New prince in a new genre
By Paul Hunter
Prince of Persia is having a banner year: in January we got the amazing new Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, then a few months later we got the surprise reveal of The Rogue Prince of Persia by Dead Cells developer Evil Empire, and then in June we got more news about Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time at Ubisoft Forward. I'm all for Ubisoft doubling down on this storied franchise and there really hasn't been a better time to be a fan of PoP.
I've spent the last week diving into The Rogue Prince of Persia, which introduces Ubisoft's saga to the popular roguelike genre. The game stars a new Prince protagonist wielding a special necklace that allows him to revive at an area called the Oasis each time he succumbs in battle. What's great is not only are there compelling roguelike elements, like procedurally generated maps and a plethora of weapons to find, but it also is firmly rooted in traditional Prince of Persia gameplay focused on fluid parkour, abundant traps, challenging combat, and powerful bosses that will test your acquired skills.
The game opens with a straightforward story: the titular prince dares to challenge the Huns, who retaliate by attacking the Persian capital with a large force of humans and creatures with magical powers. Our prince must fight back by reaching the castle to save his land from this powerful invasion. Each time the prince dies he revives a few days before the invasion, starting the cycle of rebirth until his mission is complete.
With this game being a roguelike, the usual components are present like starting new runs every time you perish. The biomes will change, traps may appear in new places, enemies, items and helpful NPCs will appear in new places, and story developments happen in your home base of the Oasis. Just like with Dead Cells, there are multiple routes you can take to reach the final stage, adding further variations to keep the gameplay fresh.
The fluidity of the parkour gameplay is probably the game's biggest asset as it puts you in a zen-like flow state of wall running, ledge grabbing, and pole swinging goodness. Avoiding traps with finesse movements and defeating enemies with graceful attacks is a joy that this game offers in spades. Biomes contain lots of hidden secrets to uncover as well, be it hidden treasure rooms or discovering NPCs that will make your next run a wee bit easier.
As you play, the prince can collect two valuable types of resources: Gold Coins and Spirit Glitter. The former lets you purchase items in various shops and blacksmiths in the world, while Spirit Glimmer is a currency used to unlock permanent upgrades in the Oasis. Upgrades range from permanently increasing your health or potion count to giving your new abilities to increasing the amount of Spirit Glimmers you retain after death.
There's a nice variety of main weapons you can acquire, ranging from a three-hit combo broadsword to slicing double daggers to a mid-range whirling spear and they all feel great to use and lean in specific playstyles. You've also got a bow, the ability to kick, a special leap over enemies jump and can even climb walls for a brief period. While gameplay might seem overly simplistic at first, once you learn about the more advanced skills and face increasingly tougher challenges, the true complexity begins to shine.
Graphically speaking, The Rogue Prince of Persia has a wonderful comic book-style artistic direction that's quite different from other games in the legendary series. The hard edge seen in The Lost Crown has been replaced with a softer, more cartoony vibe that's equally engaging and distinct. Combine that with the game's bombastic mix of Far East sounds and modern beats, and you have a roguelike game that looks and sounds fantastic.
All that said, The Rogue Prince of Persia feels like the start of something special, but more time is needed to realize its full potential. The Early Access version has seven biomes and a handful of bosses, which isn't a lot compared to other games in the genre. More content is yet to come, so I expect more biomes, more bosses and more items in future updates, and I'll be the first to check them out. The good news is that Ubisoft isn't charging a whole lot for the game, with the Early Access price at just USD $19.99.
For the most part, the game already runs super smooth although I did encounter the odd technical issue like the menu freezing causing me to restart. Evil Empire is known for its rapid bug fixing and frequent content drops, so I have no doubt the game will be running perfectly smooth in no time.
Final Score: 8/10 - Great
Developer: Evil Empire
Publisher: Ubisoft
Genre: Roguelike, Platformer
Modes: Single-player
ESRB Rating: TBC
A key was provided by the publisher.
By Paul Hunter
Prince of Persia is having a banner year: in January we got the amazing new Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, then a few months later we got the surprise reveal of The Rogue Prince of Persia by Dead Cells developer Evil Empire, and then in June we got more news about Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time at Ubisoft Forward. I'm all for Ubisoft doubling down on this storied franchise and there really hasn't been a better time to be a fan of PoP.
