The Manor Mystery Blue Prince Hides Secrets in Every Room

The mystery house, in which players explore a sprawling residence in search of secrets, is one of the richest themes in video games. Standouts across several genres include Resident Evil, Gone Home, Castlevania and What Remains of Edith Finch.

It is an approach that began in 1980 with a game titled Mystery House, the debut of the influential designer Roberta Williams as well as the first adventure game with graphics. And it gets an ingenious entry this week in Blue Prince, which is enthralling critics with its layers of interlocking puzzles: logic riddles, word games, math problems and many codes and passwords.

The puzzles in Blue Prince start with its title, a play on words that takes on increasing significance as you unravel its story, a timely parable of the price of dissent under autocratic rule. Even when the credits roll — like in last year’s indie hit Animal Well — you realize you are just getting started. There are many more secrets left within its walls.

Mystery house games captivate players because they are about “the enchantment of an everyday home space,” said Melissa Kagen, who wrote the book “Wandering Games.”

“What if the kitchen were not just a kitchen?” she said. “What if there were secret passageways out of the kitchen into some other world that only you were going to be able to find?”