Review: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – A real jewel in the crown

Because the reality is that you can fail very miserably when it comes to making a video game with the characteristics of a metroidvania. We could even say that it is a genre overexploited by many independent proposals, however, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown It is so well done that it is impossible not to applaud it.

Ubisoft Montepellier is one of those studios within Ubisoft that we would like to see much more of because most of their games are guaranteed. They have a lot of experience with Rayman, they gave us Valiant Hearts and now, we would like them to stay with “Prince of Persia”, but that is already Ubi's decision.

The way they designed the levels, the back and forth of the metroidvania mechanics, providing difficulty in different options without making the game much easier or impossible to pass, are just some of the great executions that the Ubisoft Montpellier team achieved in a timely manner. formidable way.

We also recommend: Review: The Last of Us Part II Remastered – It is still one of the best games of recent years

The return we didn't know we needed

In 2022 something called came out Prince of Persia: Escape 2 (who knows when the previous installment came out) and it was not what we would have wanted from this beloved franchise. Even if we go further back, we see that we haven't had a game in the form of this series since 2013 and that was a remake of The Shadow and the Flame.

We would have to go back to 2010 to remember The Forgotten Sands and the truth is that it was not the game we deserved, it was the one that Ubisoft wanted to give us. It is even necessary to point out that we have not had a title of the quality of The Sands of Time for a long, long time.

What Ubisoft Montpellier achieves with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown It is something notable, outstanding and makes us say that this should be an immediate reference of what a game in this series should. It is not necessary to go for the 3D side, a platformer is very good and the surprise is impossible not to enjoy from start to finish.

Now the foundation on which it is built Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown It is that of a metroidvania. The story is very good. It's decent and the protagonist's progression is good, but the level design, the exploration and the constant back-and-forth challenge make you enjoy every fight you have in front of you.

A full-fledged metroidvania

As I already mentioned, thanks to the fact that many independent titles tend to use these themes, the metroidvania genre became a kind of very special game design that not everyone knows how to execute in a functional way. In the case of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown We have a delivery that respects the genre in an impressive way.

First of all, it doesn't tell you what it will be like, they explain how it is going to be played and that's where the entertainment begins. The combat system goes from simple to complex in a certainly friendly learning curve. The combos are with a single button, but it gets more interesting when you pick up your rivals and finish them off.

After that, you learn the different parrying that can be done and then you go to dodge, which seems like a safe way out of everything, but the game itself punishes you if you abuse this mechanic. With that comes the back and forth that accompanies a metroidvania: exploration, solving puzzles, facing fierce enemies and, above all, paying close attention to everything you can do in the game.

It is important to understand that there is an order when solving Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, it is not just going – as our parents said – “like Borras” jumping from one level to another and seeing what we get. It is important to deactivate the skills, learn to use them at the right time. Even how important it is to know when to flee from a battle instead of being foolish by participating in a battle where one is the final objective.

Remarkable level design

One of the delights that adorn the gaming experience of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown It is without a doubt the level design or, to correctly encompass the game, the entire map that you have to explore. Being a platform game, we know that it goes up, down and to the sides, there is no other way, however, that does not mean that it does not have depth.

First of all, there are several environments within the gaming experience. Not everything is reduced to arid environments or sand-colored catacombs. There's more to it than that, it's just a matter of getting to those points. Now, do not lose sight of the fact that the context of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown It is that you are locked in a place where time passes differently, you will even see people who have been locked up for years and never managed to escape.

Under the context of the game, you must escape and thus complete your mission, the point is that it is not such a simple task to carry out and you can fall into a vicious circle in which you no longer even know where to go. This is the first punishment the game gives you for not paying enough attention to everything there is to explore.

It is worth noting that no matter what difficulty you play on, exploration is challenging at all times and while you may have the option of a kind of guide to be able to move from one place to another, the reality is that those steps are not necessarily to reach the conclusion of the game. There are even enemies that become very complicated and you must come up with a good strategy to overcome them.

Battles that will suffocate you, but will be rewarding

Like a good metroidvania, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown It doesn't just depend on exploration and discovering shortcuts and passageways. The boss battles are entertaining and challenging, there is no doubt about that. The boss fights have their well-defined cycles: you discover how he fights, you parry, you lose half of him, you move on to the second phase, it gets more complicated, you win and you feel fulfilled.

It's typical metroidvania stuff, however, the thrill of beating a difficult enemy with low health and then receiving the reward makes you feel accomplished. All this is an inevitable cycle, however, let's say that it goes perfectly hand in hand with the progression of the game's protagonist. When you reach a particular point, you are going to find that you are going to pick up a weapon that is part of the story and some ally who tells you secrets about the place where you are locked up.

With some games it can happen that you have the fight of your life and nothing extraordinary really happened or there was an outcome. Let's just say it was a traumatic canonical event rather than something that moved you forward. What happens in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown It's something more rewarding. It feels like you get something back in exchange for so much effort.

It is important that a game of this kind gives users an experience that they feel will last a long time in their memories, since it is in this way that the message about the experience spreads among the players and this work reaches more people. people.

The presentation is outstanding

It is surely a very pretentious statement, but despite the fact that it is a game that appears even in cereal: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC and Switch, it is a title whose presentation in general is very good. Of course, it is clear that it does not have the budget of a AAA that even includes super detailed 3D environments, however, such flexibility makes the presentation worthy on all platforms.

The fine points are very clear: beautiful designs consistent with the franchise's classic games, music with a remarkable treatment that fans of the series will adore from beginning to end. Although we do not have Spanish dubbing for Latin America, there is certainly good localization work that we can enjoy in our region.

Now, perhaps the best place to play this title is surely PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, this is because 4K and 60 frames per second are fixed. Now whatever the PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch offer, as long as it is stable, works. And on PC, well everything will depend on the graphics card you are going to play with.

Technically this is one of those games where it is worth stopping and smelling the flowers, because the levels are very decent, the backgrounds are lovingly created and the music works perfectly to feel you in an era that seems forgotten by video games.

Should you buy Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown?

It's been a long time since Ubisoft gave us a game so worthy of the series Prince of Persia. A really long time passed without us really seeing something so well planned and presented. The work that Ubisoft Montpellier put in was truly remarkable and these efforts should really be applauded.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown It's a great metroidvania. Its combat mechanics are very entertaining and the level design is challenging, even so ambitious that you will want to finish it on more than one occasion because of how fun it is. This is a game that really deserves a chance and is one of the best of the first half of 2024.

Do you agree with our rating? Follow the conversation in our Discord.

We played Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown on PlayStation 5 with a code provided by a Ubisoft representative in our region.

(Visited 19 times, 19 visits today)