Very lovely indie hidden gem that is a bit tough to categorize as it touches several genres. It's certainly varied. Some might find it looks childish, and it probably hurt its sales, but I found the art style cute and charming with retro cartoon sensibilities. It's not just for kids, and I'd even argue adults would probably like it more. The writing was top-notch and even enlightening on lots of different psychological issues. I honestly think it might be helpful for some people. I loved the game's gentle humor and the empathy shown. It wasn't really preachy, something I was afraid of, and was even emotional sometimes.

The exploration and platforming were simple and fun, nothing too challenging. Billy tries to help the creatures and when he does, they go from black, white and/or grey to more vibrant colors and a different, less menacing look. That was always a delight. The fighting wasn't really fighting, more like puzzles with mini-games, using the creatures you previously befriended. It was refreshing and I quite liked it although it might become repetitive at some point. I loved this game so much I completed it 100%, something I rarely do. Rainbow Billy gets my glowing recommendation.

Blue Prince is a slow-burn puzzle game, and I didn't like it much at first. In fact, I was thinking, "Why are there so few puzzles? Why is this so popular?" Turned out the main "puzzle" was picking the best blueprint out of three blueprints each time you opened a door to maximize the number of rooms and resources you could create in the manor before your player kid was exhausted. It was more complicated than that, and there were more traditional Myst-like puzzles later on, but still relatively few compared to what I expected. It made me think of those board games where you draw tiles, like Carcassonne.

The random aspect bugged me a little. In Blue Prince, it sometimes happened that you worked hard to figure something out and were excited to find something new only to be disappointed by the reward... if any. On the other hand, those few "Aha!" moments of understanding were so satisfying. You might also know exactly what you want to do, but you might not get the right draws until in-game days later, if not weeks. That was frustrating. Frustrating but also a major strength as the pseudo random aspect of the blueprint drafting was probably my favorite thing. Cellshaded graphics like Borderlands were not what I expected, but they were clean and I didn't grow tired of them. Lots of "random" black-and-white drawings added variety. The music was sparse and understated, not particularly memorable except for certain rare special moments. Running back to the outside shed (eventually unlocking) and to the entrance of the manor at the start of each day, and to a special room at the end of each day became annoying.

Despite my complaints, this game really got its hooks on me. There was a constant sense of discovery that kept me coming back. There were layers of clues and secrets, some of which I didn't notice at first. Once items became available, besides currency and keys, it increased the possibilities and my interest. There was a variety of puzzles, from word logic to math to redirecting water and steam in pipes. A few very clever. The only ones I'd find unfair up to now would be guessing the painting titles in the gallery, but they were late game and optional. You can finish the game by completing the main objective, but there is still far more to do after that. You're supposed to reach room 46, which might be a myth, but there are way more rooms than that. More than twice that, if you include the grounds and the underground. I was concerned about repetition and lack of variety, but it didn't turn out to be a real issue. I simply took a break for a few days when I felt I wasn't making progress anymore. Blue Prince might not be the greatest "puzzle" game, but as a complete package, a kind of unique roguelike mystery puzzler, it's excellent and kept me playing until the end... and beyond. For a genre that has trouble keeping my interest, that's saying something.