"Prologue of the Sinking Star" remasters several indie Sokoban-style games, integrating them into a single top-down open-world map. After playing for about a month and logging over 20 hours, a Polygon author acknowledged the creative puzzles arising from the interplay of different mechanics, but also felt fatigued by the game's massive scale and the relentless difficulty spikes. He noted that he has only scratched the surface so far, making this a preliminary impression.
Players explore different directions on the map, first learning mechanics such as mirror teleportation, colored lasers, controlling multiple characters to push and pull blocks, and pushing stones across water. Upon entering the areas between maps, these mechanisms begin to intersect, creating new puzzles. The author particularly enjoyed the process of gradually revealing the larger map and discovering new paths after solving room-based puzzles.
The combination of high difficulty and large scale makes puzzle-solving mentally draining. The author believes the game demands repeated deduction of steps; solving one tough puzzle often leads directly to an even harder one. When stuck, he sometimes struggled to determine whether he simply hadn't found the solution yet, or if a previous move had already rendered the puzzle unsolvable. While undo and reset functions can fix obvious mistakes, they don't necessarily prevent situations where you realize you must start over only after long periods of contemplation.
Prior to release, the game was promoted as having "500 hours" of content, though the author stated he couldn't verify the actual completion time at present. While he praised the puzzle design, he remained reserved about whether the story would motivate him to keep playing, concluding that a final verdict requires more extensive playtime.