Order of the Sinking Star is a puzzle solving game with a compelling twist. The world is split up into four distinct lands. Each with its own mechanics, atmosphere, and story line. In the game you will have multiple different characters, that you will take control of as you play each unique land. That is until their worlds begin to collide and they begin to meet each other.
The company behind Order of the Sinking Star is called Thekla, Inc. The game’s developer is Jonathan Blow, who is known for his prior games Braid and The Witness. One interesting thing to note is that Blow had an intriguing interview with the BBC on the 7th of October 2026. In the interview, he claimed that this game will have around 1,500 puzzles, it could be one of the biggest puzzle games ever made.
Releasing on the 8th of October 2026. Order of the Sinking Star is available on Steam, Nintendo Switch 2, and PlayStation 5. There are currently no announced plans for the game to be released on the Xbox Series X/S.
What is Order of the Sinking Star?
Order of the Sinking Star is truly a remarkably interesting game. After the brief introduction the player is dropped into the middle of the overworld. It is from this point that the player is given a choice, one of four different paths. As mentioned above the different paths contain their own story which will eventually all combine into one big story.
The path to the left follows the mechanics of collecting gems,using them to activate different beams of light. They grant you powers to help solve puzzles. This section is called Vault of the Beamcasters. Opposite that is the Land called The Mirror Isles. Here you will use mirrors and your reflection to move around.
The path heading down uses the mechanic of using stones to make a path through the level. This one is titled Skipping Stones to Lonely Homes. The final path is one where you use the hero’s abilities to navigate the level to reach the end. This final land is called The Hearty Heroes of Hauling.
The player is able to choose any of these to start with. With how the game is made, if they decide they don’t like the kind of puzzles they are doing they are able to change. Moving to a different land means if they don’t like a section they won’t need to restart the game.
How is the Gameplay?
The puzzle solving extends to the overworld which does make you think, taking what you have learnt from the levels into the overworld. I did find that the gameplay was exceptionally good and enjoyable. The two sections in which I enjoyed myself the most were: Vault of the Beamcasters and The Heroes of Hauling.
The reason I enjoyed Heroes so much was that I got sucked into the story with the slow-burn mystery that was being fed to me. I also enjoyed the changing of characters in each level as made levels feel fresh. As I would get used to using the different characters I would start seeing the solutions quicker.
On the other hand with Vault, I found the concept of having to both collect all the gems in a level, as well as using them to solve puzzles enjoyable. It meant that with the more gems I got, the easier it would be to figure out how to collect the missing gems.
With the other two lands Skipping Stones and Mirror Isles I felt were the weaker two. The gameplay of them was just as good as the other two but I found that the mechanics of these just were not as enjoyable for me personally, it could be the case that on later levels they could become more enjoyable.
As an overall the puzzles are all quite easy to do to start with, while this may be an obvious statement, the difficulty curve is important to manage. In puzzle games if the game gets too hard to quickly it can put people off. Order of the Sinking Star manages that perfectly, stopping the challenge from being overwhelming for the player.
Are the controls all in order?
One thing I would like to address is the controls; they are easy to pick up and impossible to forget. In short and simple terms move the left stick to move around the level and press a button when prompted. One nice mechanic would happen if you pressed the triangle button (PS5) as it would undo your last move. This meant if there was a mistake made or a character got killed it could undo that move. This for me was a lifesaver especially with the issue that I did find myself having.
The issue that I am talking about does revolve around the controls of the game. because this game works on a grid system meaning the characters can only move up, down, left, and right. In certain levels with enemies in I found that I would either move too quickly or go into a square I did not plan to. While this could be problematic, I found that the easiest way to ensure more precise movement would be to use the D-pad.
Does the game look good graphically and how does it sound?
For a puzzle game Order of the Sinking Star is visually stunning. Considering the games supposed size I thought that the graphics may end up being the weakest part. I am happy to say that at no point did I have any issues. Every level felt alive, the various times of day or lighting in the level just added more depth to it.
One point where the graphics really stood out was the first level of Vault. There is a point where you move underground and the atmosphere and lighting change so smoothly. It makes it feel like it is another different level entirely.
The sound is harder for me to comment on- that is not because it is bad. The gameplay absorbed me so much that the background music faded away. This is not a complaint merely me admitting I focused so much on solving the puzzles that everything disappeared.
I can at the very least say that what music I can remember suited the game perfectly, it never felt out of place. What did stand out were the few voices acted lines that I heard. They never felt like they had been forced into the game and they would slowly feed into the overall story by giving small bite size samples of information that the player could put together.
Final Thoughts.
I have never been one for puzzle games, I will play the odd few, but I only would end up playing them for a few days before moving on. With this game I found myself wanting to play more of it. The just one more level phrase came out of my mouth too many times to count.
The puzzles do get tough later in the game and it can be infuriating when you cannot figure out where you are going wrong. When you do find the solution that feeling of joy is invigorating. This game may only appeal to a few people who like puzzle games but if you are thinking of trying it out, I would recommend it. Even if you end up not liking it, I feel this game will be one that people look back on in years to come with how unique it is.
