’s a rare treat for the company that makesStreet FighterandMonster Hunterto come up with a truly original IP that hits quite like this one does.
Nowhere has this kind of thinking outside of the box become more important than in the crowded free-to-play shooter genre. Embark Studios, a subsidiary of the much larger South Korean publisher Nexon, did exactly that withThe Finals.
The game has seen its fair share of success since its release in late 2023 thanks to its decision to avoid the hero shooter formula and instead embrace team-based gameplay and fully-destructible environments. This is a great example of how technology improvements can and will lead to more innovative gameplay, as long as studios embrace them.
Refreshing Ideas Stand Out in a Sea of Trend-Chasing
Given the pace at which the gaming world moves, if you’re chasing a trend that’s currently big then you’ve probably already missed the boat. By the time your game comes to market, toppling the big names that got in on the ground level becomes an impossible task. Standing out in a sea of “me too” titles is even harder.
We’ve seen this with battle royale games likeRumbleverseandKnockout City. In 2019, EA’sDestiny-like cooperative online action RPGAnthemflopped hard, after which the company promised to rework the game and eventually abandoned the project altogether. In 2024, Sony’s hero shooterConcordmet a similar fate after failing to get off the ground.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that doing something new and unexpected is going to pay off. Successful launches rely on more than just a good idea, but there is help at hand. Marketplaces like Steam now offerearly-access programs, allowing players to not only vote with their wallets on promising ideas but to also shape games through testing and feedback.
This trend has really caught on and even made its way over to consoles in the form of game previews (bothPalworldandGroundedmade great use of these programs to not only prove concepts but also drum up interest among fans). If this model could help triple-A developers take more risks,maybe they should get in on the action too.
Not everything needs to be a brand-new idea, but it’s clear that there’s less risk-taking in video games than there once was. Don’t worry, I don’t expectCall of DutyorMonster Hunterto suddenly become deck-building turn-based life simulators or anything.
If you’re feeling a bit burned out on the same old gaming tropes, there’s hope to be found in new ideas. Now go and giveBlue Princea shot, you won’t be disappointed.
