Remember how in 2003 when Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time blew everyone away? The awesome rewind tool was a game-changer, elevating the fun factor of puzzles and combat. A handful of sequels came out in the 2000s, but they were unable to recreate the original’s magic. The 2010s were a bit of a dry spell for the show, weren’t they?
Guess what, though? Playing Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is like discovering an oasis in that relentless drought. What makes it so awesome is that it takes all the best parts of the original games and wraps them in a 2D Metroidvania format, which we just adored. It’s a lovely throwback to the first game from 1989.
Although it introduces a new hero, plot, and gameplay structure, “The Lost Crown” returns to the series’ roots as a 2.5D side-scrolling platformer and does an excellent job with the platforming and combat. We all are well aware of how awful and annoying camera angles might be in 3D games, particularly in confined areas or while attempting to gauge distances. And while those parkour moves make for awesome combat, it may be difficult, especially when there are a lot of enemies.
First off, The Lost Crown takes us back to Persia yet again, a place that has captured the hearts of fans since the franchise’s debut. Everything has been modified this time: the plot is more interesting, the stakes are larger, and the graphics? Astonishing. The game operates at a smooth 120 frames per second and offers an incredible 4K resolution on the current-gen console.
Storyline: An Epic Worthy of Legend
As a teenage warrior from a tribe known as The Immortals, Sargon’s tale is interesting and unique in the game. He gets the job to save Prince Ghassan, who is the heir to the throne of Persia and a childhood friend of Sargon’s. The game is set in a mythical Persian world, where the protagonist, Sargon, rescues the kidnapped Prince Ghassan from the doomed city of Mount Qaf.
Right at the start of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, things take an unexpected turn. Our newly-faced hero is out on a dangerous mission to save the actual Prince of Persia – a fantastic plot twist. But just when he thinks he has got everything under his control, he’s betrayed by The Immortals and ends up in a deep hole. Poor Sargon, he’s been entirely set up by some sneaky characters.
Gameplay: Fast and Exciting
Although the core concept of Metroidvania involves leveling up characters to gain the use of new skills, Sargon is already an outstanding fighter because of his speed and ferocity. One of the main reasons The Lost Crown is so effective is because it provides you with a plethora of weapons and armor from the start of the game. Combat that emphasizes speed, reaction time, and pushing your advantage makes fighting enemies just as engaging as navigating the expansive environment.
The pace of this combat system is frequently staggering. You need to treat even the most basic enemies seriously due to Sargon’s speed, which is his main advantage. You’ll have to keep an eye on your enemies’ moves at all times because of the sensitive balance, but in general, the most effective approach is to keep moving and attacking.
Even on the default difficulty, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown provides tremendous delight. Imagine contending with several scary creatures, including skeletons, ghouls, and more. The battle is centered on making perfect dodges and I can guarantee it will keep you tied to your seat.
The boss fights like a riot of color and mayhem, each one presents its exciting challenge. When we talk about the places, although you might detect some familiarity in certain places, I must say that they are very stunning. There are a lot of hidden shortcuts, secrets, stories, and unique items in the game’s setting, like a huge treasure chest. As you continue, you’ll find new roads and routes, like crossing a gigantic maze or a Swiss cheese warren. Around every corner, there’s something fresh.
The Lost Crown provides 20 hours of platform puzzles even in “normal” difficulty mode, featuring top-notch environmental design as expected from Ubisoft Montpellier. Experiencing The Lost Crown would fulfill your every acrobatic fantasy if you’ve ever wished to float gracefully through the air like a shadow. As you soar across expansive landscapes and dangerous dungeons, you’ll feel like a genuine acrobat.
The time-based powers in the game are fun to use as well; they let Sargon go ahead in time, set a shadow marker to go back to, and even turn back through time to undo his actions. To progress throughout the game and unlock new places, you’ll need to use your abilities and expertise to solve hard and ingenious puzzles. Players are encouraged to explore and repeat their steps as the game’s universe is intricately linked and filled with secret items and valuable treasures.
Even so, one of the most impressive aspects is how The Lost Crown offers fans demanding puzzle games exactly what they want, even at higher difficulties, which may be brutal. What’s even more impressive is that it offers a ton of reasonable accessibility features, which opens up the genre to beginners.
In this respect, the most notable new concept is the ‘Memory Shard’ ability, which allows you to snap a screenshot by pressing down on the D-Pad; the screenshot will be quickly added to your map. We take it as a foreshadowing from the screenshot features introduced in subsequent Assassin’s Creed games; it’s very simple to use and extremely smart. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown makes it easy as pie to keep track of everything with its ability to tag puzzles, valuables, or even routes you haven’t got the skills to cross.
Several unresolved plot points persisted throughout the entire story, even after you completed it. Perhaps the most massive challenging side mission hides a piece of the tale, or perhaps the numerous collectible lore items are there to fill you in. The Lost Crown leaves some of its stories unwritten and some of its portions unfathomable unless you try to achieve close to 100% completion. The ending will leave you wanting more because so much seems to be missing from the story.
Sound and Music: A Feast for the Ears
If we talk about the sound and music, no doubt, an impressive work by both Gareth Coker and Mentrix on the game’s soundtrack, which blends classic and fresh components. Voice actor Navid Negahban, who previously voiced the Sultan in the live-action Aladdin film, provides an appealing performance as Sargon in the game.
Although referring to one small character, the quality is lower than the rest. The reason behind this is that this character’s voice is provided by a free text-to-speech program, rather than an actor. Ubisoft has clarified that this was an unfortunate substitution and that a human-voiced update will be available shortly, but that it will not be part of the scheduled day-one patch.
Multiplayer and Performance
For those who love to share their gaming escapades, a rich multiplayer experience is available in The Lost Crown. The ability to form squads and take on challenges together or compete toe-to-pal is a huge plus, and it works flawlessly with the rest of the game.
However, the performance doesn’t seem perfect during the game review. For example, there are a few stutters when entering new locations (fortunately, these transitions never feature gameplay, so the jitters are short and minimal), and there were a few problems in non-transitional cutscenes as well. Apart from this, the only other difference between the two versions is the addition of extra loading screens; the Switch port is delicious, and the game quickly moved to the position of essential action platformer in our opinion.
The cutscenes are not much better either. When viewed from a great distance, the character models look even better in-game. When the camera zooms in for story scenes, the lack of texture and dull faces become slightly annoying.
Verdict
Returning to the franchise’s origins, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown offers satisfying storytelling, appealing visualizations, and insightful 2.5D action. Overall, after the deep Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown review, it seems an amazing Metroidvania that pours new life into the series and continues to improve with each gameplay. The combination of thrilling combat with well-designed platforming makes this game practically impossible to put down. If you’re a fan of the series or just love stunning, exciting action-adventure games, you must try this one.
