I’m not going to turn this into a history lesson, but me and the Prince, we go way back. I’ve been playing Prince of Persia games since the very beginning, back when the swashbuckling platformer first graced the screen of my family’s old 386. If you know what those numbers mean, chances are you were playing it back then, too.
I’m not a PoP super fan by any stretch, and I’ve only played one or two of Ubisoft’s 3D platformers, but I loved the original game despite the fact that I was terrible at it and would nearly always end up impaled before the end. In an age of stiff action-platformers, the 1989 original felt more natural than anything I’d played up until that point. It was a genuine game-changer for the genre, and that’s a hill I’m prepared to die on, Dear Reader.
The newest game, The Rogue Prince of Persia, arrived in Early Access in late May, just five months after another entry in the same series, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. I’m mentioning this because although they’re wildly different, their close proximity means that comparisons are inevitable. So let’s embrace it rather than ignore it, because as far as I’m concerned, there’s never been a better time to be fan of this series.
One, two princes kneel before you
The Lost Crown and The Rogue may have landed at roughly the same time, but they’re contrasting expressions of the same source material. TLC is more a classic metroidvania, but with great graphics and plenty of cinematic flair. The Rogue is a cartoony action-roguelite.
With two new Prince of Persia games dropping in the same calendar year, many people will be wondering which one to pick. My opinion on the matter is that they are so different from one another that you don’t really have to choose – The Lost Crown is an expansive side-scrolling metroidvania, while The Rogue offers pick up and play platforming that is best enjoyed in short, focused bursts.
The Rogue Prince of Persia drops the more linear progression of old in favour of a roguelite wrapper. It’s not just any rogue either; this is the new game from Evil Empire, the developer of Dead Cells (not the original dev, but the studio that worked on DC’s post-release content updates). EE had been teasing something new based on a classic IP, and when I learned that it was Prince of Persia in April during The Triple-i Initiative, I must admit that I was delighted.
Swords, spikes, and other pointy things
It has been a long time since I played the very first Prince of Persia, but the game has burnt itself into my memory for a couple of reasons. The first is the combat, which felt so fluid compared to its contemporaries. Everything was modelled on swashbuckling movies of the silver screen, and this interpretation created some seriously stylish sword fighting.
And then there were the spikes. Yes, The Rogue Prince of Persia respects its source material via a healthy number of spike pits as well as a super satisfying combat system.
The spike pits incentivise plenty of wall-running, which is an essential part of the platforming experience. Environmental traversal is exceptional here, in my opinion, and the intuitive movement is the reason why I’m able to gloss over one or two things that still need a bit of work.
The Rogue Prince feels so natural to control and move around the world. Simply holding the left trigger allows our princely avatar to wall run, and then a well-timed jump will see him effortlessly latch onto a rope and then climb to the next level. Some of the best moments I’ve had with this game have come from stringing together a series of slick movements during some of the platforming sections.
Things get even better when the traversal and the combat come together. One minute you might be swinging from rope to rope, the next you’ll be kicking enemies into spike pits and fighting off gangs of sword-wielding enemies. The Rogue Prince of Persia is tough, and death is often just around the corner, yet some of the moments in-between represent free flowing platforming at its best.
Time for the roguelite bit
Time has always been an integral part of the series’ identity, and that remains true in The Rogue. You start each new run at an oasis that is immune to the time loop that our prince is stuck in. There’s not a lot going on here, if I’m honest, but you can unlock new weapons that you then discover in-game, as well as new magical abilities that are also littered throughout the world. In fact, the game’s repetitive loop makes a whole ton of sense within the context of its roguelite design.
The weapon system is straight forward enough. You have a main and then a secondary attack which is to be used much more sparingly. My initial go-to was the twin blades (main) and the bow (secondary), but once I’d unlocked the grapple I did try to switch things up and swap out the bow, as well as experiment with different mains.
The special ability system, on the other hand, feels a little convoluted and it wasn’t immediately obvious how to best utilise it. Steam says I’m about 16 hours into the game and I’m still wondering if I’ve missed something obvious. You’ve got four medallion slots that you can fill with the abilities that you’ve unlocked in the oasis, and some of these powers can be very helpful, such as the sticky glue that holds down enemies when you kick them. Yet at other times, I didn’t even notice some of the abilities I had equipped, and I wanted more pop from them to really change how each run feels to play.
I also had a rough time with the boss battles, but there’s a reasonable chance that I will be able to overcome this with a bit of determined practice. The thing is, I didn’t mind dying all that much, because death meant I was whisked back to the start and had another chance to wall run my way through the game’s branching levels – a design choice that keeps those early attempts feeling fresh. The trimmings around the central loop need a bit of work, but the core gameplay is so good that I’m eager to keep playing.
The Rogue isn’t in Early Access for the sake of it; the devs have work to do if this is going to be one of the elite games in the genre. However, Evil Empire has already crafted a fantastic combat system that’s backed up by intuitive traversal that feels great to use. I also want to mention the audio-visual design, because it looks great and the soundtrack is excellent. All things considered, these are rock solid foundations upon which a great game can be built, and I’ll be back to play the finished article whenever it’s ready. I’m genuinely excited to see how this one turns out.
The Rogue Prince of Persia is out now on Steam PC, with more platforms to follow once it is done in Early Access. I played the game via access provided by Ubisoft, so a big thanks to them!
