Demo heralds the approach of Blue Prince next spring

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Full version of first-person 3D "genre-defying strategy puzzle adventure" coming to Steam for Windows PC

A quest as simple as "find Room 46" can't be TOO difficult, no matter how big or unusually constructed the building, right? Yeah, not so fast, as you'll find far more than you bargained for when you step foot in the constantly evolving setting of Dogubomb's upcoming puzzle adventure, Blue Prince.

Players control a young man who is the sole heir to Mt. Holly, a large and "peculiar manor with ever-changing rooms." Upon your arrival, you are tasked with finding the "enigmatic" Room 46, but you soon discover that this is a magical place that lets you "draft" your own journey by choosing (from a predetermined selection) what room each door will reveal behind it. Each has its own "unique challenges and secrets" that may either provide or take resources. But there's another catch, and it's a big one: You have only so many moves to make before the day ends, and when it does "the manor’s floor plan resets and the rooms one sees today may not be the same rooms one sees tomorrow." As you progress further and further inside, you'll also "start to discover that there is more lurking under the surface than a missing room." A tale of "blackmail, political intrigue, and the mysterious disappearance of a local children’s book author" begins to emerge, and "the deeper you venture, the more you realize that the past is closer than it appears."

Presented in first-person, free-roaming 3D but with a stylish hand-drawn aesthetic, Blue Prince promises a "genre-defying, atmospheric" experience that "combines strategy, adventure and compelling environmental puzzles." There are even some under-the-hood roleplaying mechanics at work, in the form of dice rolls that help determine the avenues available to you. There are many obstacles to overcome with important tools and items to find to help you do so, and there are multiple different approaches available, allowing you to "adopt unique strategies to combat the challenges that each day brings." Yet with only a limited number of steps available, you must maximize the opportunities available to you before they slip away, because once the house resets, everything except the "permanent upgrades to your estate blueprint" (if you've found any) will disappear, with your progress right along with it. 

The full version of Blue Prince isn't due out until the second quarter of 2025, but you can take your first bold steps inside Mt. Holly right away as a playable demo is available now to download on Steam for Windows PC. To keep tabs on the game's progress in the coming months, be sure to pop over to the official website for further details.