Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Review
Before getting to Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, I need to mention about two things: Rayman and Ubisoft Montpellier. Why? Because these are not the focus of Ubisoft. When we think of Ubisoft, we often think of Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft's largest studio and the big brother behind famous franchises like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Prince of Persia. And as a result, when Ubisoft games have not been too outstanding and the formula is relatively one-dimensional recently, people worry that every time Ubisoft releases a game, Ubisoft Montreal will stand behind these titles.
And that's why studios that are not too prominent like Ubisoft Montpellier can suddenly take the spotlight when creating games in franchises that are not too famous. Specifically, they have made Rayman, a superb 2D platform game. The last version of Rayman was Rayman Legends in 2014 and it was so good that it deserved to stand on par with Nintendo's Mario platform games.
So with such high-level platform DNA, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown must surely come together in a good way. I think this title will surprise you. Because not only does it have enough good platform elements, but even its metroidvania DNA is also great enough to become the successor to the legendary Metroid game series from Nintendo. As a result, after spending 15 hours on this game, I wish Ubisoft Montpellier had the attention like other Ubisoft studios such as Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Toronto, or Ubisoft Quebec. They are here to prove that Ubisoft should reconsider reducing the production of AAA games and switching to making smaller AA-style game projects, and sometimes the quality will exceed expectations.
The Prince of Persia series has a long history with many ups and downs. Even I have tried playing a few games from this franchise, but honestly, I have never completed any of them. Perhaps they still lack something that truly captivates me, and it wasn’t until Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown that I was surprised by how it kept me playing. The intelligent platform design, simple combat but loop gameplay design that keeps you from stopping controlling the character, and the good enough support features and presentation. Clearly, what Ubisoft Montpellier has done has excited me.
Before talking about gameplay, I need to go through the plot. Something that is probably the least prominent part in a game that emphasizes gameplay like this. Basically, the plot in the game is not bad, but it is quite safe with a very familiar motif. I don’t see this as a blame, because with the game’s context, it will clearly be things you have seen in the feudal era with countries owning prominent dynasties.
The interesting thing is that the game is named Prince, but you don’t play as a prince, you play as Sargon, one of the 7 heroes of the immortal Persian army, the most elite warriors in the Persian kingdom. If you don’t know, this immortal Persian army is the army that once invaded Sparta of Greece in the movie 300. Returning to Prince of Persia. Now the prince of this kingdom is kidnapped and Sargon and his friends have work to do. Overall, this is a reasonable plot setup and the deeper you go into the game, the more plot knots are gradually opened. The game even has plot twists, but overall they are not enough to surprise us because most games like this. As mentioned above, the plot will be a side dish, and gameplay is the main focus.
So for those who expect the plot of this game, I think it is enough to make you feel this is a complete adventure in a moderate way, just enough with the scale of a 2A game. The characters in the game have enough acting ground, the villain has enough ambition and the hero has enough courage and charisma. So it feels like I’m playing a classic game from the 2000s with plot motifs no different from Western cartoons often aired when Disney or Cartoon Network was still popular.
Coming to the gameplay, it can be said that the first moments in the game made this a promising title. With the opening scene serving as a tutorial, you will feel the smoothness in movement and combat. Sargon’s movements are sharp and flexible, and even the responses are accurate, so success or failure lies entirely in the player’s skills. Therefore, right from the start, the game brings a good control mechanism, which makes me confident because this is the studio that made the top-notch Rayman series. And of course, this is the premise for a journey that always maintains high quality.
Throughout The Lost Crown, you explore many areas in the ruins of Mount Qaf, and therefore Sargon’s mobility must be extremely accurate. This guy possesses many movement skills, from running fast, short sliding, or dashing in the air, not to mention wall climbing and clinging to bars to jump higher. It’s reminiscent of Mega Man X, my favorite platform series.
Even the character’s movement speed is fast and instantaneous, making the pacing during exploration and combat both high-speed and thus the excitement is continuously maintained. The game is smart in that because Sargon has a high speed, the game’s camera angle is often zoomed out quite far, making the control of the character’s ability always stable. This also inadvertently allows gamers to see the environment more comprehensively and see how impressive the game’s graphics are.
