“We’re not going to tell you anything about the games in this bundle,” says the BlueSky account of Blue Prince developers Dogubomb. “These are experiences best entered knowing as little as possible.” What follows is a heavily redacted Steam store page for the Hidden Depths bundle, featuring five of the finest indie games made in the last few years, which the developers want you to dive into without learning anything else about them.
I love the conceit here. One of things I find most difficult when writing about lesser-known indie games based on novel ideas is how to communicate how much they deserve playing without robbing the reader of the same experience I had when discovering it all for myself. Short of “could you just trust me?” it’s nightmarish to convey how delighted someone will be when they experience the surprising and unique selling point for themselves. The Hidden Depths bundle is essentially opting for the same idea when it comes to Animal Well, Fez, Tunic, Outer Wilds and Blue Prince.
The redactions on the Steam page for the bundle mean you have Animal Well, for instance, described as “a…game about…a………well,” and Blue Prince as “you…………journey…….to…Room 46?”
Of course, there’s a slight issue here that you’ve likely noticed yourself: these are also five of the most famous indie games available, and the chances are you already know loads about each, even if you’ve never played them. I really cannot imagine how anyone in the sphere of video games could have avoided knowing what 2013’s Fez is all about, unless they were simply born too late. The other four games are more recent, however: 2020’s beloved Outer Wilds, 2022’s Tunic, 2024’s Animal Well, and last year’s mega-hit Blue Prince. Still, if you haven’t heard about them, then keep it that way! Go in knowing as little as possible.
More odd is that only two of the games in the bundle are actually discounted, with Outer Wilds 40 percent off and Blue Prince down 34 percent. Quite why the other three aren’t offering enticing prices, despite taking part in a bundle organized enough to have its own bespoke artwork, is peculiar. The result is therefore a pretty pricey $94 for the lot, although given the quality of the games on offer, it’s still money well spent.