Considering the whole debacle of the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake that Ubisoft has been working on, I was actually surprised to see Summer Game Fest Live kick off with a brand new Prince of Persia. experience, especially since Ubisoft didn’t wait days to announce the game at its own dedicated live showcase. But anyway, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown has been announced, and in this case the French publisher has given the media access to the upcoming platformer on PC and Nintendo Switch, which is in line with what players can expect to see at launch. The version has changed slightly.
From the start, you feel like The Lost Crown is a Prince of Persia game through and through. It’s set in the fantastical and supernatural lands of Persia, a place where humans with incredible abilities exist, and gods and monsters live among mortals. Beyond that, there’s the core gameplay style, which is a 2D platformer with Metroid elements, and yes, that means lots of jumping across gaps, around walls and ledges, dodging dangerous traps and hazards, all These are all about overcoming and defeating enemies using a fast-paced combat suite. The main problem with The Lost Crown, however, is that you don’t actually play as the Prince of Persia, but rather a man known as Sargon, a member of a group known as the Immortals, who are on a mission to travel to one of Persia’s Regions destroyed by temporal anomalies to find and save the captured Prince.
The level design in The Lost Crown is pretty typical Metroid. In a seamless world, there are many nooks and crannies that you can discover and explore to find secrets, new enemies, items and more, but as the storyline progresses, you need to improve Sargon’s skills, so Areas that are impassable from the first minute. If you’ve played Metroid, Castlevania, Blasphemous, heck, or even read my recent Disney Illusion preview, The Lost Crown feels very, very similar to how it works on a fundamental level. But that’s not to say that Fluid Motion Systems isn’t an explosive one. The parkour and abilities that created the Prince of Persia series are here again, and do a good job of keeping the level design itself from feeling too familiar to other parts of the subgenre. I will say that from an aesthetic point of view, the levels in The Lost Crown are quite striking, and really deliver on the promise of Mythic Persia.
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But anyway, into the fight. Since this is a 2D game, combat is more about reflexes and positioning than relentless swinging like in 3D action games. You’ll have to be careful and judicious with even the most basic of enemies, as Sargon isn’t very resistant to blows, and will find himself at death’s door after a few ill-timed moves. To illustrate overcoming threats, you can use jump, dodge, and slide to dodge attacks, as well as land perfectly timed parries to block and stun attacking enemies, allowing them to take your slashing attacks. In terms of offensive moves, Sargon can use his twin swords to unleash a barrage of attacks, then can sprinkle his bow and arrows into a far end attack, and even use the far end charged spinning blade to deal an additional attack. Then there are Time Powers, powerful special moves that can deal a lot of damage or help Sargon in the heat of battle. In the preview build, I tested two of them available to me, a sweeping and stunning move, and a bomb-like ability that spawns a healing pool at its cast location. The problem with these moves is that Sargon needs to build up energy to use them, and some even cost more energy than others, which means you have to consider which one is appropriate for the combat situation.
The Lost Crown does have a progression system beyond just finding more core abilities and items for Sargon. These include acquiring currency, which can be spent at vendors to buy or improve new weapons for use in combat, and even make Sargon’s healing potions more effective. You can also meet different Amulets, which act as game modifiers and alter and modify Sargon’s abilities and moves, for example, restoring a little health for each successful parry, or changing your bow attack from a single to three shots.
It should be said here that The Lost Crown is not an easy game. It’s not very demanding either, but in typical Metroidvania style, it will take some skill and a lot of study to get used to the game’s systems and the fast-paced nature of the experience. But when you’re beating challenging bosses (like the mantis-type enemy I encountered in the demo, who ended up beating me three times before I managed to get over it), it’s worth it, and it feels exhilarating to play. A by-product of the challenges posed by The Lost Crown.
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Since I also had the chance to play The Lost Crown on PC and Switch, I also wanted to point out how well suited the game is for Nintendo’s platform. The world looks more vibrant and deeper on a large display, powered by more powerful hardware, but Nintendo’s platform seems to offer great performance and doesn’t suffer from its smaller resolution and limited performance detract from the experience. Launching in January 2024, the Switch seems like the platform to play The Lost Crown in my opinion.
But all in all, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is shaping up to be a very interesting return to the world of Prince of Persia. It’s fast-paced, thrilling, and seems to capture the promise and style the series was once known for before its leap to 3D. While Ubisoft has a very busy second half of 2023, it’s clear the French publisher will also be kicking off 2024.