Sitting down to jot down this overview, I may barely consider Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown is the primary new entry within the Prince of Persia franchise in 13 years. After each contemplating my time with this recreation and the wealthy historical past the sequence has loved till now, I needed to remind myself why that’s.
Jordan Mechner’s authentic Prince of Persia pioneered the cinematic platformer style again in 1989, and Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was a crucial darling again in 2003. There’s a lot potential to attract from between these entries, but regardless, the sequence floundered. The final entry within the sequence, The Forgotten Sands, didn’t precisely mild the world on hearth. And whereas the Sands of Time film was effectively acquired on the time (besides by Destructoid), it didn’t appear to have any cultural endurance both. After that time, Ubisoft appeared to give attention to the Murderer’s Creed sequence and put Prince of Persia on the again burner.
This places Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown in an fascinating spot. It’s each a return to the sequence’ 2D roots and, concurrently, a reimagining of this universe as a Metroidvania. I’ll admit, it looks as if an odd pivot on the floor. However after ending the sport and placing over 20 hours into exploring Mount Qaf, fixing puzzles, and combating epic bosses, I believe this was the appropriate selection. Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown feels prefer it places the franchise again in route, and might stand by itself as one of many higher Prince of Persia titles within the sequence canon.
Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown (PC, PS5[reviewed], Xbox Sequence X|S)Developer: Ubisoft MontpellierPublisher: UbisoftReleased: January 18, 2024MSRP: $49.99
Now, this can be a story all about how
Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown places gamers within the function of Sargon, a younger member of a bunch of elite fighters known as the Immortals who serves along with his seven different brothers and sisters as protectors of Persia. Issues kick off when the Queen’s son, Prince Ghassan, is kidnapped. To avoid wasting him, Sargon and his fellow Immortals head to the traditional metropolis at Mount Qaf, a mysterious land mentioned to be dominated by Simurgh, the God of Time and Data.
That is Prince of Persia, in order anticipated there’s some betrayal alongside the best way. There are primarily two storylines transferring ahead on the similar time: Who’s behind abducting the prince and why; but in addition what precisely is happening at Mount Qaf? A few of the plot twists alongside the best way had been predictable, however others caught me unexpectedly. I’d argue story isn’t normally a serious focus of the style, however The Misplaced Crown makes use of its narrative effectively to go with its gameplay.
See, Mount Qaf is way from strange. Time doesn’t circulate naturally right here, and intertwining timelines trigger all kinds of unusual time-related points. In exploring Mount Qaf, the participant is ready to discover new powers and enhancements to help Sargon in fight. A few of these powers instantly manipulate the unusual circulate of time at Mount Qaf.
In traditional Metroidvania trend, Mount Qaf is very large with a seemingly limitless quantity of rooms, corridors, and shortcuts to search out. The 2 essential focuses listed below are exploration and boss battles, with Mount Qaf providing fairly a little bit of each. There are additionally puzzles you’ll discover alongside the best way that unlock shortcuts and secret collectibles.
The additional into Mount Qaf you go, the harder and complex the puzzles get. A few of them actually had me scratching my head till lastly the answer would click on. However the payoff of recent well being upgrades and skills was virtually at all times definitely worth the bother.
My life acquired flipped-turned the wrong way up
The very best a part of The Misplaced Crown is its fast-paced fight. On the floor, the fight system appears a bit easy. Sq. is your melee assault, whereas R2 and L2 are your defensive maneuvers. R2 causes you to dodge or slide within the route you’re dealing with, permitting you to stop assaults. L2 alternatively initiates a quick parry interval, permitting you to deflect whole assaults.
The parry particularly results in some satisfying encounters. Much like the Batman: Arkham video games, enemies will flash an indicator when performing sure assaults. Flashing crimson signifies the upcoming assault can’t be parried, and might solely be dodged. If it flashes yellow, not solely are you able to parry the assault, however efficiently doing so will proc a follow-up counterattack that offers a hefty chunk of injury. It’s so rewarding to correctly time a parry to flip the tides of battle.
