Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown PC Review

Prince of Persia series has been one of the most beloved franchises of all time being as good as the likes of other games made by Ubisoft like Splinter cell series and Far Cry series.

After a long time, Ubisoft released a prince of Persia game but with a unique twist. Instead of an action adventure third person AAA game, they developed a 2.5D style Metroidvania game while keeping the essence of what made prince of Persia so good baked into it.

You play as Sargon who is one of the elite soldiers of the Immortals who are tasked with making sure that prince Ghasaan reigns the throne in the end at a point. Things go haywire as Prince Ghasaan is abducted and Sargon is tasked to bring the prince back in one piece.

This leads to Sargon reaching the cursed city of Mount Qaf which upon reaching there finds out that it’s stuck in a time loop. Now Sargon must traverse this cursed city and find the prince by any means necessary.

Now as you would expect, the story starts slow and you are provided with the basic tutorials on how to use Sargon’s dual swords and do basic platforming to reach new heights which is a basic essence of the prince of Persia formula.

Gameplay wise, The Lost Crown offers everything and some more than a Metroidvania style game does. With a huge map consisting of 13 different biomes/levels to explore and vast 2.5D landscapes, Sargon has to go through them while coming across blue feather like elements.

These feathers like item provide the wearer different time and space manipulating powers that helps Sargon reach higher ground and also helps to solve difficult puzzles and traverse through multiple traps along the way.

A very unique and new thing that they added in The Lost Crown is a memory shard like thing which takes a screenshot at the exact place you are standing on which help you mark a custom eye on the map therefore helping you to come back to this place at a later time when you have acquired the needed feather power in order to traverse it.

This memory shard is something that every 2D game should implement moving forward as it helps the player get to new treasures and optional areas without needing to remember such spots in the mind which is super neat.

The Lost Crown also like other 2D platformers, has abilities and amulets that enrich the gameplay a step further. Sargon coming around multiple feathers unlock new abilities he can use to not only traverse further and faster but also to take on multiple foes and fight big boss battles head on swiftly.

There are different amulets that you will come across while can be achieved by finding treasures or having fights across the map. These amulets provide passive abilities such as extra health bar or helping you find treasure or even adding extra attacks to your blades to do more damage. Early on, Sargon starts with 4 amulet slots with option to add more when you find them in treasures.

Athra Surges provide Sargon with special powerful abilities that does insane damage based on the level that power represents. Higher the level, higher the damage and area of effect damage it does (Max level 3). These are obtained by finishing boss fights as they represent their attack patterns and can be had once you defeat them.

You will also come across multiple lore related items scattered all across the map at regular platforms which provide context and help you understand the cursed city and its habitants before the time loop began.

The 2.5D background looks beautiful with all levels having their distinctive look and feel and narrative behind it. Each biome consists of hidden treasures, lore and abilities to hunt for. The backgrounds and scenic beauty that you come across after a point shows you how much care and love has been put into this game from the devs. These are the same devs that worked on Rayman Legends so this was somewhat expected and they have hit the mark with the Lost Crown.

Sargon and the other characters have their own visual aesthetics and sound great. Character animations are done well and movement of Sargon is quick and easy to control. As you get more powerful via feathers, traversing becomes easier and less painful to move across multiple biomes.

Coming back to the areas after you receive all your powers grant you with unlocked doors and hard to reach platforms which provide upgrade materials in order to upgrade your weapons. The blacksmith, Kaheva, upgrades your weapons for you while having a shop where you can buy new items and amulets.

As for bugs, I did not encounter bugs of any kind or any crashes even though I was playing on a review build but it did have the day 1 patch included in it which will make this an enjoyable experience for all players.

There are also lots of side quests to choose from which rewards players at the end in the form of items and valuables that feels rewarding and fresh.

There are plenty of boss fights and mini boss fights to keep you hooked and entertained for hours while you keep grinding for that platinum for those who choose to do so.

Thanks to Ubisoft India for sending us the game code for the Review.

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