Blue Prince
I wasn’t sure about Blue Prince at first. Its first-person puzzle exploration was fine but underwhelming. Its roguelike deck-building elements made me feel like I was being unnecessarily stifled by bad luck. But stick with the unassuming adventure game and you quickly realize there is more going on here than first meets the eye. A lot more. Blue Prince isn’t just about constructing a mansion as you go, it’s about slowly excavating layers of puzzling game logic and narrative reveals to see how they connect and refract off one another in neat and unexpected ways. The deeper you delve into its mysteries, the more the boundaries between player freedom and the structure of the game melt into one another for a unique and unforgettable experience. — Ethan Gach
