Order of the Sinking Star is a puzzle adventure from Thekla, Inc., directed by Jonathan Blow (Braid, The Witness). It contains more than one thousand hand-crafted puzzles across four distinct worlds. The core differentiator is a “game design supercollider”: it merges puzzle systems and mechanics from Skipping Stones to Lonely Homes, Mirror Isles, Promesst 1-3, and Heroes of Sokoban into one interconnected structure. You can move between worlds and revisit challenges at your own pace. As the four worlds collide, their characters meet, and their puzzle rules combine into new possibilities. The result is a single puzzle landscape built from multiple designers’ ideas.

The Four Worlds and Interlocking Puzzle Systems

Four worlds each have their own rules, mechanics, characters, dangers, and secrets. Puzzles are hand-crafted and build on one another; finishing one introduces new mechanics rather than repeating a fixed set. When the worlds merge, previously separate systems intertwine. Characters from different worlds meet, and their abilities and puzzle rules combine in ways that change later challenges. You can come and go, returning to earlier areas or skipping ahead as you prefer. Notes and clues reveal more about the realm and the Order of the Sinking Star.

Playable Characters and Complementary Abilities

The cast includes a queen, a thief, a warrior, a wizard, and a talking boat. Each playable character wields complementary abilities and has stories to tell. As characters begin to meet, the mystery untangles through gameplay and notes you collect. The talking boat is one of the named heroes, alongside the queen, thief, warrior, and wizard. Their abilities are complementary rather than duplicate roles. The game’s story is revealed through these encounters, with characters from different worlds crossing paths.

Design Foundations and Contributor Titles

The game has been in development for nearly a decade since The Witness. Thekla, Inc. describes its approach as a “game design supercollider,” combining ideas from multiple puzzle designers. Its foundation rests on four titles: Skipping Stones to Lonely Homes and Mirror Isles by Alan Hazelden, Promesst 1-3 by Sean Barrett, and Heroes of Sokoban by Jonah Ostroff. Additional design contributions come from Zach Polansky (Enigmash), Patrick Traynor (Patrick’s Parabox), Marc ten Bosch (Miegakure), and Twitch followers. This history explains why its puzzle systems are drawn from several sources rather than a single lineage.