Prince of persia: the lost crown demo preview
Ubisoft recently released a demo for their upcoming 2D Metroidvania style title, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, to let players get a small taste of what will be coming when full the game releases on January 18th. I played the demo for about an hour and walked away excited but not blown away by what I had experienced. This isn’t a knock on the game at all, as my less enthusiastic feelings stem from the gameplay elements that just felt a bit too familiar. These things don’t make the game bad by any means, as its strengths more than make up for it to create a strong overall first impression.
Content for this review was captured on PS5 through the Prince of Persia: The Last Crown demo, which contains no spoilers. Thoughts and opinions are subject to change in the final review.
The demo places us on Mount Qaf alongside a few characters we will surely see more of in the full game. We experience slices of their character chemistry, just enough to entice us to want to learn more about them and their relationship with Sargon, our main character. We also learn that Prince Ghassan has been captured and that it is our duty to save him before his life is taken. Beyond this, the demo mainly focuses on showing various environments alongside combat and traversal mechanics.
Combat - It just works
The combat was easily my favorite part of the demo experience. It was quick and highly responsive, allowing me to run circles around my enemies as quickly as I could manage to do so. Slicing through enemies with Sargon’s dual blades felt smooth and impactful, making the combat feel incredibly satisfying. The parrying mechanic is also finely tuned and easily telegraphed, keeping it from feeling too tedious to focus on in the heat of the fast-paced combat.
Parrying will also build up a special attack meter, allowing you to perform “Athra Surges,” which are powerful attacks that deal massive damage to enemies. These attacks feature flashy animations with over-the-top takedowns, which do a nice job of shaking up this otherwise familiar feeling combat mechanic.
Whether we’ve only scratched the surface or were shown most of what it has to offer in this demo, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown boasts a solid combat system with tight and addicting gameplay that I can’t wait to experience more of.
Exploration and Traversal
The most notable change in this new Prince of Persia entry is its adaptation of the 2D Metroidvania style. There were several key areas blocked off to keep the demo as straightforward as possible, but we were still given some freedom to explore a few of the nooks and crannies of Mount Qaf. Exploring these areas in this kind of layout felt quite familiar. Still, it also felt balanced as it rewarded discovery without being too overbearing by placing too much emphasis on uncovering every inch of the map. This demo did a great job of emphasizing that combat is the star of the show, while exploration is a rewarding side activity should you want to pursue it.
Traversal feels similar to combat in how smooth and responsive it is. You’ll spend much of your time dodging and weaving your way through all manner of deadly traps. Thankfully, you can be as nimble and agile as you need to be to traverse these areas with finesse. The game rewards you for mastering its movement system, making moving through these spaces feel exciting.
One particularly exciting addition to the Metroidvania formula is the memory shards, which allow you to take a snapshot of an area you don’t have access to at the moment due to lack of a required skill or item and receive a notification later when you’ve acquired what is necessary to make it through that specific section. Experienced players of 2D Metroidvania style games will attest to how frustrating it can be to be blocked off from an area, gain what you need to get through it later, and struggle to remember where or what the area was you were blocked off from in the first place. This is just one of hopefully many ways the full game will innovate on its included formulas.
My prediction: This will be the first win of 2024
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown will be released on January 18th for $49.99. After having played the demo, I feel this is priced perfectly. This game, at least after first impressions, is fully aware of what it is and what it is trying to achieve. It presents as a creatively balanced reentry for the Prince of Persia series by introducing fresh innovations to the familiar feeling 2D Metroidvania-style platformer while relying mainly on a tight combat and traversal system to push the experience forward. Though the demo didn’t blow me away, I still predict that Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown will be our first hit of 2024.