Blue Prince

[shinymcshine]

24 hrs played, still doing it as a social co-op game, and still discovering loads of new things - really enjoying this !

[one-armed dwarf]

yo wtf (Parlour box puzzle)

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Literally how 😧

 

Even chatGPT is like 'lmao'

https://chatgpt.com/share/67fffb1e-0320-800f-9d7b-d5616639aceb

[spatular]

I’m still playing it but am less convinced I’m enjoying it, i think mostly the puzzles are good, it’s a good puzzle game, but the random elements sort of spoils it for me.

 

i got to the antechamber which i think should be the end of the game sort of, although it’s just the start really, but it didn’t really count for anything because i needed some other stuff setup but now i need to repeat that and can’t because of the random stuff, I don’t know it’s pretty annoying.

 

i think it would be miles better if you could choose any room and there were no key/jewel requirements and items were permanent.

 

theres some big puzzles in the game too that take a while and multiple runs, and some luck, to work out, but the reward is barely anything useful. Which can be a bit disappointing.

 

but I still keep playing 

[one-armed dwarf]

I mostly just think it needs to be faster.

 

I played some today and didn't get anything done, which feels really bad cause runs take so long. I got a thing where it made dead ends more common, so I was sort of doomed.

 

I don't mind the RNG as such cause I think it becomes a case of problem solving, like if I draft these rooms earlier does it put me in a better position later on, wrt resource economy but also the rooms on deck. It shares some similarities with deck builder games while not entirely being one. But the thing with the slow animations (eg, picking up the thing that opens the parlour boxes), the intro cutscene, the movement speed and also the dart board stuff is all that stuff accumulates and compounds the downer feeling of a bad run. It's like what maf was saying about games having an instant restart, in a roguelike I think you need runs to feel fast and/or productive, which is the thing which can kill blue prince as it can often be neither.

 

I'm only really doing one run at a time now though, so I just move on after that. The answer to my parlour game was the black box also, I don't get it, think the game is making things up to troll me or something.

[spatular]

yeah faster would definitely help.

 

i've been cheating/looking up some stuff about this now, one 

Spoiler

safe password

especially was glad i looked up because i never would have got it from the clues.

[shinymcshine]

We're still enjoying this, and after a couple of null runs with very little progress we the made a significant discovery....

 

Spoiler

Finally opened up the Antechamber via the Secret Garden, and having previously emptied the fountain, went into the Underground area. Unfortunately unable to completely empty the Reservoir (still had 2 bars, and could see a bunch of items at the bottom) - as whilst we had the Pump Room we didn't draw the Boiler Room (to utilise the reserve tank) so neither could we power up the levers in the Laboratory. We've also got the Foundation and the lift working there for another route up/down - and moved some trolleys around underground to open another route (circular rotating walkway room).

 

But we do routinely get a significant amount of coins each day (starting with +10 allowance) but then never quite seem to pull the Showroom so we can buy the big ticket items, or the Vault when we're carrying Vault Box Keys.

 

Furthermore getting the right combos of equipment to craft the buffed items doesn't necessarily happen, which can be frustrating when you know what you need, but then one part doesn't show up - where there's a ring of torches Underground that we need to light, and some walls that look like they could be broken - but whilst we could buy the Torch from the Armoury it doesn't get drawn at the right time, and neither have we had the Hammer, Battery and Broken Lever for the Power Driver in a run when it's specifically needed.

 

So still really enjoying things, just wished that sometimes there was a better way to bank items from one day to the next (aside from the single drop Cloakroom) or to influence what appears and when.

 

[radiofloyd]

Occasionally the game crashes at inopportune moments.

 

Spoiler

I was exploring the Tomb and immediately realized the significance of the stained glass figures in the Chapel. Just as I entered the secret room the game crashed.

 

[shinymcshine]

Blimey, played over 30 hrs on Series S and never had it crash.

[shinymcshine]

Finally revealed Door 46......

 

.... but damn, just couldn't get a clear route there !

 

But hopefully the shortcuts we'd established will still be open for the next run.

[shinymcshine]

And we're done !

 

Loved it, reminded me of the best parts of some of those 90s PC point and click games - great experience all round !

 

We may well continue wrapping things up next too

 

Spoiler

 

[one-armed dwarf]

fwiw, this was my blueprint when I got 46.

 

Spoiler

 

Did not even get to use the trading post, still not sure what its value is

 

 

 

[spatular]

i'm telling myself i'm done with this now, failed to get the credits despite getting to the antechamber on around day 18, i'm now on day 35 or so and failed to get back there, i just wanted to finish it so kept playing despite not enjoying it for a while now so ended up really hating it despite being able to see a good game behind the stupid randomness.

[shinymcshine]

I found that it progressively gave you; bonus effects; the ability to manipulate rooms; upgrade rooms; increase starting gems & coins; and routes to certain places that remained accessible between runs, which meant you had a slightly easier time of things as it went on.

 

Also there's enough flex that you don't even have to do every puzzle you find in order to get to Room 46.

 

Hence whilst it was still far from certain that you'd be able to do exactly what you planed to do, each run incrementally added something towards later progress.

 

Spoiler

Draining the fountain - and making the Power Hammer (to break through certain walls) was pretty key to our end success - but so too was the placement of the Foundation and access to its lift.

 

Then again there were things, esp. books and the Library, that seemed excessively obtrusive.....

 

Spoiler

Esp. getting the Bookshop, spending loads on new books, but then still having to wait over a 3 day cycle to Read a book, Order a new book, Read a book - assuming the Library tile appeared.

 

I think that by playing it as a 'local co-op' it gave us that self support for 'okay one more run' rather than as a SP when I might at times have reached for the off button sooner.

 

Further, post Room 46.....

Spoiler

Fair play to anyone who completes the Trophy Room - I loved Blue Prince, but not so much that I want to necessarily do all that's required to fill those shelves up !

 

[one-armed dwarf]

Blue Prince is evil

[radiofloyd]

15 hours in, for want of a better expression I’m so balls deep into this game. I keep discovering new things.

[radiofloyd]

My previous post got lost in the Great Forum Crash of May 2025 but yeah, I finished this after about 40 hours. Plenty more mysteries to solve but I had my fill.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed it and will happily play whatever they make next.

[Pikman]

Just started this, I'm glad my kids are playing it with me. Isaac said 'huh, Blue Prince is like Blueprints'. I didn't even realise. I think I will suck at the game

Is there anything that is useful to know in advance, without spoiling it? Other than make a lot of notes (which the game told us also).

[shinymcshine]

Nah, just remember it's a rogue like, and you'll enjoy the nudges and reveals more.

 

We generally played it together - as it helps you think of different approaches & solutions.

 

Spoiler

One thing that was super useful was the Purse (so you can start with more money each time) and throwing some coins in the Fountain each run if you can (as you can later drain it and pick up all the coins you've 'saved' over time).

 

[one-armed dwarf]

I think the only real tip is to take notes tbh. A lot of the other stuff will flutter into your awareness as you figure out what works, what the impact of certain unlocks are. Finding that stuff out now is a spoiler though. 

 

But yeah, taking notes is essential imo, depending on how deep you want to get into the game. 

[Pikman]

OMG this is COMPELLING! 
Only 3 hrs in so far and we have a pretty decent

Spoiler

map going and a few codes collected.

Not sure when to call it and get some sleep 😅