Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Review (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, & PC)

Is change good? So many new changes feature in the newest addition to the lost but not forgotten Prince of Persia series. And expectedly so, after the 14-year-long hiatus since the last whole entry lay bare at our doorstep. See, Prince of Persia succumbed to the same fate that nearly-extinct franchises have, failing to capture their audience’s attention for long. It previously kicked off on a high note but soon lost momentum through the underwhelming last entry, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (2010). Ubisoft would then lick its wounds, focusing on the critically acclaimed spiritual successor, Assassin’s Creed, instead. But having recuperated in plain sight and gained back strength, they would soon return and strike when we least expected. 

Enter Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, whose trailer left many fans with furrowed brows. Strange how Ubisoft would travel back, moving from 3D to 2D side-scrolling, action-adventure platforming. They would throw out the stained fabric of old times, opting for a part Metroidvania, part Souls-like new path for the series. Even more so is the fact that the protagonist is a young, gifted warrior of the elite group, “The Immortals.” He explores the cursed Mount Oaf to save the kidnapped titular prince—go figure. There are so many changes and new additions, but do they do enough to reinstate the series to its rightful place on the platforming throne? Let’s find out in our Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown review.

Called to Serve

The Immortals, an elite group of warriors called to serve the Queen and her people, have just claimed victory in a full-on battle spectacle. They return to find one of the immortals has kidnapped none other than the titular Prince Ghassan and taken him to the cursed Mount Oaf, no less. So, the Queen sends the Immortals on what could be the most crucial mission in all of Persia, a ferocious attempt to save the prince and uncover the plot behind his kidnapping. 

Soon, though, Sargon, the youngest member of the Immortals, is separated from his crew. He must scour through Mount Oaf on his own, wretched enemies and monsters be damned. But beyond the vicious foes lying in wait, Mount Oaf harbors secrets of its own. Its time and space parameters work differently, where the past, present and future collide. Also, spike traps and swinging blades stick out of pathways and pits to avoid Metroidvania-style.

Amiss

However promising the premise, the story does come off as disjointed in the end. Character depth is lacking, with Sargon solely carrying more substance than most. You run into NPCs that feel more like fillers. Plus, the time fracture concept feels hardly explored to the level that platforming and combat manage to achieve. It feels like so much opportunity was wasted, especially compared to the thrilling expedition of the Sands of Time. In the end, you leave, uncaring of the characters, and forget the story The Lost Crown wanted to put across. 

Dance Away

But no matter. You’ll soon come to love the dance between exhilarating combat sequences, deadly platforming, and near-endless exploration. Three main gameplay loops culminate in the full-on experience Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown has in store for you. Of course, if you’ve played Metroidvania before, you’ll know the story is the belt that fastens around your entire playthrough. I had no choice but to muddle through it, though.

To progress, you must trudge the treacherous paths meandering into and out of different biomes. You’ll have complete autonomy over your journey, choosing which of the typically multiple exits to take. Some will lead to dead ends, which, in fact, means to keep exploring until you equip the specific ability needed to thrust open a locked door or jump to a now-within-reach new opening. 

It can possibly lead to lots of backtracking, as is the case with several Metroidvanias out there. But in this case, you can use Memory Shards to snap a screenshot of an area you intend to return to outright. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown will then pin the screenshot for you on the map, so you can always fast-travel back to that same spot once you unlock the required ability. 

While it sounds rather simplistic, Memory Shards makes all the difference you can imagine. It makes it so time isn’t wasted exploring the same place over and over again. Manipulating the map to your own experience will also carve out an individualistic experience that many Metroidvanias should replicate, but moving on.

Fast and Fun

Progressing through the story doesn’t just unlock previously inaccessible areas. It also gifts you freebies you’ll desperately need for traversal and combat. See, at the start, you’re but a mere weakened version of yourself. Only through exploration do you unlock more powerful moves and attacks that save your skin in the latter, more dangerous sections of the game.

You, of course, have your usual jumps, slides, and air dashes, which come in handy when skidding over and between platforms. But they’re also major game-changers to master in combat. You can unleash a flurry of air combos on an enemy floating above the stage and slam dunk them into the ground for a grand finish. 

You can learn to perfectly time parries that build up an Athra’s Glow meter. When filled up, it allows you to unleash a special ability that cues in a seamless transition into a 3D cinematic spectacle that guarantees instant kills (except for bosses). Each swing of Sargon’s double swords is accompanied by bright flashes of light that look like they were pulled straight out of an anime. 

Craving More

It doesn’t stop there. The more you progress through the story and explore more biomes, the more abilities you unlock. You’ll get a bow and arrow that doubles as a boomerang. You’ll unlock time powers. Sargon can record a bunch of moves and rewind them down for a future version of himself. He can teleport to and from combat and platforms. Over time, they become an integral part of the game that can take a little while to master. 

Combat has a way of morphing itself to your style, thanks to amulets that each offer new abilities. But amulet slots are limited, so you constantly switch them up to find what works best for you. Oh, and they aren’t just mere ‘increase in damage output’ or ‘decrease in damage intake’ sort of power-ups. It’s thoughtful, unique effects that alter your playthrough. For instance, you can equip an amulet to summon a bird to reveal hidden treasures. Or equip an additional ‘fourth’ hit to your basic three-hit combo attack.

A Step to the Early Grave

Platforms in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown deserve a section of their own because of the sheer amount of thought and creativity that must have gone into the design process. Splattered across crystallized caverns, sun-drenched ruins, and even a wrecked shipyard frozen in time, you’ll run into tons of head-scratchers that’ll often lead to your untimely death.

But fortunately, you quickly respawn to try again and again and again until you make it through to the other side unscathed. It truly tests your creativity in manoeuvring complex worlds. Not to mention such impeccable timing and precision that it leaves you breathless at times. And when you figure it out and actually execute your plan with success, it feels incredibly satisfying to pull it off, truly. 

Verdict

Like this review, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown feels like it wraps up a moment too soon. You just can’t help returning to unearth anything you might have missed. It offers a gratifying venture into treacherous grounds muddled in broken time and space. No stress, though, as movement and platforming feel as fluid and responsive as they can be. Every swing of your sword and dash between platforms runs smoothly at a stable 60 fps and 4K resolution to boot.

Treading the familiar Metroidvania genre with purpose and style, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown does well to keep what works and execute it to perfection. Perhaps, if we’re to nitpick, combat sequences can be a tad bit challenging, with ‘Game Over’ often jumping up on screen more times than I can count.

Leave alone bosses who truly test your willingness to master attack patterns and respond with precision. Regular enemies are a nightmare in their own right, so much so that Sargon feels lacking. Most times, you have to land multiple hits to make a dent in your enemies’ health bars. However, you can, instead, switch difficulty mode to a more accessible rank. Perhaps even use the Custom option to customize difficulty down to parry windows and dodges.

The art can feel somewhat cartoony. When zoomed in, enemies can appear subpar. But overall, cinematic cutscenes and the fluidity in how each stroke comes together in motion are more than makeup for it. In any case, none of the difficulty or artistic preference hampers the experience. In fact, it fades into the background easily in favor of a superior, tight playthrough that satisfies. A Metroid-like action adventure for the books indeed.