The Rogue Prince of Persia landed earlier this year and I don’t mind admitting that I rather liked the first incarnation of the game. However, as I noted in my initial Early Access review, there was a lot of work to do if the game was going to fulfil its considerable promise and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best in the genre.
The new Second Act update that just dropped is a big step in Evil Empire’s quest to deliver the game we’re all hoping for, and there’s a lot to tell you about. Here are the highlights, as confirmed on Steam:
- Big art upgrade
- 2 new biomes
- 2 new bosses
- New story act + tons of polish on Act 1
- 5 new enemies
- Difficulty re-balancing
- Many Quality of Life additions like multiple save slots & spirit cinder/gold automatic pick-up
- German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish localisation
- Development continuing into 2025
I’ve been playing the game this morning, to see how it looks after the big glow-up mentioned in the first point on the above list. While I quite liked the style of the original version, I’m happy to report that I think the new art style is a genuine improvement. Evil Empire added tons of detail and changed the colour palette, in the process adding a bit of grit to the environmental design.
The update is so chunky that your old save is going to struggle to deal with all the changes. There is an option to convert it, which is what I did, but while you get to keep elements of your progress, the story will reset. That’s because there are substantial changes in the narrative department, with the meta-progression system undergoing some streamlining and the story getting a nip and tuck.
As mentioned above, there are two new biomes included in the update (Golden Mines and Craftsmen’s District respectively), five new enemies, and two new bosses! What’s more, as the update’s title implies, there’s a new second act that adds a whole new section of game to work through, and much of the first act was also rewritten.
The Rogue Prince of Persia is currently on sale on PC, and now would be a good time to pounce as there will be a price rise after the upcoming Steam Winter Sale.