I've spent the last week diving into The Rogue Prince of Persia, which introduces Ubisoft's saga to the popular roguelike genre. The game stars a new Prince protagonist wielding a special necklace that allows him to revive at an area called the Oasis each time he succumbs in battle. What's great is not only are there compelling roguelike elements, like procedurally generated maps and a plethora of weapons to find, but it also is firmly rooted in traditional Prince of Persia gameplay focused on fluid parkour, abundant traps, challenging combat, and powerful bosses that will test your acquired skills.
The game opens with a straightforward story: the titular prince dares to challenge the Huns, who retaliate by attacking the Persian capital with a large force of humans and creatures with magical powers. Our prince must fight back by reaching the castle to save his land from this powerful invasion. Each time the prince dies he revives a few days before the invasion, starting the cycle of rebirth until his mission is complete.
With this game being a roguelike, the usual components are present like starting new runs every time you perish. The biomes will change, traps may appear in new places, enemies, items and helpful NPCs will appear in new places, and story developments happen in your home base of the Oasis. Just like with Dead Cells, there are multiple routes you can take to reach the final stage, adding further variations to keep the gameplay fresh.
The fluidity of the parkour gameplay is probably the game's biggest asset as it puts you in a zen-like flow state of wall running, ledge grabbing, and pole swinging goodness. Avoiding traps with finesse movements and defeating enemies with graceful attacks is a joy that this game offers in spades. Biomes contain lots of hidden secrets to uncover as well, be it hidden treasure rooms or discovering NPCs that will make your next run a wee bit easier.
As you play, the prince can collect two valuable types of resources: Gold Coins and Spirit Glitter. The former lets you purchase items in various shops and blacksmiths in the world, while Spirit Glimmer is a currency used to unlock permanent upgrades in the Oasis. Upgrades range from permanently increasing your health or potion count to giving your new abilities to increasing the amount of Spirit Glimmers you retain after death.
There's a nice variety of main weapons you can acquire, ranging from a three-hit combo broadsword to slicing double daggers to a mid-range whirling spear and they all feel great to use and lean in specific playstyles. You've also got a bow, the ability to kick, a special leap over enemies jump and can even climb walls for a brief period. While gameplay might seem overly simplistic at first, once you learn about the more advanced skills and face increasingly tougher challenges, the true complexity begins to shine.
Graphically speaking, The Rogue Prince of Persia has a wonderful comic book-style artistic direction that's quite different from other games in the legendary series. The hard edge seen in The Lost Crown has been replaced with a softer, more cartoony vibe that's equally engaging and distinct. Combine that with the game's bombastic mix of Far East sounds and modern beats, and you have a roguelike game that looks and sounds fantastic.
All that said, The Rogue Prince of Persia feels like the start of something special, but more time is needed to realize its full potential. The Early Access version has seven biomes and a handful of bosses, which isn't a lot compared to other games in the genre. More content is yet to come, so I expect more biomes, more bosses and more items in future updates, and I'll be the first to check them out. The good news is that Ubisoft isn't charging a whole lot for the game, with the Early Access price at just USD $19.99.
For the most part, the game already runs super smooth although I did encounter the odd technical issue like the menu freezing causing me to restart. Evil Empire is known for its rapid bug fixing and frequent content drops, so I have no doubt the game will be running perfectly smooth in no time.
The Verdict
The Rogue Prince of Persia Early Access build already has the foundations for another incredible PoP adventure, now it's up to Evil Empire and Ubisoft to expand on the game with some great new content drops. That said, the game already has stellar graphics, adrenaline-fuelled gameplay, a nice variety of weapons and items, and the intense platforming challenge the series is famous for. Given its low price point and high potential, this is an easy game to recommend to roguelike fans out there.Final Score: 8/10 - Great
The Rogue Prince of Persia details
Platform: PCDeveloper: Evil Empire
Publisher: Ubisoft
Genre: Roguelike, Platformer
Modes: Single-player
ESRB Rating: TBC
A key was provided by the publisher.