I’ve been gaming for 45 years now and during that time there have been a few key games that stand out in my memory for whatever reason. In 1989 that game would have been the original Prince of Persia on PC, and not for the reason(s) you might think. This game stands out because it was the first (or one of the first) game to use digitized audio with sampled sounds. I went into 1989 with an Adlib music card that did a pretty good job of synthesizing certain effects, but once I heard Prince of Persia on a SoundBlaster card it was all over. It wouldn’t be the first time a game sparked a hardware purchase, as just a few months later Wing Commander would send me scrambling to buy a $700 Roland MT32 midi card.
But enough ancient history. It’s safe to say I have played every Prince of Persia release, sequel, and spinoff since 1990, and while I appreciated the move to 3D after Ubisoft took over the franchise, I really did miss those glory days of side-scrolling action. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a decisive design that pays homage to the original platformer by creating its world in 3D but carefully presenting it from a 2D perspective. This allows for rich, multi-layered background art combined with the fluid, sprite-like animations for the prince and all his assorted encounters, and seamless transition to 3D when needed. And it’s all beautifully created with a fun cel-shaded art style several levels beyond, say a Borderlands game, but still not quite as flashy as one might expect or hope for in a 2024 PS5 release.
The Lost Crown boasts an impressive story wrapped into numerous encounters and mission cutscenes. You’ll be playing as Sargon, just one member of the Immortals, a band of powerful heroes that travel the land doing good – kind of like the Avengers, which I guess makes Sargon the Hawkeye of the group. There is a mainline quest as well as numerous side missions all taking place across a massive, expanding map you can view ant farm-style and try to figure out where to go next and how to get there. Fast travel is available later in the game. This newest Prince of Persia is a Metroidvania, so expect plenty of dying and retrying and getting stuck in places you can’t continue until you get a new ability. The game is so complex that they even have a built-in memory mechanic where you can drop a pin with a screenshot to note areas you need to revisit for whatever reason.
I was impressed with the array of options that allow you to tailor the game to your own skill and playstyle. You can modify stats and options for sword and bow combat as well as how fast you earn Athra (mana) to fuel your magical attacks. Sargon has a necklace that can get upgraded with more slots to attach amulets that delivery special perks. You get to mix and match your amulets to suit your own playstyle or perhaps an upcoming boss fight, etc. It’s a great system with the more powerful amulets requiring multiple slots, meaning fewer you can equip. You even have the ability to skip platforming puzzles by creating a portal to get by, so whether you want to fight, explore, do both or neither, The Lost Crown has you covered. And if you get really stuck you can even purchase hints from this girl that shows up around the map.
Sargon’s adventure starts off with the obligatory tutorial, but honestly, you’ll still be learning the ropes hours in, as this game continually throws new stuff at you, which is a great way to keep the gameplay fresh and new. Controls are fast and fluid, and the PS5 supports 120fps if you have the screen to support it, and it looks buttery smooth in combat and just running and jumping around. The game opens up fast, and it can be easy to lose focus and wander off, but there are usually natural obstacles to keep you from going too deep into the woods. Sadly, there was no bespoke support for the DualSense for haptics or even speaker feedback, which was a bit of a missed opportunity, but at least the PS5 version looks and performs just as well as a high-end PC.
As previously mentioned, the graphics are outstanding, and while I normally don’t care for the pop-up character art and text boxes to deliver the story, The Lost Crown actually has some impeccable voice acting for all the characters, so you can just sit back and listen…one…line…at…a…time. Yes, this is one of those games where you have to hit the X button after every…single…scripted…line. Dialog-heavy cutscenes are when I usually go refill my beverage, but now I have to mash the X button to keep the flow, but that is a minor gripe. The ambient music while exploring and the soundtrack that cues to the action and dramatic beats is perfectly executed and adds to the whole Persian immersion.
Whether you are swinging your dual blades of dancing death or ripping off arrows faster than Legolas, the combat is fantastic and fun with multiple techniques and ways to approach most encounters. The platforming is fantastic with a great slide move you can use to slip through cracks or just slide into an upward thrust attack that launches your enemy into the air for a quick follow-up. You also have an air-dash useful in traversing those larger gaps or zipping over traps and such. Once you find your groove in some of the more complex platforming sections, the Rayman roots of this game start to reveal themselves.
Being a Metroidvania you can expect to replay major portions of this game. Scattered about the map are magic trees you can activate that serve as healing stations and a place to tweak your amulets. These trees are hinted at with swirling gold leaves on nearby screens showing where to go. This is where you will spawn when you die, and in several situations in my game sessions that meant a lot of backtracking to get back to where I died, so I could try again. The issue here is that all the enemies respawn, so you either have to kill everything all over or…what I ended up doing…just racing past all those enemies I had killed previously to get to my death location with as much health as possible. It’s also worth noting that enemies do continually respawn in this game, even if you leave a screen and come right back.
Fans of Prince of Persia, especially those who enjoy the Metroidvania style of play found in games like Ori and Hollow Knight, are really going to dig this. Those impatiently waiting for that Sands of Time remake might not be the target audience for this retro-reimagining of a cherished classic, but if you are wanting to embark on the best adventure of 2024 (all eleven days of it) then ready your bow, sharpen those blades, and flex those fingers because it’s about to get real.
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