A while ago, the Swedish indie game publisher Raw Fury announced a new game for PC calledBlue Prince. The game was described as a puzzle adventure title by its developer, Dogubomb, and it had a rather interesting story behind it.Blue Princewas created primarily by a single individual, Tonda Ros, who had worked on it for more than eight years. It was inspired by puzzle books, such as Christopher Manson’sMaze: Solve the World’s Most Challenging Puzzle, along with card and tabletop games. After a few months' absence,Blue Princefinally made an appearance at the February 2025 State of Play, where it was confirmed that the game would come out on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in addition to PC.
Blue Princewas released on July 02, 2025 for all current-gen platforms, as well as Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus. Even though there was a relative lack of enthusiasm for the game ahead of its debut, it quickly climbed up the sales charts and becameone of the highest-rated games of 2025.Blue Princereceived an 89/100 Top Critic Average on OpenCritic, and on Metacritic, it received a similarly glowing score of 92/100. Dogubomb’s puzzle title has already been labeled as the standout indie game of 2025 by many outlets, and despite the differences in genre, it has a key similarity to one other title that was awarded the same honor last year:Balatro.
Blue Prince and Balatro Have Similar Design Philosophies
Balatro Was One of the Most Acclaimed Indie Games of 2024
2024 was a relatively solid year for indie game releases, thanks in no small part to titles likeCaves of Qud,UFO 50, andAnimal Well. None of these particular games, however, came remotely close to havingas much success and cultural impact as 2024’sBalatro. This game, which was created by a one-man development team named LocalThunk (much likeBlue Prince), managed to become one of the highest-rated games of 2024, despite its relatively simple premise.
Balatro and Blue Prince’s Gameplay Loops are Deceptively Simple
Balatrois a roguelike poker-themed deck builder that tasks gamers with playing illegal poker hands and coming up with card combinations in order to get high scores and defeat blinds in a select number of turns. The more blinds that a player defeats, the harder they get in each round. Players can prepare for these increasingly difficult rounds by purchasingspecial Joker cards from the game’s in-game shop, which have an array of unique abilities.Balatrodoesn’t have a story, nor does it feature any kind of combat. Instead, it is just a card game through and through.
The concept ofBalatromay be easy to understand, but the game has more depth than it seems. Players who spend their time mastering a certain strategy can pull off some crazy card combinations under the right circumstances. This “easy to learn, hard to master” philosophy of Balatro is very reminiscent ofBlue Prince, in a way. Dogubomb’s recently-released title isn’t a card game, but it, too, has a fairly basic premise. InBlue Prince, players must explore a mansion with ever-shifting rooms andfind its 46th room, as they solve puzzles and mysteries along the way. This sounds simple enough, but it’s actually a lot harder than it appears.
Despite Their Complexity, Balatro and Blue Prince Appeal to a Wider-than-Usual Audience
Blue PrinceandBalatroboth take basic gameplay concepts and flesh them out into their own full-fledged experiences. This, in all honesty, may be where some of the appeal of the two games comes from. The puzzle adventure andcard game genresaren’t exactly that popular, at least not in the mainstream gaming space. However, becauseBalatroandBlue Prince’s gameplay loops are easy to understand on the surface, they appeal to a wider audience than usual, even though they’re actually pretty complex deep down.
