Jonathan Blow's latest puzzle game, Order of the Sinking Star, presents a collection of expertly crafted Sokoban-style puzzles, but its narrative framework and presentation leave much to be desired. The game acts as a vessel for four distinct puzzle sub-games, each a reimagining of existing indie titles: Jonah Ostroff's The Heroes of Sokoban, Sean Barrett's Promesst, and Alan Hazelden's Mirror Isles and Skipping Stones to Lonely Homes. Thekla, the studio helmed by Blow, has licensed these games with permission, offering new takes on their mechanics and cleverly integrating them into a larger whole.
The Core Puzzle Experience
As a collection of puzzles, Order of the Sinking Star is exceptional. The Heroes of Sokoban features a party of adventurers with unique abilities for block-pushing challenges. Promesst involves activating switches to control machines that emit colored beams affecting the player and the environment. Mirror Isles utilizes mirrors to manipulate the protagonist and objects across fragmented islands, while Skipping Stones to Lonely Homes requires players to bounce rocks across water to reach new landmasses. Thekla's own puzzle design, bolstered by Blow and Patrick Traynor, introduces novel variations and seamlessly blends these mechanics, creating challenges that are both complex and rewarding. The sheer volume of puzzles, reportedly over a thousand, ensures a substantial experience for dedicated players.
Beyond the individual puzzles, the game incorporates smart design choices like an overworld where a Queen navigates between puzzle sections, using her experiences to solve her own puzzles. A fast-travel system also allows players to switch between different puzzle sets efficiently. The moment-to-moment gameplay is satisfying, offering that "aha!" feeling when a complex sequence of moves finally falls into place.
Narrative and Presentation Woes
Despite the strength of its puzzles, Order of the Sinking Star struggles significantly with its narrative and overall presentation. The game's world is often visually cluttered and difficult to parse, making it hard to distinguish environmental elements or interactive objects. This lack of clarity was particularly frustrating on a larger screen, such as when docked on the Nintendo Switch, hindering the appreciation of the game's otherwise lovely aesthetic.
The overarching narrative, centered on a Queen exploring a temple and encountering voice recordings from a predecessor, fails to engage. The characters introduced from the four sub-games have their own small stories, but the dialogue is often vague, overly elaborate, or filled with exposition that lacks context, leading to player disengagement. Unlike games such as Blue Prince or Animal Well, which offer compelling mysteries and characters that draw players in, Order of the Sinking Star's narrative elements do not provide a similar hook. The reviewer found themselves primarily focused on the act of pushing blocks, indifferent to the surrounding lore and character conflicts.
Technical and Content Concerns
Playing an incomplete build presented further complications. The use of a mix of human and AI-generated voice acting, while acknowledged by the developer as non-final, created a dissonant and jarring experience. This issue, alongside subtitle errors and mismatches, prevented a full appreciation of the intended voice acting and writing quality. Thekla has stated that the launch version will feature a full cast of human voice actors and corrected text, which may alleviate these presentation issues.
Political Context and Player Choice
An additional layer of complexity arises from Jonathan Blow's public political statements. The reviewer expresses personal repulsion towards Blow's views, citing specific examples such as his positive remarks about Donald Trump and dismissive attitude towards pronouns. This stance contrasts sharply with the seemingly apolitical nature of the game itself. The note that the original creators of the licensed puzzle games have distanced themselves from Blow due to his public views adds further context. The reviewer also touches upon Blow's past comments suggesting that women are biologically less interested in certain topics, a sentiment that the reviewer finds offensive.
Ultimately, the decision to play Order of the Sinking Star rests with the individual. For those purely seeking challenging Sokoban puzzles, the game is a strong contender. However, players prioritizing narrative and a cohesive presentation might find the experience wanting. The reviewer suggests that players on the fence might consider waiting for broader reception of the game's story elements or, alternatively, exploring the original, free browser-based versions of the four included puzzle games: Heroes of Sokoban, Promesst, Mirror Isles, and Skipping Stones to Lonely Homes.