New Player Question: What is the point of the game?

[Odin]

Hi everyone. Just started playing the game today and played a hand full of days. Every time I got stuck at the end because I could not add rooms, the rooms where going nowhere, the doors where locked and I have no more keys etc.. As far as I can tell so far there is almost nothing I can do to "get better" at the game. I have to hope my selection somehow works with pure luck. Is that really everything there is to this game or am I missing something crucial?
If I am missing something please tell me because I do not see the fun in this at the moment.

[Fayf]

There are a lot of hidden things which will lead to permanent unlocks and bonuses, which incrementally make it easier to reach your goal. This is a puzzle-heavy game with roguelite elements, so if you don't like either part of that, it's likely not for you.

[Odin]

It is not that I dislike either rougelite or puzzles. I actually like puzzles. The thing is I have seen maybe 3 Puzzles. The 3 Boxes with gems in one. The Darts Puzzle. Lastly I would say the terminal with the passwort (I have not found yet). I also saw the laboratory with the note that I need a boiler room first to work the machine. The thing is I have to hope to somehow get the lab and the boiler in a run by pure luck. It seems to be I have to redo the days over and over and over and over until I somehow get lucky to find something new.
All of the above puzzles were over 6 days and the rest of the rooms have barely any interactable things if any. Lastly for a "puzzle-heavy" game I do not see that many puzzles at all because even though there are different rooms most seem empty (just art).

[Stone]

The puzzles here are immense, you need to record everything everywhere. 30-40 first days is prologue.

[Ica]

Originally posted by Odin:

Hi everyone. Just started playing the game today and played a hand full of days. Every time I got stuck at the end because I could not add rooms, the rooms where going nowhere, the doors where locked and I have no more keys etc..

That's how a lot of runs end early on. There's no time limit for reaching room 46 and a run isn't a failure if you don't reach it. Rather, try to discover something new each run, such as find a new room, new clue, new bits about the story, some new permanent change to the game etc.

As far as I can tell so far there is almost nothing I can do to "get better" at the game.

There is quite a lot of skill involved, but it's a bit hard to explain via a forum comment. It's something most players just learn over time. Also, the game will eventually give you a lot more tools to deal with RNG even without just getting better at the game.

You get to choose which one of the three rooms you pick, and that one can't (usually) appear later again during the same run. Some rooms can appear only in certain parts of the house. When you have a limited number of keys and/or gems, you need to know when it's a good idea to use them and how to maximize your chances of getting more. Also there's some subtle skill involved in just keeping your paths open.

Anyway, over time you will get new items that make things easier, or get permanent upgrades that make some rooms better or allow you to start a day with some resources.

[Fayf]

Originally posted by Odin:

It is not that I dislike either rougelite or puzzles. I actually like puzzles. The thing is I have seen maybe 3 Puzzles. The 3 Boxes with gems in one. The Darts Puzzle. Lastly I would say the terminal with the passwort (I have not found yet). I also saw the laboratory with the note that I need a boiler room first to work the machine. The thing is I have to hope to somehow get the lab and the boiler in a run by pure luck. It seems to be I have to redo the days over and over and over and over until I somehow get lucky to find something new.
All of the above puzzles were over 6 days and the rest of the rooms have barely any interactable things if any. Lastly for a "puzzle-heavy" game I do not see that many puzzles at all because even though there are different rooms most seem empty (just art).

I'll emphasize more on the hidden part of my first message. Many, many puzzles are not immediately obvious. Your point on getting rooms to line up is valid though. It's frustrating, but there are tools to eventually make these tasks more reliable. Don't hard focus on any 1 task at the moment - be opportunistic while exploring each new room that comes up.

[sarah]

@Ica - What does RNG stand for?

[Ica]

Originally posted by sarah:

@Ica - What does RNG stand for?

It means Random Number Generator, but generally it's just used to refer to any randomness and luck in a game like this.

The game will over time give you more and more tools to mitigate the randomness.

