Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a refreshingly good MetroidVania | Hands-on Preview
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a proper Metroidvania. I say this because these days so many games that would perhaps have been that way, add in Souls-like elements, offering ultra-difficult bosses, or a punishment for death, and while it’s nice to see a title like The Last Faith offer a more old-school representation of the genre many of us grew up loving, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a pure example of it, and it’s incredibly refreshing to experience.
In the roughly three hours I got to play, the highest possible praise I came away with was that I couldn’t wait to play more. I stopped just as the story was really getting going, though of course as with any game of the genre type, I still have questions: how long will it be; how many powers and abilities do I still have to find; and how will this all play out?
Playing as Sargon, you’re a member of a group of warriors called The Immortals. The introduction to all of this plays out with you charging through a battlefield and getting help as you go from the various other members. It’s clear you’re friends with these people, and your mentor is at the head of the group. After a simple tutorial and an even easier boss fight, things calm down for you to get properly acquainted with your fellow warriors. Then all hell breaks loose as the Prince is kidnapped during the celebrations, and it’s off to Mount Qaf, a place where something strange is happening with time elements, and where the rest of my time with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was set.
It’s interesting that the studio behind this one is the same that was behind the stellar Rayman Origins/Legends titles, because it instantly feels “right” in the hands. Jumping and combat are instant and responsive, and that’s obviously the starting point, core-wise, for any good Metroidvania. Powers are introduced at a good clip, too, though also in a fairly unconventional rhythm, with one of the first being a bow that will give you an additional attack method, but also a ranged ability to unlock things, and also a chakra you can throw. You can wall jump straight away, and Sargon is a swift character, fighting with two scimitars, able to slide, swing off poles, and move around Mount Qaf at a superb speed.
While you have to refill your arrows for your bow, it becomes an intrinsic part of the platforming, and you can upgrade your carry capacity too. Before long you’re getting air dashes, and there’s clearly either a double jump ability, but even in the first three hours, the movement is superb, and I was stringing together jumps into swings, into air dashes, and more. I genuinely am curious to see how long this game will be, because you don’t even find a fast travel point in the first hour, which bodes well for a meaty experience.
Bosses come thick and fast, but they are not barriers to progression, and that’s the “proper Metroidvania” part of it. Yes, there’s pattern recognition involved in defeating your foes, and yes you’ll die sometimes. But it’s also incredibly possible to beat these hulking behemoths on your first (or second) go because you have the health pool, abilities, and speed of movement to succeed. An early (within the first hour) boss called Undead Prisoner took me by surprise, but as I had an amulet equipped to give me an extra piece of health, I survived and beat him first time, and it filled me with elation.
The early highlight boss was Jahandar, a talking, two-horned lion-type enemy that also has wings. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown feels like it rewards aggression and quick learning, and I got in close, dodged plenty, and made short work of Jahandar after a few failed attempts. Combos ending with my surge powers really felt satisfying, and I cannot wait to see what other boss battles Ubisoft has lined up later in the game.
Something The Lost Crown does right is the fact that parrying is part of your toolset, but like recent titles in the genre, The Last Faith and Cookie Cutter, at no point are you forced into using it. If you struggle with parrying in games, outside of a short tutorial early on showing the ability off, you won’t ever be forced into it, at least not in the three hours I played, anyway. That said, I nailed the parry for the Jahandar fight, allowing me to deal massive damage. It’s a forgiving window during bosses, which I was hugely grateful for.
If there’s one issue with the combat so far, it’s one very specific enemy. There’s an enemy that I couldn’t work out how to kill, only temporarily debilitate. These large jailors walk around a certain section of Mount Qaf (and in fairness I didn’t see them again after, nor before), and if they get close, they instantly warp you to a jail. Once you’ve navigated out of it for the first time, it can be escaped pretty quickly each successive time, but it’s an oddly frustrating enemy in a game that otherwise puts the player first all the time. These jailors have large radiuses around them that, if you enter, they will give chase until you leave for another screen, but I did find them frustrating and I got caught too many times.
Wak-Wak trees are your save points, but also where you can equip amulets, and surges. Amulets allow you to buff Sargon, while surges are powers you can use on the “B” button (Xbox controller). These range from the likes of Bahman’s Breath (creates an explosion and a healing zone that restores your health while knocking enemies back), or the starting surge, Verethragna’s Smite (rush towards an enemy with a piercing strike), but you’ll soon unlock air moves and more. These surges can only be used when your Athra Surge bar is full, but it grows from level one to two, and so it’s up to you to decide whether to use a level two move, which will likely be more powerful, or to use a level one move twice.
Eventually, you’ll find a hub that has a shop, a blacksmith (to upgrade weapons, and amulets), and more. There are a healthy amount of collectibles to find, from improving your health, to currencies for upgrading weapons. It’s not puzzle-heavy, but there are some nice sections that require you to use both dexterity and your brain to solve, and it looks great too. It’s also fairly story-heavy for a game of its ilk, and there seems to be a lot of characters that will get to have their moments throughout the story. I cannot wait to play more of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. It feels like the Prince of Persia game I’ve wanted for so long, and unless it makes serious missteps, feels like it could be the strongest Ubisoft game in quite some time.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is coming to PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch on January 18th, 2024. See the full 2024 lineup of games, here.
