“Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown” is a quirky game that pays homage to the classic series | games

With “The Lost Crown”, the series awakens from hibernation, because the previous “Prince of Persia” was published in 2010. The series has had different game formats over the years, but “The Lost Crown” is a good old 2D platformer. You explore a semi-open world from a side perspective developed according to the so-called “Metroidvania” principle, which means, among other things, that you encounter places that you cannot yet reach. When your character gains more skills, you should return to that location and you can enter.

Sometimes you have to pass some cleverly designed environmental puzzles to get rewards or just to move on. The option to take a screenshot of your location and pin it to the location on the map is very welcome. This way you'll better know where to go next once you unlock the necessary skills.

The story is initially very simple: you play the role of a warrior who must rescue the kidnapped Prince Ghassan, but you gradually discover more layers and depth. This way you'll end up in all kinds of places where time went wrong, leading to unique ideas. The hero in this action adventure is Sargon, who is already quite skilled with his swords at first – it's nice to start the game with a character who can immediately do more than just throw a stick, so to speak. Later, Sargon can also manifest magical “time powers” and more. Combat is an important part of the game, but acrobatic platforming action is also at the forefront. Sargon quickly jumps and slides over and under obstacles, rides on moving platforms and dodges moving beams.

Control of your character is very precise. This is essential, because you will face some tough challenges here and there. In the beginning, for example, it's about going fast Jump on the wall Between two walls where the nails shoot out. But as you unlock more special features, you get environmental puzzles, for example, which you have to solve through a combination of teleportation and a precise shot from your bow.

The combat action is flashy and the difficulty level isn't too bad. We hate to admit it, but we dropped him from regular “Warrior” mode to “Rookie” mode at one point out of frustration. Blocking opponents' attacks and dodging them at the right time is the essence of the game. Sargon himself can pull off a lot of combos on the ground and in the air, giving you the feeling of having a huge impact on the battle. In case anyone still has any doubts: a little button-pushing won't get you to your goal – even if you put all your self-respect aside and play at a beginner's level.

However, the game makers deserve praise for the comprehensive way in which you can select the difficulty level. It is also possible to explore the game on your own with minimal assistance, or pick up more clues on the map. Cross-platforming may limit the game's target audience, but thanks to these options, Ubisoft Montpellier caters to a wide range of players. And with Platform Help you can avoid the more difficult parts altogether.

You can see in everything that a lot of love has been put into this title. One of the attractions of 'The Lost Crown' is the frame rate at which Sargon dances across your screen. On Nintendo Switch, this game reaches 60 frames per second at 1080p resolution when docked, and on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series In addition to the more classic dungeon and corridor environment, you also get beautifully designed landscapes full of details and decorations. This diversity is also reflected in more than 65 different enemies and nine boss fights. The music is also of a high standard and loading times are almost non-existent.

On the downside, slicing down “normal” enemies can become repetitive, especially because after each death scene, they respawn at a point that can be quite distant. It's a well-respected choice by the developers, but it's not necessarily a good choice for all types of players. Something that can be annoying for everyone is that the shoulder button to dodge an attack is the same button you press with the square for a special move. In the heat of the moment, these two sometimes end up in the blender, causing something to go wrong. The narrative style, which sometimes includes large chunks of text, is not easy for us, but the game makers have found a nice balance between combat, platforming and additions such as discoveries or encounters.

Ubisoft has made an excellent choice to firmly pick a tone with its 2D Metroidvania approach and develop it intelligently. Personally, we've experienced this with huge open worlds like “Assassin's Creed”, “Far Cry” and others. This type of game may not be for everyone, but thanks to its wide difficulty settings, “The Lost Crown” also welcomes casual players who don't mind a challenge. Fans of fast-paced, fast-paced combat will especially enjoy it, and making Sargon powerful from the start of the game is a great choice. There's not much to say about the vibrant gameplay, and the creative finish is at a high level.

The game is available for computers and consoles of newer and previous generations.