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Puzzle Evolution: Why 'Order of the Sinking Star' is Much More Than a Simple Block-Pusher

Much like The Witness did nearly a decade ago, the upcoming puzzle game Order of the Sinking Star utilizes a straightforward, rudimentary mechanical foundation as a Trojan horse for mind-bending, out-of-the-box problem-solving. Shoving blocks across a grid to hold down pressure plates or clear a path to an exit is one of the oldest tropes in gaming history. However, tracing a continuous line through grid symbols wasn't a groundbreaking concept either, yet that was hardly the true "genius" behind developer Thekla, Inc.’s eventual masterpiece. While the early demo version doesn't give away all of its underlying mysteries, the same subversive brilliance seems to be at play here.

At its core, Order of the Sinking Star isn't just one game—it's a massive omnibus of entirely distinct block-pushing philosophies. Players explore an expansive overworld controlled by a central protagonist, who must deduce how to even locate and access the game's self-contained puzzle stages. These stages are compartmentalized into distinct map regions, each boasting its own thematic lore, cast of characters, and fundamental rulesets. While these disparate concepts remained isolated in the early sections, the game promises they will eventually collide and interweave. It is already abundantly clear that this overworld is far from a glorified level-select menu; it is a living puzzle in itself, with tantalizing secrets dangling just out of reach.

Exploration of Distinct Puzzle Dominions

The journey kicks off by heading northward into the territory of the Hearty Heroes of Hauling. This fantasy-inspired region grants the player control over a small squad of distinct characters simultaneously. Each companion interacts with the environment differently, possessing unique abilities to manipulate movable blocks or clear out aggressive monsters blocking the path. Constantly cycling between these heroes to guide the group to each stage's exit offers a stark mechanical contrast to what lies across the map.

Journeying eastward to The Mirror Isles completely flips the script. Here, players command a lone adventurer who must rely on pushable enchanted mirrors to teleport across chasms and generate spectral duplicates of himself.

Pivot westward toward The Promise, and the gameplay morphs once again. Shifting into a futuristic sci-fi aesthetic, this zone abandons traditional individual stages altogether. Instead, it seamlessly stitches multiple puzzle screens together to form a single, mind-bending, infinitely looping ecosystem. (Note: The southern territory, Skipping Stones to Lonely Homes, was locked and unavailable during this hands-on preview).

Across all of these wildly different biomes, standard puzzle-solving instincts often prove useless. Order of the Sinking Star routinely subverts expectations, guiding players toward solutions that defy conventional logic. This design philosophy doesn't necessarily mean the game relies on punishing, brutal difficulty; rather, it highlights a deliberate effort by the developers to push players far past the first obvious answer.

An Impressively Grand Scale

Any single one of these specialized regions possesses enough mechanical depth and polish to be packaged and sold as a standalone indie game. When stitched together under one roof, they culminate in an experience of staggering proportions. Tackling all available levels in the demo takes roughly four hours of focused play, yet it leaves the distinct impression of barely scratching the surface. Furthermore, the game's seamless open-world map feels genuinely immense, making it incredibly difficult to gauge just how much mystery remains hidden in the full version.

The Contrast of Varied Mechanics

When a game is built entirely around radically contrasting design philosophies, the discrepancy between the most brilliant ideas and the slightly weaker ones naturally becomes more pronounced. For instance, the fast-paced character swapping among the Heroes of Hauling—relying on real-time decisions between pulling, pushing, or teleportation abilities—stands out as an absolute highlight. Conversely, while the optical illusion mirror puzzles of the subsequent island setting are undeniably clever and tightly designed, they feel fundamentally less engaging than the surrounding mechanics.