Order of the Sinking Star Reviews
Order of the Sinking Star is a very successful puzzle game with superbly designed levels and engaging gameplay. Not everything the creators of Braid got quite right, but it’s definitely worth giving this game a go if you enjoy puzzle games.
Review in Polish | Read full review
A magnificent collection of puzzles that will take weeks to fully explore. The sheer number of unique riddles is consistently impressive in terms of their execution. Sadly, the same cannot be said about the plot: while it seemingly attempts to tell an engaging story, many of its details end up going in one ear and out the other.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Order of the Sinking Star is a great puzzle game created by one of the most celebrated creators working in the genre.
To create Order of the Sinking Star, Thekla licensed four different Sokoban-style games from other developers and wove them into four campaigns forming a colossal, highly ingenious whole. Yet, this unprecedented scale becomes a weak point for both the narrative and the puzzle gameplay experience, as it can feel intimidating, confusing, and overly sprawling. Even so, the game appeals to two distinct audiences: those who want to dedicate hundreds of hours to unraveling every last detail, and those who simply wish to enjoy the puzzles for as long as they feel inclined—without minding that they might only experience a fraction of the game's vast content (which can still mean dozens of hours of gameplay).
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
As a culmination of many puzzle concepts and a deeply rewarding sense of progression, Order of the Sinking Star is a shining star indeed. 🌠
Any recommendation of Order of the Sinking Star is going to have a lot of caveats which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s esoteric and strange in a way that only Jonathan Blow can accomplish and the puzzle design is close to perfection. You can see the sweat and tears he put into ever puzzle and I can respect all the hard work that went into it. Unfortunately for me the narrative didn’t really hold the whole way through and I wasn’t really itching to find those additional endings. It’s a game that does one thing really well and the rest of it really just depends on your constitution and how much you love pushing blocks.
Order of the Sinking Star is an excellent choice for anyone who enjoys mentally demanding games and the satisfaction of solving difficult puzzles. Its enormous scope and occasional frustrations may not appeal to everyone, but the variety of its worlds and the depth of its mechanics make it a compelling experience for dedicated puzzle fans. It can be challenging, sometimes to a fault, but those moments when everything finally clicks make the effort worthwhile.
I’ve played lots of different puzzle games over the years; however, I’ve never played a game like Order of the Sinking Star, which combines so many different puzzle genres into one cohesive experience. It’s not a casual puzzle game, and often I felt mentally exhausted, frustrated and amazed at the genius behind each puzzle. However, the satisfaction of completing these mind-bending conundrums makes Order of the Sinking Star worthy of the LadiesGamers top rating.
I’m simultaneously thoroughly impressed and mildly disappointed. Thekla's mammoth epic delivers exactly what I hoped for, yet despite its variety, I still find myself wanting more of one thing: variety.
Review in Finnish | Read full review
There are some stumbles with the presentation and story, but nothing to derail the excitement of puzzle solving.
Order of the Sinking Star is a demanding and inventive puzzle adventure that constantly finds new ways to challenge your understanding of its rules.
Order of the Sinking Star is a clever, generous puzzle game from Jonathan Blow, with more than a thousand puzzles spread across four worlds whose mechanics gradually come together in surprising ways. The freedom to leave a puzzle and come back later keeps frustration low, and the story rewards players who enjoy piecing things together on their own. Its sheer size can become tiring, and the Switch 2 version has occasional frame drops and black-screen bugs, but it is a must-play for puzzle fans, best enjoyed in small doses.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Order of the Sinking Star’s sprawling world is a triumph of puzzle design, giving its countless mechanics room to develop, intersect, and surprise long after their initial introduction. Yet while its interconnected structure gives the gameplay a genuine sense of depth, the same cannot be said for its narrative. Its verbose dialogue, meandering audio logs, and self-conscious musings on game design seem to reach for the sort of philosophical complexity that defined Blow’s previous works, but rarely offer anything worth reflecting on. The result is a game whose puzzles continually reward curiosity, while its attempts at profundity leave me wishing there was less to read and more to solve.
Order of the Sinking Star has been a game I’ve really enjoyed getting lost in. I’ve spent around 20 plus hours with it, and I already want to play more. There’s something incredibly satisfying about solving each puzzle and moving onto the next one. The sheer amount of content also gives me plenty of reasons to keep coming back. I still have so much of the story and puzzles left to experience. That makes it difficult to put the game down, even after several hours. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with Order of the Sinking Star so far. For me, it has earned the highest honour, a Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
Order of the Sinking Star is clearly doing a lot with the puzzle ideas it borrows from its four source games, and the way those systems eventually collide is impressive. At the same time, the broader puzzle genre has changed during the long development period, and other games have already explored sophisticated Sokoban mechanics in creative ways.
Order of the Sinking Star is a monumental achievement in puzzle design, taking a handful of simple rules and evolving them into a satisfying web of challenges. Sure, its immense length and tough difficulty can be overwhelming, but the sheer mechanical creativity and ingenuity in puzzle design on offer is simply staggering. There’s no denying that it won’t be for everyone, but those who embrace Order of the Sinking Star’s brilliant take on puzzling are in for a treat.
Order of the Sinking Star targets people who enjoy stopping, thinking, and experimenting. If you prefer a balance of puzzles with a strong story or other gameplay, it may feel too singular, and the story, which trickles out at the pace of your puzzle solving, is hard to follow. Casual puzzle fans may find it tricky with no difficulty options.
Takes a base of many smart puzzle mechanics, experiments with mixing them together, and pulls together an overarching puzzle adventure in the process full of challenges… if you stick with it
Order of the Sinking Star surprised me. I came in expecting a small, mobile-style stone pusher and found a big puzzle adventure with lovely music, real voice acting, and level design that keeps pulling you forward.
Order of the Sinking Star is one of the purest puzzle experiences ever created.