It’s hard to believe it’s been over a decade
since the last proper entry in the Prince of Persia series.
Things looked hopeful when Ubisoft announced a remake of The Sands of Time,
but that project has suffered major development setbacks.
Just when it seemed like all hope was lost, out of nowhere comes Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown,
a brand new take on the longstanding franchise
that ushers it into the Metroidvania genre with brilliant results.
The Lost Crown still preserves the series focus on precision platforming,
puzzles, and challenging combat, but it elevates the experience with some fresh new ideas.
The developers clearly took notes on some of the best games in the genre, and in turn,
they’ve managed to craft a captivating world
that fully delivers on the sense of exploration and adventure.
This time, rather than playing as the prince himself, the story sees you taking on the role of Sargon,
a member of an elite group of warriors known as The Immortals.
Shortly after returning home from their latest battle, the prince is kidnapped,
and the queen dispatches the Immortals to rescue her son.
Yet upon their arrival at an ancient citadel deep within the mountains, the warriors find
not everything is as it seems, and Sargon is eventually separated from his comrades.
Forced to journey alone,
he begins to unravel the mysterious nature of the curse afflicting the mountain,
as well as the motivations behind the prince’s captors.
The Lost Crown’s narrative is more than up to the task,
keeping you captivated with its slow trickle of revelations,
as well as a handful of great twists.
It boasts a solid cast of characters, especially the individual members of the Immortals,
and the narrative elements never bog down the pace.
The focus is squarely on the action and the progression through the world,
and the few cut-scenes it does present are incredibly stylish,
including a handful of over-the-top sequences that really impress
with exaggerated animations and insane visual effects.
The revamped combat clearly takes inspiration from more action focused games
with intricate combos and an evolving toolkit.
Plus, Sargon’s weapons and abilities are constantly evolving.
Gaining new weapons opens up varied attack styles
to strike from both ranged and melee distances,
and you have to balance your offensive maneuvers with defensive capabilities
like dodging and parrying, both of which are essential to gaining the upper hand.
Things really start to shine when your attacks are combined with your special Athra Surge abilities,
as well as several unique traversal powers.
Athra Surges work on a special meter and cost anywhere from 1 to 3 bars,
and these stylish attacks are game-changers,
as they can get you out of tough situations and turn the tides of challenging encounters.
Not to mention, they feel incredibly rewarding to execute.
Yet the best is saved for Sargon’s evolving traversal skills,
which serve as the real showstoppers.
The usual suspects like a double jump and an air dash help maintain the flow,
though the former doesn’t come into play until much later in the game.
However, Prince of Persia is known for its more elaborate abilities
like rewinding time, and The Lost Crown
carries the torch with its own take on time manipulation,
as well as a few other fantastic powers.
For starters, Sargon can create a shadow clone that will repeat his actions
as well as serve as a waypoint to instantly teleport to, from any spot on the screen.
He can also make platforms pop in and out of reality,
as well as store items in a parallel dimension and call on them later when needed.
The one thing to be aware of is that once everything is unlocked,
there is a bit of a learning curve to overcome as you try to string together all your skills and attacks,
so expect a few bumps in the road as you gain your bearings.
The Lost Crown does a masterful job of giving you situations
to put these abilities to use, many times in tandem,
not only to progress through various environments,
but as a means to reach previously inaccessible areas.
The sense of freedom you feel while commanding these powers
is one of the game’s biggest strengths,
and the game provides compelling reasons to take advantage of them,
usually in the form of meaningful rewards to further enhance Sargon’s toolkit.
Combining traversal powers and special combat abilities
during enemy and boss encounters is also done exceptionally well.
Combat situations are enhanced by outstanding enemy designs
that continuously push you to get creative with your abilities,
preventing you from relying on simple button mashing
or getting too comfortable with certain attacks.
The stellar sense of freedom extends to the world itself.
In the early goings, it can feel a bit more restrictive,
but eventually, the game opens up and allows you to really get lost in its world
as you try to tackle objectives.
Plenty of secrets are tucked away in just about every corner,
and there’s more than a few puzzles to challenge the old noggin.
Not to mention a handful of optional side quests,
and various characters with useful hints or precious items to purchase.
Some of the most useful items you can find are Amulets.
They function much like the charms from Hollow Knight,
in which you can only equip or unequip them at rest points known as Wak Wak trees,
and each amulet takes a certain number of slots to equip.
Since you can only make use of a few amulets at a time,
you’re encouraged to experiment with varied combinations
to suit the different situations you come across.
Aside from amulets, you can spend your cash
to increase the stock and potency of healing potions,
or you can pay a blacksmith to enhance your weapons and amulets.
Remembering to take advantage of these upgrades
goes a long way towards easing the pain of a game that’s fairly challenging,
not only when it comes to fighting enemies, but simply surviving the harsh environments.
In particular, the boss encounters can be incredibly punishing,
even on lower difficulties, but that’s the intent.
You’re supposed to be overwhelmed by complex attack patterns as you learn the tells
and begin to memorize the dance of each fight.
Whether man or beast, these fights are breathtaking spectacles,
each more elaborate than the last.
Like any other challenging game,
the sense of satisfaction when you overcome one of these opponents is second to none,
but The Lost Crown also respects that not everyone fits into one category.
One of the best things about The Lost Crown is the way it approaches difficulty.
There are four difficulty presets to pick from,
but from there you can go in and modify numerous individual specifics,
including enemy damage and health
as well as the length of dodge and parry windows.
There are even additional options like platform assist
that allow you to bypass some of the trickier sections.
It all adds up to a system
that allows you to custom tailor a difficulty that suits your needs,
so if you prefer enemies that pack a bigger punch,
but want a bit more time to make defensive decisions,
that’s completely within the realm of possibility.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a successful reinvention of the dormant franchise
that carves out a marvelous new identity, one that clearly has a bright future.
While it doesn’t revolutionize the Metroidvania genre,
it certainly elevates it to new heights by refining it
and blending in the best aspects of previous Prince of Persia entries.
Combined with a terrific soundtrack, a stylish aesthetic,
and an intriguing narrative that avoids the pitfall of becoming too overbearing,
The Lost Crown marks an excellent start to 2024.
Final score: 9 out of 10.
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