Just finished Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown this weekend – 70% completion and about 21 hours on the clock. For those who don’t know, it’s a largely separate entry in the long-running (albeit with extended gaps) Prince of Persia series that takes it into the realm of Metroidvanias. The original titles were 2D cinematic platformers, but didn’t have any Metroidvania characteristics (the only meaningful upgrade in those games were getting the sword and health boosts), and the series after that were 3D platformers with some focus on combat.
Where The Lost Crown shines is in its smooth-as-butter controls – the main character, Sargon, is nimble and flexibile, and the upgrades not only serve as keys for the environmental locks, but also change the platforming and combat. While there’s plenty of backtracking, it always feels good to move around and once you get into the rhythm of it, you can slide and jet your way through the rooms at considerable speed. The platforming challenges are very, very satisfying to complete, regardless of the reward. They’re simply fun to do.
The combat is also well designed – the floor is low but the ceiling is high, kind of working like a mix between a platform fighter (simple directional button combos) and a spectacle action game (juggling baddies in the air kind of reminded me of some Bayonetta moments). I admit I’m not particularly good at combat in general in games, and turned down the difficulty to accomodate that, but still had quite a bit of fun knocking baddies around.
There’s also a quality of life feature in the game that I think is perfect for the genre – one of Sargon’s abilities lets you tag screenshots on the map, letting you save reminders for yourself of places you can’t access yet. This was especially useful in the late game, when I had all the upgrades and was just looking around the map for places to use them.
The story is nothing to write home about, but is largely skippable, and the Farsi dub is actually well done. While YMMV with the graphics and art, I thought it did a great job of creating depthy backgrounds and having distinct biomes around the map – a sea that’s frozen in time is a particular standout. The enemy design is creative and memorable, especially for the bosses and mini-bosses. A complaint I do have is that there’s no mini-map, something I think counters the accessible attitude of the game a bit, especially with how winding some of the map layout can be.
I know there was some backlash to the game upon its initial reveal, but regardless of whether or not it’s a “real” Prince of Persia game (which I find kind of funny because as someone who’s been playing these games since the original, the series has gone through plenty of radical transformations), it’s a game well done.
Switch Performance: A clean 60fps throughout 98% of gameplay. Story cut-scenes are 30 I believe and some of the “finisher” and cut-scenes mid-combat can dip. But for the grand majority of playtime you’re looking at what looks like native resolution and a locked 60. DF Review here: https://youtu.be/Juhb32ZEu5c?si=pD-9PEecrjAbH6Gf