Jonathan Blow’s New Mega Puzzle Game
Jonathan Blow, the creator behind Braid and The Witness, has been quietly working for nine years on his next big project. It is called Order of the Sinking Star, and he describes it as a kind of game design supercollider.
Instead of being a single traditional puzzle title, Order of the Sinking Star fuses four different puzzle games into one massive experience. Blow says the result is an enormous puzzle saga that could take players around 500 hours to fully solve.
That scale alone sets it apart from most puzzle releases. Rather than short, self contained riddles or a compact campaign, this game is meant to be a long term intellectual journey. It sounds like the type of title that rewards persistent, curious players who enjoy slowly mastering systems and uncovering deep structure over time.
Before revealing the game publicly, Blow sat down for an interview and ended up talking less about marketing his new title and more about the state of the entire puzzle genre today.
Why Blow Is Disappointed With Modern Puzzle Games
When asked whether he thinks puzzle games are in a good place right now, Blow’s answer was blunt: he does not think they are. He is puzzled by this himself, because there are plenty of classic and modern examples of brilliant puzzle design that new developers could study and build upon.
In his view, many modern puzzle games put almost all of their energy into pure difficulty. They aim to be hard, but forget to be meaningful. Blow argues that an engaging puzzle game should be about something beyond just forcing the player to sweat over a solution.
For him, a strong puzzle game has an overarching theme or idea that runs through its challenges. The individual puzzles should connect to that bigger concept in a way that players can feel and understand. Difficulty is fine, but difficulty alone is not enough.
This philosophy is clear in Blow’s earlier work. The Witness is full of quotes and ideas drawn from philosophers, scientists, mathematicians, and spiritual teachers such as Buddha. It tries to connect the act of solving line puzzles with thinking about perception, knowledge, and how we see the world.
Braid takes another angle. On the surface it is a platformer about rewinding time, but it gradually reveals darker and more complex themes. One of its most famous moments hits players with a stark quote from Kenneth Bainbridge, a physicist involved in the development of the atomic bomb: “Now we are all sons of bitches.” That single line reframes the game’s story and mechanics in a much heavier context.
Not every player loves this style. Some just want clean puzzles without philosophical commentary. But for Blow, this deeper layer is the whole point. He believes puzzle games can and should explore big ideas instead of just being collections of clever obstacles.
Blow also points out another design problem. Even when developers do have a strong theme or concept in mind, they often fail to communicate it clearly through gameplay. There is a difference between what the designer intends and what the player actually feels and understands.
Designing a smart puzzle is one challenge. Making sure that players can truly see what the puzzle is about is a separate design skill. Blow feels that many games fall short on that second step, so their deeper themes never fully land with the audience.
The Few Puzzle Games That Still Impress Him
Despite his criticism, Blow does have some modern puzzle games he respects. One of the most important influences on Order of the Sinking Star is Stephen’s Sausage Roll. He describes it as brutally hard and not very accommodating to the player, but also calls it one of the best puzzle games ever made.
Stephen’s Sausage Roll is known for its uncompromising design. There are no shortcuts, no easy tutorials, and no hand holding. Each puzzle is tightly constructed, demanding careful thought and precise moves. Its difficulty is legendary, but for those who push through, it delivers a pure and satisfying style of problem solving that impressed Blow deeply.
He also mentions a more recent game with a lighter tone: Trifolium: The Adventures of Gary Pretzelneck. At first glance it looks like a simple, almost generic snake style game. But once you start playing, it reveals far more interesting and unexpected mechanics than the basic visuals suggest.
These two examples share a common trait that Blow seems to admire. Both start from a familiar looking setup but then push their mechanics into surprising and thoughtful territory. They respect the player’s intelligence and do not shy away from complexity.
However, beyond stand out titles like these, Blow says not much has truly amazed him in recent years. For a designer who cares so deeply about the craft and meaning of puzzles, that lack of inspiration is part of why he feels the genre is not in an exciting place right now.
Order of the Sinking Star is his answer to that problem. By merging four complete puzzle ideas into one massive, themed experience, he is clearly aiming to set a new benchmark for depth, scale, and meaning in puzzle design. Whether it will reshape the genre or simply become a cult classic for hardcore puzzle fans remains to be seen, but it is coming from a creator with strong opinions and a long track record of pushing players to think differently.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/puzzle/is-todays-puzzle-game-scene-interesting-no-i-dont-think-it-is-says-jonathan-blow-even-though-there-are-really-good-games-in-the-past-devs-could-look-to-for-inspiration/
