Platform(s): PC (version reviewed), Xbox Series, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch
Genre: 2D Metroidvania title bearing the Prince of Persia name

A start of a new year means a slew of games suddenly being piled up in the first four months due to delayed game development and a worldwide pandemic screwing up everybody’s schedules. It’s a good problem to have product-wise, but it means that some titles may end up getting lost in the shuffle.

You may not need to worry about the new Prince of Persia game, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, having that problem since it’s being backed by one of the world’s biggest game companies. True, Ubisoft has stumbled quite a bit the past few years, but I do give credit where it’s due: it’s high time an old franchise gets a bit of a makeover, especially when channelling a tried-and-true formula and actually giving a damn in the creative process.

Sand Lot

The new Prince of Persia is focused on the tale of the warrior Sargon, who is tasked (alongside his warrior group called The Immortals) with finding the kidnapped Prince Ghassan in Mount Qaf and the city beyond. Said city is stuck in time and is encased in ancient sorcery. So just like any wide-eyed and cocky protagonist, off you go as you explores the place, killing the many enemies who want you dead, survive and platform through many of its pitfalls and traps, and gain magic powers to help you unlock more areas and go further through the plot.

In case you couldn’t tell, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a Metroidvania; a 2D search action title where you start with limited abilities, then gain more as you uncover the game’s map and long-spanning interconnecting stages. As you go through certain milestones, you gain special Time Powers that open up your traversal & combat skills like air dashes, a simulacrum-maker to teleport to, and dimensional rifts that let you snatch something and throw it anywhere you like (from explosives to important puzzle pieces).

You have a hub stage where you can buy upgrades for your weapons and tools (like the ever-handy health potion), practice your skills, and even buy a hint on where to go next. You can equip different sorts of amulets to add different active and passive abilities, like an additional attack to your 3-hit melee sword string or extra health. Each section in the map has its mechanics and secrets, ranging from long corridors of traps and spikes you need to platform through, or puzzles involving time-altering and dimension-faffing magic.

With all of this information laid out, it’s important to note that the developers who worked on the 2011 Rayman games (Rayman Origins, Rayman Legends) made the levels & platforming in this Prince of Persia, because by god the action here is sublime. The levels and dungeon design here are innovative, challenging, and fun. It’s not enough that the landscapes and backdrops are a treat to look at, but each level’s hook and gimmick stand out and are pretty memorable in its pacing and layout. All of them have a rhythm to their layout, having Sargon jump and swing while using the appropriate Time Powers to solve the platforming equation.

You’ll need to use all of your platforming and magic skills (air dash, simulacrum marks, and so forth to avoid spoilers) to navigate the game’s many, MANY treacherous designs. While the first few hours are less taxing, the challenge ramps up as soon as you get the game’s air dash powers, and as a result, the going gets tough and incredibly gratifying. When you conquer one of the game’s tougher platforming challenges, you’ll feel a huge sense of accomplishment, especially after many tries, figuring out the best solution to problems requiring reflexes and memorization.

My favourite trials include one in the Lower City area where it’s just one room with ongoing trials, where you need all your special Simurgh powers. The ones involving sawblades through the Upper City and later ruins involving snow and your “grappling hook” Time Powers come to mind. There are also puzzles involving the Time Power that switches back and forth between “dimensions” where you need to bypass obstacles while using that power in tandem while you’re jumping and getting onto flagpoles. I died many times in these segments, more so than in the combat segments, but it’s entirely my fault. The controls are incredibly spot-on and responsive, so you only have yourself to blame if you mess up the sequence and rhythm.

Moving around as Sargon just feels so good, that you won’t be needing the fast travel system so much. That feature is available, yes, but just running, air-dashing, and using my many feats of acrobatics traversing through the lost city is just as cathartic and dopamine-inducing like other stellar momentum-heavy Metroidvanias like the Ori series.

I also have to bring up the game’s combat, which is also its own brand of awesomeness. Sargon fights with two swords, has a three-hit combo by default, and has parries and evading options. While his parry yields great results when successfully used against enemy attacks, doing it too early or too late means the attack you eat will deal double damage. So you can’t spam that move unnecessarily unless you want to see the “Game Over” screen quick. Many of the enemies here can overwhelm you quick if you don’t use all of Sargon’s tools. Luckily, he also has his Time Powers and Athra Surges (special moves) that deal big damage or gives Sargon some healing in exchange for using up a full bar of Athra (super meter). Parrying well means extra Athra meter gain, so it’s imperative you get to know your enemy’s attack patterns and exploit their weaknesses to make the most out of Sargon’s skills.

The boss fights too are a treat, ranging from an epic fight with a giant snake and two-part battle with a forest demon riding a giant wolf. Some of these boss fights also require you to not just parry their attacks, but also figure out when’s the best time to dodge or get out of its swinging arc. Heck, one of them will punish you immensely if you spam your attack button too much.

All in all, the game’s combat is both flashy and meaty with substance. It’s like as if the developers saw what they love in character action games like Devil May Cry and say “let’s do our own take on it but using the Prince of Persia brand”. One boss even has a fighting style similar to DMC’s Vergil; I won’t say who, but just a few seconds with him and you’ll be impressed at how it’s implemented.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown’s great mix of platforming and action really brings the package to the upper echelons of the 2D action game genre. I’d even go far as to say it’s elevated further with its use of Memory Shards. Throughout the game, you can put “markers” on the map that show a screenshot of the area you couldn’t advance in; a picture-attached Post-It note in-game. While simple in its design and execution, it is a noteworthy feature that I hope more Metroidvanias can steal from.

King Me

What I could do without in this Ubisoft game is the overboard accessibility options, particular the one that lets you skip the platforming segments. It does defeat the purpose of a game solely built to test players with their platforming skills. I’m not trying to be a gatekeeper here, but if you did some basic research, you would do well to know that a Prince of Persia game involves jumping onto platforms, avoiding traps, and doing some swordfighting. Having an option that skips half of that without the player trying just feels like cheating.

The game’s audio mix also gets very weird and muted, making some climactic portions of the game feel underwhelming. Hopefully the game’s Day 1 patch can fix it because it’s a shame to have a Prince of Persia-flavoured score from Gareth Coker get botched by technical difficulties.

I never thought 2024 would start with a banger of a 2D title, especially from a company like Ubisoft that’s known for copy-pasta open-world games, yet here we are. While Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown has elements from other 2D search action titles, it adds a few more innovations and uses its platforming and level design talent to create a remarkable and memorable platforming and sword-slinging experience, polish and all.

Give this Metroidvania a whirl; you’ll be pleased to know that it keeps the Prince of Persia platforming legacy alive and very well, thanks to its new search action trappings. It may be a tad buggy in some places (hopefully the Day 1 Patch can fix a number of it), but it isn’t enough to tarnish this brand of royalty. Hail to the Prince (of Persia).

Pros

• Main character controls great.
• Platforming and level design is well-paced and fun.
• Challenging combat thanks to its strict parry & dodge system.

Cons

• Some bugs & audio mix glitches.
• Some accessibility options defeat the purpose of a Prince of Persia game.

Final Score: 90/100