Order of the Sinking Star, the latest game from The Witness developer Thekla Inc, is joining fall’s packed video game release calendar. The ambitious puzzle game will be released on Oct. 8 for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC.
Spearheaded by Braid creator Jonathan Blow, Order of the Sinking Star is a sprawling game centered around interconnected puzzles. It is based on several indie Sokoban games (a subgenre used to classify box-pushing puzzle games), including Mirror Isles, Promesst, and Heroes of Sokoban. Blow previously stated that it will take players more than 500 hours to complete every puzzle in the game.
If that sounds a little daunting, don’t fret too much. Ahead of the release date reveal, Blow walked me through the structure of Order of the Sinking Star. There are three main layers to the puzzle game. The first is the early game experience players saw in a recent Steam Next Fest demo. That involves discovering each puzzle mechanic and figuring out how it works, not too dissimilar from the structure of The Witness. Learning how to push rocks, travel through mirrors, and build stone bridges helps you build up a sense of the puzzle language you’ll need to use later.
The mid-game is more about figuring out how to combine the puzzle mechanics you’ve learned to solve more complex challenges. There’s a very clear progression hook here, centered around finding and clearing specific rooms around the world to get to a final puzzle. I hesitate to say much more than that, as part of the point of it all is figuring out the visual language of it all. But if you’re terrified of that 500-hour number, know that there’s a clear ending that you can stop at without clearing more than 1,000 puzzles. While there is a more advanced late game layer, Blow is keeping that close to his chest for now.
What he’s not able to keep secret is the game’s credits. Order of the Sinking Star has been clouded by controversy since its announcement. Some of the developers whose games were iterated on for the project, including Mirror Isles creator Alan Hazelden, have since distanced themselves from it due to Blow’s outspoken persona. In 2021, for instance, Blow landed in hot water for controversial social media posts about the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines.
In July, reporter Stephen Totilo broke down the situation in his newsletter Game File. As part of that report, he noted some confusion over how credits would be handled after an in-game slab containing Hazelden’s name in the Switch 2 demo he played wasn’t present in the Steam Next Fest demo. When asked for clarification, Blow simply told Game File, “Contributors to the game will be credited.”
When I asked Blow to clarify how credits would be implemented, he seemed exasperated by the question. He noted that the Game File report was based on temporary assets and reiterated that the game does include credits. If it sounds like he’s playing coy, it’s because he teased that the credits sequence is handled in a specific way that he’s trying to keep secret. That tracks given how The Witness handles credits in an untraditional manner.
Following my conversation with Blow, a PR representative followed up with me to confirm that the game will feature full credits, including the names of the developers who made the games licensed for Order of the Sinking Star. They will be delivered in a “special way in-game in the iconic style of Jonathan Blow.” Those credits will also be listed on Moby Games, and distributed in press materials.
Order of the Sinking Star will be released on Oct. 8 for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC.
