GamesRoguelikeThe Rogue Prince of PersiaThe Rogue Prince of Persia is an unlikely roguelike slant on the 35-year-old series from one of the best genre developers in the businessWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesRoguelikeThe Rogue Prince of PersiaThe Rogue Prince of Persia is an unlikely roguelike slant on the 35-year-old series from one of the best genre developers in the businessWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Ubisoft)
I didn’t see The Rogue Prince of Persia coming. And while I can’t speak for anyone but myself with any degree of certainty, I’m not sure many others did either.
Hands-on
(Image credit: Ubisoft)
THE SECOND COMING(Image credit: Ubisoft)Prince of Persia The Lost Crown has given the 35-year-old series its second reinvention, but I still think it’s better-suited to action RPG over Metroidvania
THE SECOND COMING
(Image credit: Ubisoft)Prince of Persia The Lost Crown has given the 35-year-old series its second reinvention, but I still think it’s better-suited to action RPG over Metroidvania
(Image credit: Ubisoft)
Prince of Persia The Lost Crown has given the 35-year-old series its second reinvention, but I still think it’s better-suited to action RPG over Metroidvania
First, let’s talk about The Rogue Prince of Persia in motion. Just like its spiritual forerunner Dead Cells, The Rogue Prince of Persia controls like a dream. According to its creators, recreating the signature wall-running mechanic of the series' 3D trilogy – The Sands of Time (2003), Warrior Within (2004), and The Two Thrones (2005) – was important, and its nuanced interpretation within this game’s two-dimensional landscape is brilliant. Easy to learn but (I’m sure) difficult to master, holding L2/LT lets you climb or dash along walls, but only when there’s background scenery immediately behind the player. Ropes, ledges, flagpoles and more aid traversal further still, meaning getting around, exploring, hunting treasure and getting the drop on foes looks different every single time.
In combat, a familiar spread of light and heavy attacks, kicks, punches, and dodges make up the core choices on the front foot in The Rogue Prince of Persia, while primary and secondary attacks can be mixed and matched as the moment dictates. In one particularly fraught encounter, I leapt from a high platform into a gang of thugs with a ground punch. As they struggled to their feet I kicked one foe to my right, who in turn bowled over his mate. In a flash, I moved to my left and did the same to three others, who, like dominos, fell into one another before I unleashed a few well-timed arrow shots from my bow, eventually staggering my aggressors into a spike wall trap. This gave me a small window to dash back to the first pair of offenders who were now far easier to overcome with a volley of fists and feet in a 2-v-1 brawl.
(Image credit: Ubisoft)
In the short stretch of The Rogue Prince of Persia I got to sample, I made my way through three distinct levels each with their own set dressing, shops, environmental quandaries and enemy types. This made up one run, as per the usual roguelike framework, where death sent me back to a hub-like camp that let me gather myself, buy restorative items, and improve my weaponry before setting off to try again. Upon death, enemies spill coins that can be used out on the field to pick up extra weapons and health items too.
At the opposite end of each run stood an end-of-zone boss named Berude, a hulking brute with a ram skull helmet whose strength and traveling shockwave-like attacks were not to be reckoned with. Unable to reliably dodge his ranged offense in my first few attempts, Ieventuallyworked out that wall running was key – using the environment to climb over the boss before landing a few preemptive strikes. Whenever he turned to face me again, I simply started the process all over until his health bar was emptied.
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(Image credit: Ubisoft)
“And so my ultimate parting impression of The Rogue Prince of Persia following my short stint with it is one of longing.”
“And so my ultimate parting impression of The Rogue Prince of Persia following my short stint with it is one of longing.”
All of the above looks and feels great, which is full testament to Evil Empire’s astute understanding of what drives the roguelike genre. Evil Empire is among the very best at what it does, and elsewhere is again sharing development with Motion Twin on their upcoming Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania. With Motion Twin also working on Windblown, Evil Empire’s focus otherwise lies squarely on The Rogue Prince of Persia, however I’m unsure that this gameneedsto be a Prince of Persia game at all. I don’t have any problem with it being one, but as Ubisoft continues to reestablish the PoP brand, The Rogue Prince of Prince feels like an unlikely, perhaps even odd offshoot as players continue to await the long-promised remakes of the 3D trilogy.
Given how closely the metroidvania and roguelike genres can play at face value – in this instance with 2D side-scrolling, platforming, environmental puzzles and heaps of melee combat – The Lost Crown and The Rogue Prince of Persia, while visually distinct,feelquite similar, at least in principle. As such, I’m not sure weneededa roguelike game in the pantheon of Prince of Persia at this exact moment in time. Still, all of this said, if anyone was to be given the responsibility of doing so, I don’t think there’s anyone better suited than Evil Empire, Motion Twin aside.
And so my ultimate parting impression of The Rogue Prince of Persia following my short stint with it is one of longing. For me, it may be an unlikely offering in the grand scheme of the 35-year series, but it feels like a good one with all the hallmarks of a solid and promising roguelike nevertheless.
The Rogue Prince of Persia enters Steam’s Early Access initiative on May 14, with release on other platforms to follow at some point down the line
If this tickles your fancy, you should check out our rundown of thebest roguelikeson the market right now
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