Put aside for many years, the license Prince of Persia finally made his return in January with The Lost CrownA metroidvania which we particularly liked and which will be entitled to more content. Besides that, a remake of the appreciated The Sands of Time disappeared from the radar. It was not without surprise that we learned a few weeks ago thata third game that is still very different is in development on the side ofEvil Empirea Bordeaux studio to which we owe the additional content of Dead Cellsfounded by developers from Motion Twin for this purpose. Dogs don’t make cats, this production with the evocative title The Rogue Prince of Persia is therefore a roguevaniaor 2D action platform game if you prefer, which has inherited certain traits from its predecessor and which we had the opportunity to try for more than thirty minutes via a streaming solution and on the controller before its announcementallowing us to discover the first runs From the experience, understand that we died two or three times while surveying accessible areas.
The Rogue Prince of Persia immediately grabbed our attention.
No need to have any background with the series, since The Rogue Prince of Persia once again makes us embody a different prince in a context that is just as different. However, we noted a reference to Anahita in the name of an object. As shown in the game’s announcement cinematic, our protagonist’s village is attacked by the Huns, corrupted by black magic, while he dreamed of a “rogue life” rather than being the heir of the throne. Its particularity comes from her necklace, which takes her back in time to a checkpoint located in a small oasis. It therefore preserves the memories of each run, unlike other NPCs encountered. The structure is simple, but we were able to glimpse an interesting element called there Mental mapwhere the important information accumulated during each test will be brought together in the form of a sort of sociogram. By speaking to a woman, we learned about the Hunnic war campunlocking when run following its access from the oasis. The difficulty was much more difficult, but not as much as our confrontation with the first boss, a sort of minotaur, who literally destroyed us without us being able to do anything.
But let’s go back a little. Our first steps in this fairly minimalist universe serve as a tutorial to learn how to move and fight. The regulars of Dead Cells will not be so disoriented, but the major difference comes from being able to wall run as soon as a surface in the background lends itself to it in order to reach raised surfaces, cross precipices and avoid traps who are just waiting to inflict damage on us, but who don’t kill in one hit! This simple element of parkour makes movement much smoother and better than its model, but will require some practice before being effectively mastered. For side-scrolling 2D, this adds one more dimension that blends well into the decor, sometimes a little too much in terms of readabilitybut maybe it’s just a matter of habit.
Two other useful movements consist of a dodge to go behind the enemy’s back and a kick for example to push the opponent towards a trap or to sound him by sending him flying, whether against a wall or one of his peers. However, this does not work against those with a shield gauge, which must first be broken. A diving attack is also present by pressing the jump and down key. In terms of bestiary diversity, we mainly dealt with Huns wielding axes or throwing grenades, archers and even flying insects, but that was only the beginning.
In terms of equipment, the prince hasa main weapon which is by default his two daggers. We were also able to wield a scimitar and an ax, the attack speed of the latter being slower, with in return much better damage. Each has a special move to trigger by holding the attack button. In addition to that, a trigger is linked to a secondary weapon or an item, the use of which is more limited and linked to a gauge. Basically, we have access to a bow to eliminate targets at a distance and we were able to recover a chakram to launch. All of these items have a level and attack value, in addition to effects. In a few minutes, these basics are easily assimilated, but the depth of the game only began to reveal itself later.
Indeed, it’s only from the second run that Glimmers of spirits are introduced, used to unlock items at the oasis. At the forge of Sukhra, we thus saw a grappling hook, which was obviously far too expensive. What is certain is that this type of equipment will remain unlocked after each deathunlike what we recover along the way, which is reset, of which THE Medallions. They provide various effects such as igniting the enemy if we throw them against a wall and up to four can be equipped simultaneously. Where the possibilities multiply is that we can improve these Medallions with others to modify their powers instead of placing them in a separate location. It will obviously be necessary to play much longer than for this preview in order to judge what it is worth. As for navigation within the same named area, such asAqueductbut generated randomly, it can be facilitated by the use of teleporters, quite frequent and functioning identically to those of Dead Cellsdown to the visual effect on the map.
Our first impressions: Good!
Without being revolutionary for the moment, The Rogue Prince of Persia immediately knew how to hook us thanks to its acrobatic movements and mechanics of roguelite having already proven themselvess in the past, which fit well with the spirit of the license. It will therefore be interesting to follow its evolution via theEarly Access and above all to be able to discover it at greater length to grasp all its subtlety.
| Alexandre SAMSON (Omega Law) Editor | ||
| Addicted to Assassin’s Creed and Destiny, big fan of RPGs and passionate about video game experiences in general. Reader of comics (DC) and various mangas (One Piece!). Chemist by training and Whovian at heart. | ||
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