Blue Prince is a genuinely remarkable puzzle game that offers a unique and captivating experience. The game takes place in a mysterious and seemingly impossible mansion called Mt. Holly, which has 45 official rooms, but the goal is to discover the elusive 46th room to claim your inheritance. Each day, you are allocated a limited number of steps, and you must construct the manor and the game as you progress by choosing from a pool of floor plans to create a new layout with each attempt.

This is just the beginning, as the game’s complexity runs much deeper. When I previewed Blue Prince in December 2024, I was struck by its intricacy. The game is not something that can be fully comprehended in just a few attempts; it requires around 10 hours to grasp the core puzzles, and even longer to piece together their solutions, room by room, step by step. This gradual progression is a slow, yet supremely satisfying, burn. The puzzles in Blue Prince are vast and surprising, making it thrilling to interact with the game’s mechanics and items. Additionally, the game’s visuals are absolutely stunning.

Although Blue Prince is not marketed as a cooperative experience and lacks multiplayer capabilities, it naturally lends itself to co-op play. The game’s mechanics matter less than the concepts presented on-screen, making it beneficial to have one person controlling the game and another taking notes and tracking progress on a notepad. Furthermore, discussing the game and its puzzles with a partner can help you overcome challenges, and this collaborative approach is a natural fit for Blue Prince, which is, at its core, an intricate puzzle.

This phenomenon is not unique to Blue Prince, as many single-player puzzle games can be enjoyed in a cooperative setting. You could argue that all games have the potential for local co-op, but puzzle games are particularly well-suited for this type of play, as a bystander can contribute to the gameplay experience without needing to control the game themselves, simply by paying attention and providing guidance.

Blue Prince is a prime example of a puzzle game that can be enjoyed cooperatively, even if it is not explicitly designed for co-op play. My partner and I have played several similar games together, and we have come to realize that the “single-player” label is not always a deterrent. In fact, some of our favorite puzzle games are those that can be played and enjoyed together, including Escape Academy and other titles that have become staples in our gaming repertoire.

We have also enjoyed playing Lorelei, Talos, and Blue Prince, all of which have been delightful experiences that we have shared together.

Blue Prince also falls into another category that I appreciate, which I have dubbed “anti-GameFAQs puzzle games.” These games are designed to be resistant to traditional walkthrough guides, instead encouraging players to explore and discover solutions on their own. This category includes titles like Tunic and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, which thrive on player autonomy and creativity. I find this approach to game design to be refreshing and engaging, as it leverages the unique aspects of video games as a medium.

Playing Blue Prince with my partner in 2025 brings back memories of a lazy summer afternoon in 2008 when friends and I discovered Braid on Xbox Live Arcade. We spent hours playing, passing the controller around, and marveling at the game’s innovative mechanics. Shared experiences like these create a unique kind of warmth, and a great puzzle game can consistently produce such moments.

Even if it’s labeled as a single-player game.