Test of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown or the great adventure

For many, Prince of Persia is that old video game where every jump was difficult, where every fight was complex, where every trap was stretching its arms. For others, Prince of Persia is a Disney film with Gemma Arterton and Jake Gyllenhaal, bulging pecs and abs (did you forget that?). Finally, Prince of Persia can also be this awesome 3D game, entitled The Sands of Time (and of which we are awaiting a remake, despite tumultuous development). In January 2024, Ubisoft hopes to bring together all these audiences with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crownan original opus in 2.5D.

After years of lean times, materialized by less full and glamorous calendars, Ubisoft seems ready to hang up the good wagon (in particular thanks to the release of Star Wars Outlaws). And what could be better than the return of a cult saga to refresh your icing? Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown looks like a smooth recovery, with minimal risk-taking which guarantees a gaming experience qualitative enough to captivate from start to finish. With its formidably efficient gameplay and measured audacity, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (re)launches Ubisoft.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown deserves a small crown

If we had to summarize Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown with obvious comparisons, one could say that it is a Blasphemous less dark or Ori and the Will of the Wisps less poetic. In short, it fits into the Metroidvania genre, which owes some bases to its illustrious ancestors. It mixes action and exploration in a recipe whose flavor we can guess from the first minutes of the game. We play a member of a group of Immortals, responsible for rescuing the Prince of Persia, kidnapped after a sudden introduction. fist. For Ubisoft, it is above all an opportunity to take us to Mount Qaf, where fantastic phenomena are numerous.

Throughout his adventure, the hero of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown unlocks powers, most of the time linked to time. On this point, it must be admitted that Ubisoft has great ideas to spice up the action, such as exploration. We think, for example, of this ability to place a clone in a location to immediately teleport there a few seconds later. This mechanism of returning to the past gives rise to great applications in the jumping phases and the few puzzles established on the environment. Sometimes you have to show a little skill when playing Prince of Persia: The Lost Crownbut it’s always rewarding to achieve your goals by mixing several special abilities (double jump, dash, magic grappling hook, etc.).

Especially since the gameplay offers excellent sensations. The main character is agile, skillful and lively. It responds to the finger and the eye, whether to hoist itself up with ease or to defend itself with dazzlingness. For once, he is the worthy heir of his ancestors, in particular the hero of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (which became a trilogy, a sign of its success). The fights are dynamic, neither too simple nor too hard, in particular because the parry relies on tight timing.

Some enemy attacks are unstoppable, which means that it will sometimes be necessary to use trickery. The result is well-managed confrontations, which avoid autopilot mode. There are even a few bosses that might give you a hard time — at least in the second half. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown offers the means to get out of it, as long as we take the trouble to search the settings in search of optional improvements. Ubisoft even provides a way to take photos at locations to remind yourself there’s something to unearth later (with the right power).

We still feel that the developers never try to make Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown too complex, unlike some Medroidvania, which more willingly play the Die&Retry card (Ori) or are directly inspired by Dark Souls for combat (Blasphemous). Certain passages suggest that the developers have put the handbrake on, that they could have been even more cruel in the construction of the levels. At least, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is balanced and relatively fair.

Inspired by the structure of its game, Ubisoft, on the other hand, let itself go a little too much on the visual part. As much as we can emphasize the fluidity of the encounter (necessary to accompany the feline character of the hero) and the work on the backgrounds (they are teeming with details), it is also possible to remain unmoved by the general design. The characters really don’t look like much and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown paid a high price for its announcement, with initial negative feedback on its atmosphere — a little too street, if not cartoonish, not oriental enough. Fortunately the title still offers some well-felt atmospheres. Because of the legends that animate it, Mount Qaf allows anything and everything. And, consequently, there are some treasures to be unearthed, between two errors of taste which condemn the visual success of a 2.5D rendering (capable of wonders when it is mastered). Prince of Persia: The Lost Crownor the thousand and one inspirations.

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