January 13, 2026
Real or prank? Our brains say 404
Is it a joke?
Podcasts, fake games, and a very real Mars revolt have fans gloriously confused
TLDR: A fake “1989 Blue Prince” post sparked confusion and a debate over satire vs. sincerity, while a straight-faced new Revolutions podcast season on Mars is actually real. Commenters are split between delight and doubt, tossing jokes about fake films, retro fonts, and slot-machine puzzles as they hit play.
The internet is having an “is it a joke?” meltdown—and loving it. After a creator posted a lovingly retro fake “1989 Blue Prince” piece (complete with not-quite-right old-school font), some readers swore it was legit while others clocked the satire and cheered the critique: too much busywork, not enough puzzle. One commenter brought peak chaos vibes, recalling a crossover review of “Troll 4,” a movie that doesn’t exist, while another admitted they couldn’t tell what was real until they looked up the Mars thing—turns out the straight-faced new season of Revolutions on the Martian uprising is actually real.
Fans are split: is this art, prank, or both? Podcast nerds cite 99% Invisible and Segagaga’s “is this a joke?” pitch, saying the line between reality and performance is the point. Game folks argue whether Blue Prince should be an interactive-fiction (text adventure) experience or if seeing the map is essential. Meanwhile, memes flew: “My brain’s buffering,” “Is Mars real?” and “Slot machines in a puzzle game?!” The vibe is giddy confusion with a dash of nerd rage and a big wink—like Imaginary Advice’s straight-faced SNES A Christmas Carol episode that proudly never admits it’s fake. Everyone’s debating, but also clicking play.
Key Points
- •The author discovered an Imaginary Advice episode about a non-existent SNES game presented as real.
- •They note hearing on 99% Invisible that Tez Okano’s Segagaga pitch to Sega was initially mistaken as a joke.
- •The author’s post about a fictional 1989 Blue Prince aimed to critique the real game’s design, not to deceive.
- •A floppy disk reference was inspired by Karateka’s upside-down disk Easter egg learned via the Lateral podcast.
- •Technical choices included using cool-retro-term instead of RetroArch to avoid Apple II and Applesoft BASIC setup.