Timing a parry will be dangerous in comparison with simply dodging the assault, but it surely’s additionally extra rewarding as a result of counterattack injury. At the same time as common enemy encounters and boss fights improve in issue as you discover Mount Qaf, Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown feels constantly honest. When you take the time to fastidiously research enemy encounters, you’ll be rewarded with the kill.
You’ll additionally unlock Amulets, Athra Surges, and Time Powers that have an effect on each your fight prowess and exploration capabilities. For instance, one of many first gadgets you discover is a bow. The bow provides a ranged bow assault to the Triangle button, however buying it enables you to ignite areas of brush to entry beforehand blocked areas.
As for the Amulets, there are dozens within the recreation, every granting highly effective boons that improve your fight. Results vary from merely extending your combos to outright slowing enemies while you parry them, so you have got some actual selection and customization right here. You’ll be able to ultimately equip as much as 12 of those at a time, which actually escalates that feeling of energy the extra you play.
You’ll purchase a number of different weapons alongside the best way just like the bow and chakrams, however I actually solely used these as required to progress by puzzles. Personally, I primarily spammed melee, so my Amulet loadout mirrored my playstyle.
And I’d prefer to take a minute
Like a correct Metroidvania, Mount Qaf can be filled with hidden collectibles and treasures to search out. Along with uncovering the aforementioned secret areas, you’ll additionally discover quite a few improve supplies to strengthen your weapon on the blacksmith.
Theoretically, you don’t must seize these upgrades to beat the sport, a minimum of on Regular issue. Boss encounters will take a bit longer, however these snug with their excellent dodges and parries can completely wing it with out discovering upgrades. Fortuitously, you will discover some defensive upgrades all through the sport as effectively. The Soma Tree Petals, that are roughly equal to Coronary heart Items in The Legend of Zelda, may give you some further well being should you’re much less snug along with your reflexes.
Along with the above, there are a handful of aspect quests scattered all through Mount Qaf too. There are many issues to search for right here, which ought to give these trying to attain 100% completion fairly a bit to chew on.
Simply sit proper there
Sadly, I’ve a few comparatively small points with Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown. For starters, respawn/checkpoints will be completely brutal. One of many boss encounters took me way more makes an attempt than I’m blissful to confess. And whereas that’s no enormous deal by itself, my respawn level was a number of rooms again within the large map of Mount Qaf. After each loss of life, I needed to make my well beyond a handful of difficult non-boss enemies and traps simply to get again to the boss. I do know there must be some form of penalty for loss of life, however this appeared excessive.
Partnered with that concern, I additionally really feel like too many areas, particularly within the center and finish components of Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown, had too many enemies in tough areas. Making issues worse, these enemies may very well be hit sponges too, even with weapon upgrades. Even when the issue felt effectively balanced, the non-boss enemies may get tedious when it’s a must to take them down time and again.
This left me wishing Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown centered much more on boss encounters than it already does. They’re the very best components of the sport, so I’d have beloved to see greater than the 9 boss fights featured right here.
I’ll inform you how I grew to become the Prince of Persia
I actually loved exploring Mount Qaf as Sargon in Prince of Persia: The Misplaced Crown. I wouldn’t name myself an enormous Prince of Persia fan or an enormous Metroidvania fan. However Ubisoft has managed to take the 2 and smash them collectively right into a refreshingly new and entertaining interpretation of Prince of Persia. I’m unsure in the event that they plan to proceed down this path, however I actually hope they do.
The glimpses of tedium undoubtedly hamper the expertise, however few video games have managed to get me so excited only for reaching the subsequent boss. In case you are a fan of Metroidvania-style video games and even only a fan of fast-paced fight with a give attention to boss fights, you’ll love this iteration of the Prince (of Persia).
[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]
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