[McGeorgeOfTheJungle]

@Odin after getting to Room 46, the game opens up more and the puzzles become tougher and requires all those hints etc in books etc you come across.

[Gorlom[Swe]]

Originally posted by Odin:

I also saw the laboratory with the note that I need a boiler room first to work the machine. The thing is I have to hope to somehow get the lab and the boiler in a run by pure luck.

All of the above puzzles were over 6 days and the rest of the rooms have barely any interactable things if any. Lastly for a "puzzle-heavy" game I do not see that many puzzles at all because even though there are different rooms most seem empty (just art).

It sounds like you are just not recognizing some things as puzzles.

I don't know if you dont recognize it because it was too easy for you or if you disregard it as a puzzle because it didnt turn into an immidiate item reward.

Take another look at the walls in the lab and tell me if you consider that a puzzle.

[dmeister]

A couple of quick comments:

- Like other people said, there are a lot of puzzles to solve in the game. In fact I'm pretty sure the majority of rooms in the game have SOMETHING in them related to at least one puzzle or other of some kind, even if it's just a clue. You just won't necessarily know what the puzzles are until you find a hint about them to get you on the right track.

- There is obviously luck involved in drafting the rooms, but there are strategies you can use when choosing the rooms you draft to mitigate the chances of getting stuck and increase the chances of getting rooms that might be ones you are hoping to see. Also once you're further along in the game you'll probably have solved some optional puzzles here and there which will give you permanent bonuses at the start of each day like extra steps or gems or money or other things to help improve your odds of getting large houses and getting to the top, etc.


Personally I like the general gameplay loop pretty well, it's kept me playing a bit even after completing the main goal and a bunch of the optional puzzles. I'm not interested in trying to 100% complete this game but I do think the backstory is pretty intriguing and I like how it's told by sprinkling bits of lore and interesting knickknacks around. And the interesting art design helps as well. 🙂

[Lactose Intolerant Volcano God]

I think of the game as a hybrid between Slay the Spire (roguelike deckbuilder) and Myst (exploratory mystery puzzle game).

Depending on your gaming background, and which of these two protoypes is more familiar to you, will likely inform how difficult you find the transition to Blue Prince.

If you take Slay the Spire, each run of the game you have a fresh start. Playing it, you learn that a key part of the game is recognising synergies and knowing how to build your deck. In Blue Prince, the house is your deck and you build it by drafting rooms. You 'play' the cards by entering a room and doing something in it. If you build your deck/house well, you may have some glorious runs, just like in Slay the Spire.

Building the house allows you to solve the puzzles and unravel the mysteries. But until you can build the house well, you're going to find it difficult to get access to many of the deeper puzzles or all the clues.

If you're coming at the game from a mystery/puzzle game angle, these roguelike deckbuilder concepts might be foreign and confusing. However, they are not 'bad RNG' or 'poor design' but an essential part of the game, just like they are to Slay the Spire.

A major part of the game is learning how to draft the house well. If you haven't already, I strongly encourage anyone to read (and record) the five volumes of Drafting Strategy that you will find. They have lots of advice on how to draft rooms. The fact that there are five different in-game books on this topic makes it pretty clear how important this is to the gameplay.

As you progress in the game, you start to unlock boons/buffs that will make subsequent days easier. So over time, the game becomes more roguelitey and less roguelikey (for those who know the difference). But to begin with, you start fresh each day, and your focus should be on observing things, making notes, and learning how to draft.

If you just want a mystery puzzle game with traditional puzzles, and don’t want to learn how to play a new game with unique mechanics, then Blue Prince will likely be disappointing and frustrating.

[PersonalC0ffee]

You have used the forbidden words.

[Draco18s]

Also don't forget to draft rooms you haven't seen yet, even if they don't appear useful. There's a major boon you can get from the Dark Room for example.

[Jesse]

The point of game is grind for 40 hours to get enough allowance to be able to sustain your resources during runs

[wildcardbitches]

The point of the game is the waste your time so they can RNG drip feed you Resident Evil level puzzles so that people who waste the most time can feel smart.