From Thekla Inc and Jonathan Blow, the director behind Braid and The Witness, comes Order of the Sinking Star. The game is published by Arc Games and is a puzzle adventure that takes place in a mysterious world filled with magic and secrets. It combines several different puzzle mechanics, all connected across the game’s world. Order of the Sinking Star released on 8th October 2026. It launched on PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Windows for £29.99.
The question is whether Order of the Sinking Star pieces everything together, or leaves you scratching your head?
Star Struck
It’s difficult to explain the story of Order of the Sinking Star. That’s not because the story feels convoluted but because I simply still have so much left to explore. I’ve barely scratched the surface of the story. Since there is clearly a lot more to discover, explaining what I know would do the game a disservice. I’m looking forward to getting stuck into the story once I finish this review.
Gameplay
Order of the Sinking Star’s gameplay share similarities with my last review, It’s a Sokoban-style puzzle game, focusing on moving objects on a grid-based level to progress. However, it is split into four regions with seemingly separate stories that get interconnected through the Overworld. You can travel between regions with a fast-travel system. You can rewind your moves and even restart the puzzle with the press of a button, getting these mixed up cost me half hour once so i advise to remap the restart to a button you don’t use that much. Each region is based on a puzzle concept from other games with a different set of characters and concepts for each area. I had differing amounts of progress in each of these regions.
Northeastern Escapades
First up to the north is The Hearty Heroes of Hauling, based on Heroes of Sokoban by Jonah Ostroff. It introduces us to three characters with each having a unique ability. The burly male can only push objects; the sorceress can only pull objects and the wizard switches places with people and objects in his eyeline. Some levels only use one character, while others have multiple. Levels will also differ by the types of objects to move, such as crystals or rocks, advancing on having to avoid swiping goblins and fire spewing dragons.
In the Eastern region is The Mirror of Isles, created by Alan Hazelden. In this region the player must navigate a world full of mirrors, these can be used to transport either the player or objects the same distance away from the mirror, but at a 90-degree angle. Some levels introduce multiple mirrors with several ways to use these multiple mirrors, including duplicating the player and objects.
Southwestern Adventures
To the west is the region known as The Promise. It’s based on Promesst 1-3 by Sean Barrett. You play as a gem miner who collects gems and use them to activate boxes and unlock different abilities, including teleportation. The strategy comes in needing to find the order in which to activate these powers to get all the gems and solve an underground secret. Going south sees players control a marooned sailor in another Alan Hazelden adventure, Skipping Stones to Lonely Homes. Traversal relies entirely on route-planning across a series of isolated islands, skipping massive stones over open water and using the resulting ripples to direct rideable lily pads along waterways. Each throw changes the position of the lily pads, you need to think ahead and work out the best route before making your next move.
Graphics & Audio
The graphics in Order of the Sinking Star have a colourful, stylised look with a slightly cartoon-like feel. The environments use bold colours, chunky shapes and hand-painted textures, with a mix of natural areas, old buildings and fantasy structures. Characters have simple, exaggerated designs that make them easy to recognise, while the lighting gives areas a sense of atmosphere. There’s also a good amount of detail in the backgrounds, with objects and scenery helping make the world feel lived-in without looking overly realistic.
I really liked the audio used in Order of the Sinking Star. The soundtrack has a nice mix of calm and mysterious tracks, with the music changing depending on where you are and what you’re doing. The sound effects work well during puzzles and exploration, while the background sounds add some extra detail to each area. Nothing feels overdone, and the audio sits nicely alongside the gameplay.
Longevity
Order of the Sinking Star’s longevity is one of the key selling points. I still feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface. There are over 1,000 plus puzzles to work through, so I have plenty left to discover. The developers estimate around 500 hours to complete everything. I can already see myself coming back to this game for months. There’s always another puzzle to solve, which keeps me wanting to play more. Accessibility is fairly straightforward in Order of the Sinking Star. It includes full controller remapping, which lets you change the controls to suit your needs. It also includes subtitles for the story and character dialogue. These however aren’t customisable but are of a good size. However, I didn’t find many other dedicated accessibility settings during my time with it.
Final Thoughts
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.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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