Jonathan Blow is back, and he brought a thousand puzzles with him. Order of the Sinking Star just landed on Switch 2 and PS5, and critics agree on one thing. This game does not care about your feelings. This story follows Order Sinking Star Review.
The latest puzzle adventure from Thekla Interactive asks players to solve sprawling Sokoban-style block puzzles. In return, it slowly reveals a mysterious story set in some unknowable mystical realm. Reviewers across the board praise the design. They also warn you’ll need serious patience to see it through.
Order Sinking Star Review: What’s New in Order of the Sinking Star
Blow made his name with Braid and The Witness. Both games rewarded careful thinking over fast reflexes. Order of the Sinking Star pushes that philosophy even further.
According to Nintendo Life, the game makes players earn every single win. There’s no hand-holding here. Nintendo Life’s reviewer described hours spent staring at puzzle boards, frustration building with every failed attempt.
The scale alone sets this apart from most puzzle games. Push Square called it an absolute beast, packing nearly a thousand puzzles into one package. There are also multiple endings to chase, giving completionists plenty to dig into.
A Massive Puzzle Box
That sheer volume is both the game’s biggest flex and its biggest risk. Most puzzle games know when to stop. This one keeps swinging, puzzle after puzzle, for dozens of hours.
How It Plays
At its core, Order of the Sinking Star is a block-pushing puzzler. Think Sokoban, but dialed up with layers of mechanics that shift constantly.
GameSpot’s review nails what makes a puzzle game actually work. Good puzzle design needs fresh challenges at every turn. It also needs logical answers that never feel too easy or too cryptic.
Per GameSpot, Order of the Sinking Star mostly nails that balance. The puzzle design often feels cunning and downright devious in the best way. However, GameSpot also notes the game occasionally misses the mark.
When it gets frustrating, the sheer number of puzzles helps smooth things over. There’s always a new idea around the corner, so one bad puzzle rarely sours the whole run.
Where the Puzzle Design Wears Thin
Not every outlet walked away thrilled. Push Square’s reviewer called the experience a mixtape of Sokoban ideas. That variety sounds great on paper, but reviewer fatigue set in deep into the campaign.
Kotaku spent roughly ten hours with the game and described it as full of twists and turns. That framing captures the tension running through every review this week. This puzzle game constantly reinvents itself, yet that same relentless pace can wear players down.
If you’ve burned out on puzzle games before, this one might test your limits again. The story, meanwhile, unfolds gradually, almost as a reward for pushing through.
Order Sinking Star Review: The Verdict
So where does Order of the Sinking Star land? Critics mostly land somewhere between awe and exhaustion.
Here’s the general consensus across reviews:
- Puzzle design ranks among the smartest in the genre this year
- The game demands serious patience and mental stamina
- Nearly a thousand puzzles make this one of the biggest entries in the genre
- Multiple endings add real replay value for dedicated fans
- Some sections feel bloated, and fatigue can creep in over long sessions
As someone who sank way too many hours into The Witness, I get why Blow built this monster. He clearly wants players to feel every ounce of effort behind each solution. That said, pacing matters just as much as puzzle quality.
If you’re hunting for your next deep dive, pairing this with a comfortable setup helps. A solid ergonomic gaming controller (paid link) makes marathon puzzle sessions far less punishing on your hands.
I’d put this at a solid 8 out of 10. The puzzle design here is genuinely inventive, some of the best I’ve seen this year. Just know you’re signing up for a grind, not a quick weekend trip.
Bottom line: Order of the Sinking Star rewards patience with genuine brilliance. Just pace yourself, because this puzzle game does not let up.
The Order Sinking Star Review story is still developing, and the details above capture where things stand today.
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