Alright, so there’s this game called Blue Prince that popped up a while ago. It’s from this Swedish indie game publisher, Raw Fury. I think they announced it ages ago? Anyway, it’s from this dude, Tonda Ros, who’s basically been tinkering with it for, like, eight years or something. Imagine that—a crazy length of time! It’s inspired by those totally mind-boggling puzzle books like Maze by Christopher Manson. Oh, and card games too, I guess.
So, it had been quiet on the Blue Prince front for a bit, then bam! There it was at the State of Play in February 2025. And they confirmed it for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on top of PC.
Then April 10, 2025, rolled around. The game dropped on all these current-gen platforms (and Xbox Game Pass, PS Plus, you name it). Weirdly, not too many people were hyped before it came out, but then it kinda blew up! Shot right up the sales charts and turned into one of those super high-scoring games of 2025. An 89/100 on OpenCritic, and even a 92/100 on Metacritic. Nuts, right? It’s become this standout indie game of the year, kinda like last year’s Balatro.
Blue Prince and Balatro have a bit in common, despite being different genres. Now, Balatro was also a big hit in 2024. You heard of it? Created by a solo developer, LocalThunk, it was this rogue-like poker-themed deck builder thing. Yeah, playing poker hands like it was the wild west.
Balatro’s all about stacking those cards in crazy combos and smashing through blinds as they get tougher. It’s got these special Joker cards you can snag in-game. No story or combat, just plain old card gaming. Still, it had this deep gameplay where you could stay up all night strategizing. Felt a bit like Blue Prince, where you’re exploring a constantly changing mansion and hunting for the mysterious 46th room. Got a bit of a brain-bender vibe.
Despite their underlying complexity, both games managed to pull in a wider crowd. That might be because their basic mechanics are approachable. Even if they’re kinda tough under the hood, they don’t scare people off right away.
Anyway, both Blue Prince and Balatro—just indie gems that found a way to shine bright. They took simple ideas and ran with them, and maybe—just maybe—that’s why they’re so darn appealing.