Returning to mobility, the game also limits Sargon’s power by not giving Sargon all the skills at once. This is certainly a principle in the Metroidvania genre when the game will hide many secret areas that players initially see but cannot reach and have to make players return to these places someday when they have the appropriate mobility skills. This increases replay value and also prevents Sargon from being OP.
Moving on to combat, it can be said that the combat of this game is extremely simple and theoretically it would be bad. It sounds negative, but it turns out not. Do you understand the different characteristics of the two words “simple” and “monotonous”? Yes, the game’s combat is easy to get used to and doesn’t take much time to master, but because of the gameplay loop design by reasonably allocating combat and exploration segments, controlling Sargon, even if doing one thing, never feels boring. This guy’s combo only has 3 normal sword-slashing combos, and you will have to button smash continuously into the slash button. But the good thing is that there are additional supports from other combos in the air or crouching up to slash, making Sargon have more new ways to perform combos, the game will also expand for you more new combos by attaching more power accessories. I will talk about this later.
Of course, the sword is not the only weapon this guy has, you will also find a bow and arrow and boomerang later, they are auxiliary weapons so they will usually be very supportive in some specific situations but not useful at all times, so the sword will still be the most important weapon. I appreciate that Ubisoft Montpellier still finds a way to prevent these auxiliary weapons from fading when they are reserved for certain fixed scenes so that players will remember that Sargon always has them in hand.
Furthermore, Sargon also possesses special moves called "Athra Surge," which require a cool-down period and must be filled with energy by killing enemies along the way. Once enough energy is accumulated, you can unleash these powerful moves. It's worth mentioning that these special moves are extremely useful and can be the deciding factor in life-threatening situations for Sargon.
The power-ups in the game are quite interesting as well. Ubisoft is well-known for incorporating skill trees or RPG upgrade systems into their games. And in this case, looking at Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, I was pleased to see that the upgrade system is reminiscent of classic games from the past. It's simple and user-friendly. In this game, you can attach accessories to enhance Sargon's power. The game is fixed with an Amulet, a mystical charm worn around Sargon's neck, and the more Amulets you have, the more slots you have to attach additional powers. Some items require up to 3 amulets, such as allowing resurrection, or some that only require 1, like increasing health by one unit. Therefore, you have to carefully calculate the power of your Sargon because initially, there are only a few Amulets available, and if you want to attach more items, you have to search for scattered Amulets throughout the game map.
Moving on, let's discuss the game's level design, where the Metroidvania genre truly shines. And what can I say? I believe Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown fulfills this aspect quite well. Is it exceptional? I don't think so, but we should not overlook its achievements. In general, the layouts in The Lost Crown are well-organized, making it easy to navigate Mount Qaf with Sargon. However, deep down, I still crave for a more immersive experience because the map design in the game feels somewhat simplistic and fails to provide a significant challenge.
I've played Metroid Dread and Hollow Knight, and I have to admit that the map in The Lost Crown lacks that impressive factor. If it were to be compared to Metroid or Castlevania, it wouldn't stand a chance, but it falls short even when compared to an indie game like Hollow Knight, which was developed by only three people. Therefore, my expectations for The Lost Crown are justified.
I prefer a Metroid-style game with intricate mazes that can get players lost, as it would require them to pay close attention to their chosen path. However, The Lost Crown is different; everything feels somewhat simplified and makes it easy for players to reach their desired destinations. Consequently, the sense of exploration and challenge is diminished. Just take a look at the map I've traversed through half of the game, and you can see that everything feels straightforward and lacks the layers and complexity evident in games like Metroid or Hollow Knight.
I expected to be immersed in the world of ancient Persia, lost in its mysteries, but everything in the Mount Qaf area of the game feels a little too easy to navigate. Therefore, I've noticed that the developers have possibly made this the most accessible Metroidvania game to date. The map is no longer complex, and the game even provides a photo capture feature to help players remember their path. So, honestly speaking, Ubisoft has done something admirable. It will assist players in better remembering the way and facilitate backtracking.
