Shane
The Prince started it all.
Parkouring, swinging, wall climbing and running with challenging melee combat.
The Rogue Prince of Persia is a 2D near-to cell shaded platformer that has released hot off the heels from The Lost Crown.
Infact the two releases are so close together, that initially I thought The Rogue Prince of Persia was a mini-game or side game to the latter.
It’s not.
A full adventure within it’s own right, it takes us back to the roots of Prince of Persia where you take on the role of ‘The Prince’ in the city of Clesiphon, which is systematically being destroyed by a warlord known as the Hun.
The Hun sends out legions of possessed soldiers to take down the Prince and you must traverse through the multi-tiered procedurally generated levels saving the city and bringing down the wrath of the Hun.
Think you know and area, think again. Next time you’re there it will be slightly different.
The Prince will use a range of weapons, both melee and ranged, but picking up. a better or different weapon, whether bought or found in a chest, sees you losing the one you just had. Collecting or earning Medallions is a sure way of enhancing your weapons.
The Prince’s skills can also be levelled up as well.
Enemies will drop coins when they are killed. These can be cashed in for health augmentations and newer weapons.
The Prince is also in possession of a magical artefact. This enables him to time travel, something that you will definitely do when either you die or within gameplay.
Dying sees time pass and you will wake up in an area called the Oasis. This is a safe place and also an area where you can restock up on potions and other in-game items before you tackle the adventure once again.
The Rogue Prince of Persia has a Memory Board built-in to gameplay. This tracks your interactions with NPCs. Many of whom will provide narratively important information to get you through.
While the game looks like a watered down Prince of Persia experience, it’s far from it. The Rogue Prince of Persia is a challenging side scroller, that will test the skills of even the more seasoned Prince of Persia gamers.
Brightly coloured and an adventure platformer not to be missed I fully recommend spending some time saving the city of Clesiphon, whether you’ve played a Prince of Persia game before or not.
Released: May 2024
Rating: M15+
Platforms reviewed: PC
Genre: Platformer
Developer: Evil Empire
Publisher: Ubisoft