Of the many questions that Order of the Sinking Star could inspire, even before launch, the least likely was probably, “How much should I let this game consume me?” It’s not exactly the first thing that comes to mind with every game. However, over the years, puzzle titles that warrant obsession, trial and error, theorizing, experimentation, and outright frustration, all for that one cathartic solution, have gained increased visibility. Blue Prince is only the latest – Void Stranger and Baba is You being slightly older but still fitting the bill.

The latest effort from The Witness and Braid creator Jonathan Blow and Thekla, Inc., a decade in the making, actually uses four puzzle games from other creators as the foundation. It combines them into a singular…world, I guess is the best term, though worlds await within that world.

"And last but certainly not least is Skipping Stones to Lonely Homes, which flummoxed me so thoroughly from the first puzzle. Imagine a Rube Goldberg-esque machine, except the triggers are stones, the splashes they create when skipped, wind, and floating leaves."

That alone is an inviting premise, as I found out when trying the demo on PC months ago. I focused on one of the four regions – The Hearty Heroes of Hauling, a Sokoban-style block-pushing adventure, with the various heroes and their abilities offering delightful twists on the formula. The Warrior pushes, the Thief pulls, and the Wizard swaps places with a block. Progress further and you unlock other fantasy characters, each with unique abilities and identities, though you’ll be using multiple and switching back and forth before long. Easy enough to understand, even over its many puzzles, and as an aperitif of storytelling and design, it was satisfactory.

But that’s only a tenth of the game’s puzzles, and probably the “easiest” to “conquer.”

Fast forward to the PS5 version of the game, I decided the Hearty Heroes could wait, instead venturing to The Mirror Isles in the east. The story here focuses on a Trader who uses mirrors to teleport, though it quickly becomes clear this is all some trial. We learn more about his sordid story, but who is the voice speaking from the void? All these answers and more are revealed, but now the impetus is combining several of the skills learned from the north, like pushing and teleporting, to a finer degree. But as simple as it appears, even when rocks are added to the equation to create paths, things take a turn as you’re creating clones to press multiple buttons. Or destroying a mirror to stop clones from being created. Or creating two clones on one side and leaving the original alive to teleport and complete the puzzle.

After a point, I needed a break and decided, like an idiot, to venture west. Its premise involves an Explorer who discovers and picks up gems while musing about the ancient civilization that seemingly used them. And by “seemingly,” I mean devices that emit light and grant different powers if you’re within them. You can pass through walls, teleport, destroy boulders, or push objects (and no, their colors and the vague resemblance to the Hearty Heroes of Hauling didn’t escape me). Keep in mind that this is before you get the ability to push blocks on a whim, including said devices, either across paths or through walls. It’s also somewhat concerning that the Explorer seems to get greedier and power-mad over time, but I’m sure he’ll be fine.

And last but certainly not least is Skipping Stones to Lonely Homes, which flummoxed me so thoroughly from the first puzzle. Imagine a Rube Goldberg-esque machine, except the triggers are stones, the splashes they create when skipped, wind, and floating leaves. Madness. It was almost enough to make me forget about the talking ship.

"To the developer’s credit, it eases you in pretty well before moving on to the real thinking-out-of-the-box stuff. It also doesn’t hurt that this is more narratively-driven than The Witness."

If all of this wasn’t enough, you’re not experiencing these different regions/storylines/mechanics in a vacuum, but rather as the Queen. How she can harness each individual’s abilities is another matter entirely, but there are also audio recordings questioning, well, everything about this overworld. Who constructed it and to what end? If you think that has something to do with the titular Order, you may be on to something… before hitting a dead end and being forced on to something else, of course.

But that sentiment really echoes the appeal of Order of the Sinking Star. That interconnectedness, that feeling of one region’s progression inspiring you to tackle another. The constant do-overs and undo’s, where you’re so close to a solution…only to run into another dead-end and start over. Admittedly, it can get demoralizing, but once the concepts start to unravel, and you really notice things, you’re right back in it. That feedback loop is what pushes one to discover more, but it’s also a testament to how well-designed many of the puzzles are. I was downright amazed (and horrified) to discover, for instance, that the maze which the Explorer was traversing actually looped back onto itself. Far from creating a paradox, it only exposed further machinations that required rethinking what I already knew.

Of course, this kind of massive, sprawling endeavor isn’t for everyone. The mere thought of over 1000 puzzles can be overwhelming, and truth be told, the pacing can feel tedious at times. Not necessarily a consequence of padding, but if a few puzzles were cut here and there, I probably wouldn’t have noticed.

To the developer’s credit, it eases you in pretty well before moving on to the real thinking-out-of-the-box stuff. It also doesn’t hurt that this is more narratively-driven than The Witness. The Hearty Heroes ending up trapped in a magister’s bizarre crystal museum, and slowly piecing together his nefarious plot as they regroup, could have been a disaster with all the banter. For the most part, it flows naturally, adding levity to the otherwise harrowing situation, though I wish it wasn’t as frequent in the north.

The stories of the Trader and the Explorer are, thankfully, slower burns, and offer more moments to contemplate your situation. Of course, how it all connects back to the Queen is a longer-term commitment, but I still found all the characters quite personable. At the very least, I appreciate the absolute lack of hints or instruction from anyone, even after failing the same puzzle multiple times in succession.

"If that sounds like the ideal puzzle experience for you, however many hours, mistakes and all, then it may be another incredible journey to get lost in, even with its imperfections and quirks."

If there are any drawbacks to Order of the Sinking Star, however minor they may seem, the movement is certainly one. There’s a certain momentum to how characters move, and while it’s easy enough to get a handle on, it felt like characters were nudged in some directions unprompted. I don’t know if it’s a consequence of the pseudo-grid-style movement, and while it’s fixed with a quick redo, it’s occasionally annoying.

Also, while the environments themselves look good, the characters can feel a bit out of place. There are also significant performance drops on PS5, and while you can rationalize that as due to the sheer scale of the overworld, even when nothing is seemingly “happening” on the present screen, this happened far more frequently and earlier than the PC demo. The frame rate is mostly fine during the puzzles, at least.

Order of the Sinking Star probably won’t end up as divisive as The Witness, and while I can see some players waiting to be wowed, even after dozens of puzzles, it doesn’t take away from how well-structured and well-designed the world is as a whole, or how fun the mechanics can be, or the slight wrinkles thrown in that force you to rethink everything. If that sounds like the ideal puzzle experience for you, however many hours, mistakes and all, then it may be another incredible journey to get lost in, even with its imperfections and quirks.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.