Review: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Redefines the Franchise with a Bold Return to Form, Showcasing Thrilling Metroidvania Gameplay

One in every of my favourite online game collection as a child was Prince of Persia, particularly the 3D iterations equivalent to Sands of Time and Warrior Inside. I used to be skeptical when Ubisoft introduced it might revive the long-lost franchise 14 years after the final predominant installment right into a 2.5D aspect scroller, a method just like the older Prince of Persias of the 90s.

After getting my fingers on the brand new Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown and taking part in by way of its 30-hour story, I can confidently say that I really like Ubisoft’s path right here and genuinely hope we get a sequel with the identical construction and format.

The most recent installment of the hit franchise is an epic Metroidvania that accommodates all of the bells and whistles to compete with the likes of Hole Knight and Metroid Dread, among the finest within the style, the place it surpasses them in fight and world design. It’s that good. It is smart why it’s so implausible when you do not forget that the sport is developed by the Montpellier division of Ubisoft, the workforce that created among the finest platformers ever made — Rayman Legends. The builders take all of the platforming expertise they’ve garnered from that legendary recreation and put it in The Misplaced Crown to create an journey that’s nothing wanting wonderful.

Story – A Charming Story of Thriller and Deception

Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown places you within the sneakers of Sargon, a member of the elite group of warriors referred to as the Immortals. The Immortal’s goal is to guard the dominion of Persia by way of the orders of Queen Thomyris, which all seven members have been profitable at as a consequence of their distinctive fight talents. Nearly all of The Misplaced Crown’s plot focuses on probably the most essential missions for the Immortals — rescuing the Prince of Persia, who has been kidnapped from the dominion. This leads Sargon and the others to Mount Qaf, an uncommon place the place time doesn’t comply with its pure stream.

Upon arrival at Mount Qaf, the Immortals cut up as much as cowl extra floor, main you (Sargon) by yourself to begin exploring Mount Qaf and uncovering all of the mysteries the unusual place entails. That is the place your journey formally begins by way of an intricate, complicated map that nails the Metroidvania fashion flawlessly. As you progress by way of the map, you’ll encounter your Immortal associates and aspect characters that push the story additional, detailing the lore of Mount Qaf and throwing twists that you just gained’t see coming. 

Total, I used to be pleasantly shocked at how partaking it was to unravel the story of Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown. The actors voice the characters so effectively, every bringing their A-game, turning them to life, and including a sure attraction to the world you solely see in side-scroller video games. Don’t be fooled; this can be a full-scale story, not an afterthought, and I feel gamers will probably be pleasantly shocked to see a lot ardour has gone into the brand new chapter of the beloved collection.

Fight – An Exhilarating Romp That Calls for Fast Considering

The fight in Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown has stunning depth and consists of two swords, a bow, Time Powers, and Athra Surges — every working collectively in good concord. Athra Surges are distinctive talents that may both heal you or deal important harm, and you may have two outfitted at a time. As you progress by way of the sport, you’ll unlock extra Athra Surges you can combine and match to create a construct that works for you, opening up loads of potentialities for creativity. In different phrases, there’s a good quantity of freedom to customise your moveset, including replayability and various kinds of playstyles.

Add on Time Powers, and you may pull off an entire array of combos in battles and boss encounters. For instance, there may be one explicit boss that shoots a stream of fireside out of its mouth, the place you should use your “Shadow of the Simurgh” energy to put a “shadow” of your self earlier than the road of fireside and activate it to finish up on the alternative aspect of the hearth, saving you from taking any harm. This is only one of many examples you may execute in fight, making for intense encounters that require you to assume in your toes. Every enemy has a definite moveset, just like a Soulslike, the place you could be taught their moveset or else you’ll meet your demise.

You may inform that every fight encounter is hand-crafted by the workforce at Ubisoft Montpellier, and no enemies are procedurally generated or randomly positioned. You may inform that is true by how effectively every encounter works. There are at all times methods to outsmart the group of enemies with Time Powers, pull off insane combos, and activate an incredible-looking, brief anime-style cutscene whenever you execute a “good parry” signaled by a daring yellow circle. The entire fight mechanics match collectively so completely you can’t assist however be hooked on the fluidity of all of it.

Platforming and Exploration – Metroidvania at its Best

Talking of fluidity, who would have thought Prince of Persia would work extremely effectively within the Metroidvania format? I’ve performed loads of the heavy hitters within the style, and sure, most of them are implausible, however I merely had probably the most enjoyable taking part in by way of The Misplaced Crown’s world design and map format. The significance of backtracking and exploration is on full show, with each biome interconnecting so flawlessly, making you assume that Ubisoft Montpellier has been creating video games on this style for years. However, no, that is the developer’s first try, they usually have completely crushed it.

Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown features a new thought for the style and pushes it ahead by including the Reminiscence Shards mechanic. Reminiscence Shards is a superb addition that permits you to take an in-game screenshot of a location on the map, particularly for areas you may’t attain but, permitting you to refer again to it when the time comes. This characteristic alone removes the tediousness of looking out in every single place on the map to seek out the place to go subsequent, eradicating the frustration that Metroidvanias can generally create. Reminiscence Shards are an innovation on the developer’s half, and I genuinely consider they need to be a staple within the style as a consequence of how useful they’re.

As you discover the labyrinthine halls of Mount Qaf, you’ll discover the most recent Prince of Persia sticks to its roots by together with top-notch platforming, just like the older entries. Whereas not all of it’s extremely troublesome, you’ll discover within the later half of the sport that platforming sections get so complicated that it could take your total well being bar, plus all your potions, to make it on the opposite aspect and declare the reward. Platforming in The Misplaced Crown requires persistence and exact timing, making it oh-so satisfying whenever you succeed.

Most of my platforming in Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown went like this: swinging between poles, inching by way of bladed partitions, and teleporting to a field that disappears in a second. Oh, and now I’ve to wall leap 4 instances afterward to make it to the bottom flooring. Oh wow, now the bottom flooring isn’t strong, and I’ve to solidify it by utilizing my Clairvoyance time energy to stop me from falling to my demise. Platforming begins to really feel like a rhythm recreation, the place your goal is to remain on beat. It turns into extraordinarily difficult in one of the simplest ways attainable, really rewarding you in your fast reflexes and choreographed button inputs.

Verdict

Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown is an excellent Metroidvania that reignites the franchise in thrilling methods and solely will get higher the longer you play it. Meticulously crafted platforming combined with exhilarating fight makes for a recreation that’s practically not possible to place down. Outdoors of the pure enjoyable the sport brings, there’s additionally an attractive story and well-voice-acted characters that add to the expertise, making Mount Qaf really feel extra alive.

As an enormous fan of the long-lost collection, I initially needed a full-scale 3D entry just like the hits we acquired again within the 2000s. After taking part in by way of the latest installment, I’d wish to backtrack that assertion. I not solely love the path Ubisoft took right here but additionally admittedly consider this needs to be the way forward for the collection. Credit score the place credit score is due: Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown is Ubisoft’s finest recreation in years.

– This text was up to date on January eleventh, 2024

About The Writer

Christian has been a author of Assault of the Fanboy for over a yr and has coated Shadows of Rose, Lords of the Fallen, Remnant 2, Lies of P, and extra; his favourite style is Survival Horror. He has a enterprise diploma however felt the necessity to take his love for video video games to the gaming neighborhood. Outdoors of writing, yow will discover him listening to all kinds of podcasts, particularly All the time Sunny Podcast and Morbid True Crime.