The Indie Informer

Eight years of holding in the details of Blue Prince made its developer keenly happy to share a first look at the newly revealed game at GDC. Even in the later half of the convention week, he wore an ever-present and rarely diminished smile. I even had the pleasure of seeing it expand as soon as my suspicions about what was happening in the game broke loose.

Fans of the board game Betrayal at House on the Hill will quickly grasp the gameplay. But the set-up runs thusly: An estranged and eccentric family member has passed away, leaving me his title and possessions on one condition: I have to discover the location of room forty-six in his forty-five-room country mansion. Though it’s a beginning that fits well in a horror movie, the building in question doesn’t look foreboding—at least, not yet. I don’t trust anything going on here.

Stepping into the grand entryway, I find more details on how the house works and what to expect during my time in it. As I step up to a doorway, I get a choice between several different rooms to place. Meaning, I’m building the house as I walk through it. Whether at the end of the day I end up with a small cottage or a sprawling manor is up to my choices.

Another thing that happens once I cross a threshold is I lose a few of my “footsteps.” I only have a set amount at the beginning of the day, and when they drop to zero, my character becomes “exhausted” and can’t continue any further. Armed with this knowledge, I started my first day of exploration.

It’s difficult to be sure I’m making good choices. I don’t know what each room will hold or how they fit together. Instead of letting this weigh me down, I pick rooms that interest me. An observatory. A dark room. A chapel. All seem like great additions to the Winchester-like establishment. But I am sometimes limited or tempted to pick rooms for other reasons than sheer interest. Some rooms cost special currency to unlock. Others impose penalties I’d rather avoid.

At the end of the day, I got lucky. One room held a magnifying glass, which I needed to find a clue hidden in one of the dark room’s photos. However, I wouldn’t have been able to uncover that if I hadn’t constructed the utility room, which restored electricity to the — once literally — dark room, but only because I found the necessary keycard in another room. Somehow, every room came together in my favor.

I also nabbed a few keepsakes along the way, which subtly altered my experience. One of my favorite of these was salt, which I could use on any food item to increase my store of steps. The running shoes I jammed my feet into during the day also gave me a chance to preserve my precious steps while increasing my running speed.

The problem with all of this is I lose everything except my gained knowledge once I call it a day. Day two dawned and I had no salt, no running shoes, no dark room, nothing. It’s a good reason to use all of your resources before calling it quits or passing out from exhaustion.

But the game’s built-in (and intentionally slightly hidden) progression system ensured I started my next expedition into the house with even more steps than I had the day before. I won’t spoil what does this, but I encourage players to really explore their surroundings. I hope you all get a chance to explore the amazing — and very suspicious — Blue Prince soon.