In addition, the puzzles in this platform-heavy genre are moderately impressive in The Lost Crown. The puzzles required to unlock doors are not overly difficult; they usually demand players to have dexterity and to move Sargon smartly once they have figured out the door-unlocking mechanisms. Hence, in my opinion, this game remains more of an action-adventure than a puzzle-solving game.
The final aspect of the gameplay that stands out is the enemies in the game. They make quite an impression and especially the boss fights are memorable. The bosses come in various sizes, types, and have unique movesets. Some bosses are human while others are monsters. Even early in the game, you have the opportunity to encounter challenging bosses that you would typically expect to face towards the end. This results in a large number of bosses and makes the game quite challenging. The boss fights, in particular, are stunning, resembling a martial arts film with their impressive movesets and animations, showcasing the meticulous investment of Ubisoft Montpellier.
As for the regular enemies, they are also well-designed and interesting. Depending on the area of the map you're in, the enemies in each region are different and aligned with the theme of the area. From nimble soldiers, wizards, to various creatures, monsters, and even half-human, half-bird creatures, they are diverse and prevent the gameplay from becoming tedious.
Moreover, the difficulty levels in the game are of high quality. The game offers four difficulty levels, and during my review, I played on the two highest levels: Hard and Insane. I must say, the game is truly challenging. The enemies have more health, the timing for parrying attacks is shorter, and you receive more damage. These difficulty levels show no mercy and are a delight for players who enjoy the metroidvania genre. However, this doesn't mean that this game is inaccessible to newcomers to the genre. Ubisoft wanted to create a game that anyone can play, and if it feels too difficult, you can customize the difficulty settings to your liking. You can make enemies tougher while reducing the damage you receive. You have full control over finding the right balance of challenge that suits you.
Overall, the gameplay of The Lost Crown is excellently executed and surpasses expectations in many aspects. However, the most significant aspect, the metroidvania level design, falls a bit short in terms of visual impact. Nevertheless, this is compensated by the impressive presentation.
The game is built using Unity engine, which usually results in a relatively simple visual style. Nevertheless, this game can be considered one of the most visually impressive games made with Unity. The environments and scenery give the feeling of a high-quality indie game. It reminds me of how I praised Hades three years ago when I said that within the indie game world, Hades was the epitome of AAA indie games. Now, The Lost Crown is a perfect example of that. The Arabian-inspired landmarks in the Under City or Upper City, the palaces, towers, libraries, and even the mysterious forests, dungeons, and ports are all beautifully designed, giving the impression of a meticulously crafted mini-kingdom with diverse environments. Each place feels unique, and the depth of the backgrounds is impressive, especially for a 2D game. Background visuals in side-scrolling games often require a lot of effort to create depth and a large, visually appealing space. The Lost Crown achieves this exceptionally well. Additionally, the character designs are also visually appealing, and the voice acting is superb.
The music in the game is equally impressive. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the composer for the game was Gareth Coker. If you are unfamiliar with Gareth Coker, he is the composer for the critically acclaimed Ori games. Perhaps he has an innate talent for composing music for Metroidvania games, as Ubisoft Montpellier recognized his talent and enlisted him for The Lost Crown. The modern musical compositions blended with Arabian influences are fantastic and create an immersive and captivating experience. It can be said that the presentation of the game is exceptional in all aspects. Furthermore, the performance of the game is excellent, with very few bugs or glitches. I have experienced the game on both PC and PS5, and it runs smoothly without any frame rate drops. Sargon moves like silk on a silk road.
VERDICT
Overall, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a high-quality action-adventure metroidvania game. It excels in most aspects and there is hardly anything to complain about. While the story and level design of the metroidvania areas may be somewhat simplistic and easy to grasp, the game offers fast-paced movement, combat, and visually stunning boss battles. It is clear that with a gameplay loop designed like this, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown has the potential to be highly addictive for many players.
But what is most special about this game is Ubisoft Montpellier's deserving praise within Ubisoft. They may not be the biggest or most important studio at Ubisoft, but they consistently produce games that receive the highest scores from both critics and players. And now, this game seems to suggest that Ubisoft should perhaps reduce the production of AAA games, which often rely too heavily on a formula, and occasionally focus on smaller-scale projects like this one. Because it turns out, they are even more successful than expected.
