Review: The Rogue Prince of Persia – If this is early access, we already want the final game | TierraGamer: news and entertainment about anime, series, video games and technology

After more than 10 years out of the spotlight, Ubisoft decided to bring back the good prince of Persia with everything. Only in January we received the excellent Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and at the end of May it arrived The Rogue Prince of Persia from the Evil Empire studio.

After playing with its early access and even trying its most recent update, I think this could be a return of the classic franchise that many expected. Its combination of roguelike elements with the prince’s acrobatics gives a very captivating result. Here I tell you why.

What is The Rogue Prince of Persia about?

First of all I want to remember that The Rogue Prince of Persia It is still in early access so many parts of its story are still a mystery. However, I will share with you the basics of these first sections of the game that already promise a lot.

Here we control a version of the titular prince during an invasion of his kingdom by the Hun army. When we meet him, this attack is already advanced and he is sheltered in a mysterious camp. After dying for the first time we realize that he has a magical artifact that always returns him to the same point in time every time he loses his life.

The way the story is presented The Rogue Prince of Persia I found it very interesting. Throughout our attempts to advance we meet different characters who help us and provide information. The curious thing is that each death and each trip could reveal something new to us, depending on what or who we find.

For example, In one of our attempts we can find notes that refer to an important prisoner of the Huns so that in our next attempt we can go in search of him. To do this, the game implements a mental map system where parts of the story form connections and helps us follow the thread and in a certain way know our next objective.

Like a good time loop story, The Rogue Prince of Persia It presents the same interactions but they are never the same. In addition to this, this drives you to want to get to the bottom of the mystery and break the loop because you always have to start from the beginning when you die.

The rogue elements and the ease of movement give us unique gameplay

The Rogue Prince of Persia It’s a roguelike. These titles are characterized precisely by setting us an objective but which we must reach in a single attempt or we must start from the beginning. Here the justification is precisely the prince’s magical amulet.

To differentiate themselves more in their gameplay, here they decided to rescue the parkour elements that have long been an icon of this saga. For this reason, our protagonist is able to climb tubes, swing from beams, break his fall with his dagger or briefly run up walls.

In addition to this, the levels of The Rogue Prince of Persia They are full of dangers on stage. We find beds of spikes, guillotines, gears with sharp blades and pendulums of death. All of this pushes you to use parkour and test your platforming skills.

This is particularly satisfying in some special rooms where you will have to use your reflexes to reach the end and find a great treasure. I really can’t think of another game of this style that feels so satisfying just traveling through its settings. Furthermore, this is greatly accentuated by the art of which I will talk later.

Not only is there parkour, you’ll also have to fight a lot in The Rogue Prince of Persia

The combat in The Rogue Prince of Persia It’s simple but lends itself to quite a bit of variety and experimentation. dFrom the start you have a melee weapon and a ranged weapon. In addition to this, you can use a kick that pushes enemies away or fall from high heights with a strong impact that could stun those below. Of course there is no missing button to dodge most attacks.

Throughout each attempt you can find new weapons either in chests or simply lying on the stage. Each of them works differently and they have special abilities when charging our attack. Additionally, every time you find a new one, they tell you the level of damage they do so you can decide if you change or stay with the one you have.

The Rogue Prince of Persia It has a good variety of weapons that feel unique and it’s not the final game yet. For example, in melee weapons we find swords that increase their damage with each kill or spears with a long range that can also be thrown. In ranged weapons we have the typical bows, but also chakrams that return to us and even magical gloves that make us jump and fall with enormous force.

Of course this variety of weapons would not be useful if there were no variety of enemies. Here we find warriors on foot, soldiers who hang from the heights with their bows, huge spearmen, magicians who summon spirits to attack you, and powerful animals. Obviously there are also bosses that will force you to learn their patterns in order to defeat them.

The combination of the dangers in the levels and the hordes of different enemies loose around make The Rogue Prince of Persia a quite challenging experience, however at no point does it feel unfair. Once again I insist that its gameplay is so satisfying and the feeling of progress is so constant that you won’t mind starting all over again.

There are other elements to take into account on your trips

Another element of The Rogue Prince of Persia They are the medallions. Likewise, we can find different ones throughout our attempts that give us different advantages. They may make us recover life by eliminating an enemy, collect more gold after each kill or even create harmful effects for those who hit us.

By defeating enemies and thanks to some treasures we can obtain pieces of gold. We can then use these in blacksmiths who improve our weapons or stores that we find on our journeys. Of course, this money disappears every time you die, so it is advisable to spend it whenever you have the opportunity.

Finally we have something called spirit glimmer that is occasionally dropped by enemies or in secret rooms. This works to unlock new weapons or medallions once we are back at the starting camp. Although you can’t choose which one you start with, unlocking them at camp makes them appear more frequently.

I also forgot to mention that to heal us The Rogue Prince of Persia He gives us a small bottle of sacred water that we can use at any time. Additionally, at the beginning of each level there is a fountain where we can fill it in if we have already used it. It is also advisable to use it whenever you need it
so as not to waste any sources.

The settings will never be the same in The Rogue Prince of Persia

In every attempt to The Rogue Prince of Persia you can choose the path you take. From the beginning, different doors appear and it is your choice which one you will enter. Although the settings are always the same, the arrangement of their treasures, rooms and secrets will not always be the same.

As a typical roguelike, here we find procedurally generated levels. That is to say that each attempt changes the geography even though deep down you always see the same thing. This contributes to absolutely no attempt feeling similar to the previous one.

In addition to being a roguelike, The Rogue Prince of Persia It has metroidvania elements. Each level has its own small map which is shown the more we explore. It also has small portals throughout the stage to come and go quickly and at will to ensure that no corner is left unexplored.

Of course this becomes a risk-benefit issue. You constantly ask yourself: Should I go here in search of a more powerful weapon with the risk of there being many enemies or should I just move on? That element of chance also encourages you to play more and more or to try different techniques in your next attempts.

Art and music elevate this roguelike to the max

It is evident that the gameplay of The Rogue Prince of Persia It left a very good impression on me. But the music and art section of this title already made it one of my personal favorites of the year. I can’t wait to see the rest of the scenarios that will arrive.

The game’s visual style is inspired by Belgian and French graphic novels, as well as ancient Persian oil paintings. This inspiration is quite noticeable throughout all its levels, which combined with the animation make it really pleasant to explore every corner.

This is perfectly complemented by the music of the artist ASADI who combines classical Persian instruments with more modern rhythms. From the main theme to the boss themes, it is a true delight for the ears and a perfect accompaniment to each of our attempts.

Of course not everything is perfect and unfortunately I encountered several frame drops in my playing time. These were especially noticeable in places with many enemies or when dying. Although they don’t completely break the game, I do hope that they polish this aspect for the final release.

Should you try The Rogue Prince of Persia?

In case it’s not obvious, I highly recommend The Rogue Prince of Persiaespecially if you are a fan of roguelikes or metroidvanias. Its story, although still incomplete, begins in a promising way and its gameplay really feels unique by combining the characteristics of the genre with the ease of movement of the prince.

Being a roguelike, it is also one of those games that you can pick up at any time and play over and over and over again without getting bored. If early access left such a good impression on me, I’m really excited to see what Evil Empire will achieve once they release it in full. For now I can say with confidence that the prince has returned.

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