Prince of Persia has had a tough time in recent years. It’s been a long time since a new game in the series debuted, and in addition, there has been a lot of noise surrounding The Sands of Time Remake. Fortunately, the prince’s favor seems to be on the rise, as January 2024 sees the arrival of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. I’ve been lucky enough to try out this promising title before, this summer, but now that launch is nearing, I’ve had the chance to preview the game in a much more complete way, and this extra time has essentially confirmed my original opinion of this title.
Before I get into my thoughts on the game, let me just explain what this title is for anyone unfamiliar with it. The Lost Crown is a 2.5D game where you play as Sargon, a warrior and member of the Immortals faction, tasked with traveling to a mountain fortress in time to rescue the kidnapped Prince of Persia (yes, you actually play not like the prince here). The game is Metroidvania-style, which means you play on platforms, fight enemies and acquire new weapons and tools, allowing you to visit new areas and progress through the story.
Some fans of the series will probably prefer a 3D game instead of a 2.5D game, but in The Lost Crown this style really works. The level design is excellent and authentic Prince of Persia. You’ll encounter traps, environmental hazards, puzzle rooms to solve, tons of regular enemies, boss level enemies and even discover side quests, collectibles and extra goodies to keep you occupied.
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The Metroidvania style has not come at the expense of the essential narrative and world-building that the Prince of Persia series was known for. In The Lost Crown, there is a central story that offers many twists and turns, and plenty of character and world development that makes the fascinating world a joy to explore and Sargon a compelling character. Some of the biggest plot points seem predictable if you can pick out and put your finger on common game design, such as the fact that the Immortals happen to be a bunch of very unique warriors who on the surface appear to be templates for great boss enemies. While I can’t confirm if Sargon ever meets the entire Immortals gang, he does meet at least one of them.
The story is a compelling part of The Lost Crown and will drive much of your adventure, but it’s the exploration and combat that really elevates the game. Qaf Mountain is surrounded by myth and legend, and that means you’ll encounter skilled human assassins, but also a whole host of monsters and supernatural beings. The variety of enemies usually depends on the biotope you are in, from luxurious cities to lush forests, and each biotope hides secrets and gives a clue as to which direction the action will take. As the premise of the game revolves around a mountain fortress that has been subjected to time warping, you must occasionally use time warping powers to manipulate and change a level to access new areas, while also climbing walls, swinging on poles , use weapons to solve puzzles and much more. Exploration is relatively simple for a Metroidvania game, and from what I’ve experienced, you won’t have to bang your head against the wall to find the solution to a puzzle.
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The battles, on the other hand, are a completely different matter. While the level design is relatively simple, albeit very pretty, and the exploration isn’t too complicated, the battles will require some skill and finesse to master. The pace is fast, and the enemies aren’t very forgiving, but it flows incredibly well at a tight 60 frames per second, and there’s a lot of intricate depth to what’s on offer. There are a large number of ways to attack the fights, from various melee combos to using special abilities to deal heavy damage or support, to shooting arrows from a distance and then using a dodge and parry system at the perfect time to stun, parry or avoid enemies. When you combine this with the fact that each enemy has their own specific attack pattern, some of which are attacks that cannot be countered, you get a combat system that is challenging yet satisfying.
There are also elements of progression. There are more common upgrades, such as increasing the number of health bars you have by acquiring specific and rare items, but you can also collect time crystals and other resources to improve the power and damage of Sargon’s weapons, or to improve the effectiveness of the amulets you find or buyer. Amulets are basically perks, and you choose from a selection of them to get extra bonuses that you can use in the game. It could be an extra health bump, poison damage reduction, an extra melee combo, or the ability to soak up nearby time crystals without having to step over them manually. There are many things to find and unlock, each of which makes Sargon a more powerful and capable hero.
In the few hours I played The Lost Crown, I found the rate at which you earn time crystals felt a little too steady, and so the upgrades felt more like a novelty than a game-enhancing element. Likewise, as anyone who’s seen a trailer for this game probably knows, some of the graphics aren’t very striking at all. When you explore and get to see the surroundings from the usual 2.5D camera angle, The Lost Crown is very nice, but when a cutscene starts and the camera angle changes and zooms in, Sargon, the immortals and the world itself lose a lot of their charm. It is in this aspect that it is clear that Ubisoft has put a lot of effort into making the game work well on the Nintendo Switch, and the graphical quality was undoubtedly the price that had to be paid for it.
Ubisoft’s portfolio of games recently has been quite impressive, and it looks like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown will continue its success into the new year. This isn’t a game that’s looking to shake up or massively redefine what we expect from a Metroidvania, but it does. It’s fluid, fast-paced, satisfying and fun, and to me that’s the recipe for a game to look forward to.
2023-12-13 17:28:49
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