Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Review (PS5)

Prince of Persia is many things: the franchise that put Ubisoft on the map and proved they can make epic games, the game that inspired Assassin’s Creed, but also a ghost of the past turned into an IP forgotten at the bottom of the drawer. Since its inception by Jordan Mechner, the Prince of Persia franchise had a complicated path, and it was high time the French publisher dusted it off.

The first trailer of the new game caused mixed reactions. On one hand the fans were happy to see the franchise return, on the other hand they were disappointed to see that the prince is not the hero of the story this time around. Things improved though as the marketing machinery of the publisher started churning out more details about the game, that made players cautiously optimistic.

Finally, the game is here, and we can say that Ubisoft did a great job riding the metroidvania revival trend and managed to put together a game that feels solid and inspired by the original game. Once again, you have to explore a labyrinth like level structure, full not only of formidable foes, but also traversal challenges that will make you sweat.

Of course, the graphics, the visual style and the gameplay mechanics are more modern and more complex than the original Prince of Persia, but The Lost Crown feels like a spiritual successor of Mechner’s creation. The gameplay can best be described as a side scrolling metroidvania game with hack and slash and puzzle platformer elements.

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Naturally, there are also some RPG elements and the ability to manipulate time. As a result, our new hero, Sargon will slash through his enemies, will jump around like a flea who overdosed on energy drinks, will run up and down on walls, but also take advantage of the alternate timelines of the story to reach hidden platforms.

Just as in the trilogy considered by most the best of the franchise, the time manipulation abilities are a key part of the narrative. Sargon, one of the elite soldiers of the Persian Empire called the Immortals, will discover a twisted plot revolving around the kidnapping of the prince and the disappearance of Simurgh, the God of Time.

Chasing after the kidnapper who happens to be your former mentor, general Anahita, takes you to the mysterious mountains of Qaf where nothing is what it seems. On your adventure you will meet several characters from and discover plenty of details about the legends of the Ancient Orient. From blacksmith deities to magical Wak-Wak trees you will take a deep dive in the ancient Persian culture.

The Lost Crown lets you explore freely, but also follows the metroidvania recipe. In some points in order to progress you will have to be unlocked already certain abilities. The levels themselves are full of hidden nooks and crannies that can be discovered either by using your newly found abilities or weapons, like the bow, or by pure luck. In the latter category are the conspicuous walls that can be smashed in order to access hidden rooms full of Time Crystals.

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The main and secondary quests will take you through the maze of the game world while fighting your way through never ending enemies. You have to keep in mind that except the bosses, the annoying opposition respawns each time you leave and return to a scene. While the regular opponents can be annoying due to the gimmick fight system, where you have to pull out some certain moves to make them vulnerable to attacks, the boss fights are the ones that will truly put your mettle to the test.

None of the fight scenes are as unforgiving as the puzzling elements though. Reaching the treasures and the collectibles of the game are the through challenge that will put your patience and reflexes to the test. Depending on the chosen difficulty level, the platforming sections can be harder than the fights themselves. The developers must have been aware of this, since some of these sections can ne skipped.

Even without the alternate timelines the game world of The Lost Crown is huge. The level design is intricate, but the map system is one of the best I have seen in a while. The developers let you put custom markers on the map in order to keep track of the paths, treasures and collectibles that need an ability you do not yet possess. You are looking easily at 30 hours of gameplay and even more if you want to explore everything the game hides.

The game is pretty well put together with only a few bugs that did not affect the experience, quick loading and solid framerates. While the graphics look modern so is the visual style. Sargon is edgy in a way that reminds us about contemporary characters targeting younger audiences, loosely inspired by the way some very popular free to play games are drawn.

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The Good

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