The Shared Trait Between Blue Prince and Balatro

Sure thing, here’s a chaotic and raw take on your article:

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So, imagine this—some Swedish gaming folks, Raw Fury, threw a curveball with this new PC game, Blue Prince. And yes, it’s a puzzle adventure, but there’s a twist. Picture this: one dude, Tonda Ros, labored over this thing for over eight years. Yeah, you read that right. EIGHT. Apparently, he was inspired by these old-school puzzle books and even some card and tabletop games. But here’s where it gets wild: After sort of vanishing for a few months, Blue Prince pops up at the February 2025 State of Play and boom, it’s hitting PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S too. Surprise!

Fast forward to April 10, 2025. Bam! Blue Prince drops on all the new-gen platforms, plus Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus. Weirdly, nobody was really buzzing about it before, but suddenly, it’s skyrocketing the sales charts. Who would’ve guessed? Critics loved it, dishing out scores like 89/100 on OpenCritic. It’s like, where did this come from? Metacritic even slapped a 92/100 on it. People are buzzing, calling it the standout indie game of 2025. Reminds me of something similar — that game Balatro from last year. Go figure.

And then there’s this whole bit about Blue Prince being a signal that Sony’s got their eyes on indie games for PS Plus. Could be a sign, right? Sony might finally be seeing indie games not as some filler content but actual headliners. Kind of a big deal, huh?

Speaking of Balatro, that game owned 2024. It was pure indie gold alongside others like Caves of Qud and UFO 50, but Balatro was on another level. One guy behind it all, LocalThunk. It’s a roguelike poker-themed deck builder—say that five times fast. The concept? Play sneaky illegal poker hands and stack up those points. No story. No combat. Just cards. Honestly, it’s kinda genius.

Now, Blue Prince? Different genre, but you get a similar feel. You’re wandering through this freaky mansion with rooms that move around. So, you need to find the 46th room by solving puzzles. Sounds easy? Yeah, right. Good luck with that.

But here’s the kicker—both games are deceptively simple. You get into Balatro and Blue Prince thinking, “Oh, I got this.” Five minutes later, you’re knee-deep in strategy wondering what happened. That’s the beauty, though. So simple, yet so intricately detailed. You could opt-out of deep strategy or get completely lost in it.

Even with their complexity, they snag a broader audience. It’s that initial pull of simple, engaging gameplay that drags you in, right? You’d think puzzle adventures and card games are niche, but nope! They’ve got this universal charm once you scratch the surface.

Anyway, it’s a chaotic rollercoaster of indie gaming goodness. Wait—where was I going with this? Oh, yeah. The rise of Blue Prince could mean we’re seeing a new day for indies. Buckle up, because things might just get interesting.

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