4.5/5 ★ – PaperSpock's review of Blue Prince.

Blue Prince fits in a weird space for me, just outside of greatness. It's probably the most captivated I've been with figuring out a game's secrets since Tunic, and effectively evoked the feelings I got from what is probably my favorite game, Outer Wilds. The impressive thing about Blue Prince is its sheer scale. It had layer after layer of puzzles. The joke about hitting the "end credits" of the game is largely true. And what's more, some of my favorite moments did happen after the end credits. The truly impressive worldbuilding was amazing. I'd love to see more stories set in this world. I think what the story is lacking, at least after the credits, is some kind of forward motion. Anyone who's explored after seeing the credits roll can tell you that inheriting the manor doesn't change anything. The servants don't return. Simon doesn't even move in, he elects to stay in the tent outdoors each night, for reasons unknown. This becomes more egregious deeper into the postgame. You can do something that should have massive ramifications, but you never see what happens after. There is a missing sort of forward action in the story. After a certain moment in the postgame with a rather impressive, exciting cutscene, I'd very much say that the rest of the narrative is epilogue. One of the coolest gameplay segments still awaits. It's a bit awkward because essentially, the game shines brightest when you're chasing multiple leads at once, but at the end, the path begins to narrow for the final series of puzzles. And I think that any ending to such a game would necessarily have to be like that. But it makes the series of puzzles a bit weaker; there isn't much else you can really do to distract yourself if you get stuck. The very end is an extremely memorable gameplay sequence. Narratively, it's more backstory. Backstory to some backstory, even. And that's admittedly very cool to learn! But it feels more like an epilogue than an ending that pushes things forward. I'm glad I saw Blue Prince through. I loved its world. I'd genuinely boot up the game for ten hours more for a few puzzles that ultimately revealed a subplot that did something so inconsequential as discuss the government of the nation where everyone rides around on the backs of huge turtles. So I can't say I'm disappointed! I can easily draw a line at several points in the postgame and say to myself, "and that was the end, and everything else is just an epilogue of sorts." And I don't think that's unreasonable to do, really! And maybe it's personal preference, but this is something that holds me back from a 5. I think a forward-pointing epilogue would have done wonders for how I felt about the story of the game. Show me all the things that led up to this moment, sure. Show me many layers reaching back generations. That is certainly very cool and the sort of thing I want to see. But also, at least give me a hint of what kind of future the world of the game will see. Give me something that feels like a movement forward, even if we don't know what that movement will be. The music, the art, the puzzles, the way the puzzles came together and for a long long time, gave you so many threads to chase and then tug at, and the payoffs they'd provide? Absolutely fantastic and memorable. It's very difficult to not give this game a 5. And maybe as I look back on the game, I'll like this element of it more. That certainly happened with the likes of Pentiment. But while I'll eagerly await any more games that come from this developer, and would absolutely recommend this game to people, and even more, really giving the game its due and putting significant time into the postgame, I don't think it quite reaches a 5 for me. But it still remains one that has left an extremely deep impression.